The 20th anniversary celebration of the Faculty of Sociology was held solemnly on the morning of November 16th. Attending the ceremony were representatives from central government agencies and departments, professors, scientists, staff, and alumni from all generations of the Faculty of Sociology.In 1991, based on the Sociology and Psychology department of the Faculty of Philosophy, the Faculty of Sociology and Psychology was officially established, becoming the first faculty specializing in sociology in Vietnam's university education system. In 1998, the Sociology department was separated and operated as an independent faculty within the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Over the past 20 years, the Faculty of Sociology has trained a high-quality workforce of sociology professionals at all three levels: bachelor's, master's, and doctoral. Since 2006, the Faculty of Sociology has been authorized by the Ministry of Education and Training to offer a Social Work program, and two cohorts of Social Work graduates have completed their studies. Currently, only the Faculty of Sociology in the country simultaneously offers both Sociology and Social Work programs at the bachelor's and master's levels.
At the ceremony, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa - Head of the Department of Sociology - reviewed the outstanding achievements in the department's activities over the past 20 years: Currently, the Department of Sociology is training over 2000 full-time students, nearly 500 postgraduate students, and 52 doctoral candidates. In addition, the department also offers part-time, selective, transfer, and second degree programs. The faculty members have authored and contributed to the compilation of hundreds of lectures and published 30 textbooks, 105 monographs, and reference materials to support training. Faculty members have also led and participated in numerous scientific projects at various levels and collaborated on scientific research with international scientists. Over the past 20 years, faculty members of the Department have led 10 national-level research projects, more than 20 ministerial-level projects, projects at the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and numerous institutional projects. To date, faculty members of the Sociology Department have published approximately 500 research papers in domestic and international journals. In the field of international cooperation, from 1991 to the present, the Sociology Department has collaborated with universities and research institutes in countries such as the USA, Germany, France, Russia, Sweden, Japan, Belgium, and organizations such as UNICEF, UNFPA, and the Ford Foundation. On behalf of the University leadership, Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh – Rector – congratulated and highly appreciated the achievements of the Sociology Department over the past 20 years. The Rector expressed confidence that in the future, building on the achievements and with a proactive and creative spirit, the Sociology Department will continue to strive to become a leading institution for training, research in sociology and social work in the country, and quickly reach international standards.
In his speech, Professor Pham Tat Dong – Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for the Promotion of Learning, former Head of the Department of Sociology – expressed his delight at the remarkable development of the Department and hoped that the faculty and students of the Department of Sociology would overcome difficulties and challenges to excel in teaching and learning. On this occasion, the Vietnam Association for the Disabled and the "Lighting Up Hope" scholarship fund awarded 15 scholarships to students in the Sociology and Social Work majors.
