Under the new structure of the education system approved in November 1993, four higher education diplomas were established: for undergraduate courses, the Certificate of Higher Education (three-year cycle of higher education after upper secondary school) and the Diploma of Higher Education (four- to six-year cycle of higher education after upper secondary school); for graduate courses, the master’s degree (in general, two years after the Diploma of Higher Education) and the doctoral degree (in general, two to four years after the master’s degree).

Short-cycle programmes at the undergraduate level are usually offered at junior or community colleges and normally require three years of study, leading to the Certificate of Higher Education, Junior College Diploma or Associate (Bachelor) degree.

Generally, long-term full-time programmes (lasting four to six years) are divided into two phases. The first phase, consisting of three to four semesters of university general education, leads to the Certificate of Higher Education. The second phase focuses on professional education and leads to a degree in the field of specialization (normally, five years of study are required in the case of engineering and six years in the case of medicine).

The credit system is as follows:

Credit requirements for undergraduate courses

Higher education has been diversified and institutions provide education in the form of full-time, part-time, long-term, short-term, formal, non-formal and distance education programmes. Higher education establishments include universities, two open universities (one public and the other semi-public), specialized colleges, community colleges and junior colleges.

In the first stage of undergraduate education, there are seven sections. Sections I-III are mainly for: natural sciences; technical sciences; agronomy, forestry and fishery; medicine; and other technical fields. Section I focuses on mathematics and physics. Section II emphasis is on chemistry, while Section III focuses on Biology. Section IV is mainly for economics, business, and management. Section V focuses on social sciences, Section VI concentrates on humanities and Section VII is mainly for foreign languages.

The current system of universities and colleges consists of more than 100 institutions, excluding those under the supervision of the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Interior Affairs.

Thirty-nine of these institutions are under the supervision of the MOET, while the rest are under the supervision of other ministries such as Health, Culture, Finance, Law, Construction, Transportation, and Water Resources. This higher education network is composed of a large number of small and scattered institutions with poor facilities, weak and inefficient management, and narrowly specialized programmes.

The university network includes the following types of institutions (information refers to 2001):

• Multi-disciplinary universities: two national universities (in Hà Nôi and Hô Chi Minh City), and four regional universities (Huê University, Dà Nang University, Thái Nguyên University, and Thái Bac University.
• Specialized universities under the supervision of various ministries/ministerial departments.
• Community-funded/private universities: mainly located in urban areas (about seventeen).
• Community colleges: these are being set up as pilot colleges in some provinces or cities.

Admission to master’s degree programmes is for bachelor’s degree holders who have passed the entrance examination. Master’s degree holders are specialists with good knowledge and the necessary professional skills and are able to adapt themselves to the development of science, technology and the economy.

Master’s degree programmes are mainly offered in universities. There are sixty-seven universities and institutes in Vietnam offering these programmes. Doctoral degree programmes are also offered in universities and research institutes. At present, eighty universities and institutes offer doctoral programmes in almost all fields of natural science, social science and humanities, technology, economics, management and environmental engineering.