Call for applications to USTH doctoral program for the year 2023 – First wave

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS TO USTH DOCTORAL PROGRAM

For the year 2023 – First wave

University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) – Vietnam France University is an advanced-model international public university established under Decision No. 2067/QĐ-TTg dated December 9th, 2009 of the Prime Minister based on the Intergovernmental Agreement between Vietnam and France signed on November 12th, 2009. 

USTH follows the European Bologna Process with LMD system: Bachelor (3 years, 180 ECTS), Master (2 years, 120 ECTS), PhD (3 years, 180 ETCS). The doctoral program at USTH was built with the philosophy that the scientist is the essential part of the society. The PhD student will be able to do the research and create new values ​​serving for the development of the society and the scientific community. 

The doctoral program was developed by Vietnamese and French scientists based on the demand of society and prioritized research fields at USTH, which allows PhD students to study in an international environment and to prepare for their future careers. Upon graduation, the PhD students are awarded the doctoral degree which is recognized by international institutions.  

1. Research fields

• Pharmacological, Medical and Agronomical Biotechnology
• Advanced Material Science and Nanotechnology
• Water – Environment – Oceanography
• Information Technology and Communication
• Energy
• Space and Applications

2. Training duration

The PhD training program is conducted in the form of formal education which is 3 years for students with Master degrees and 4 years for students with Bachelor degrees.

3. Requirements for application

Applicants to PhD training programs of USTH should have the following qualifications and capabilities:

• Applicant must hold a Master degree in the field of application or a field relevant to the field of application; or applicant holds a Bachelor degree with very good grade in the field of application or a field relevant to the field of application. 
• Applicant has experiences in doing research, which is demonstrated by his/her graduation thesis of a research Master program; or a published scientific article or report; or his/her working experience of at least 2 years as a lecturer or researcher of educational, scientific and technological institutions.
• Applicant must hold one of the following certificates of English language

• TOEFL iBT 46 or higher;
• IELTS 5.5 or higher;
• Cambridge Assessment English: B2 First/B2 Business Vantage/Linguaskill 160 or higher;
• Other foreign language certificates equivalent to level 4 of the 6-level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework for Viet Nam approved by the Ministry of Education and Training.

• Applicant must submit a research proposal which is approved by their expected supervisors (see templates).

4. Supervisors

• Each applicant can propose maximum 2 supervisors:

+ One supervisor must be USTH faculty or French visiting scientist working in USTH laboratories or USTH-associated laboratories in Vietnam

+ The other supervisor could be a scientist who works for a Vietnamese or international university or a research institute.

• The proposed supervisors must: hold PhD degree; have at least 3 years working experience since PhD graduation and be an active researcher in the field of the PhD research topic in the period of 3 years prior to the commencement of the supervision of the PhD research, according to the regulations of the Vienam Ministry of Education and Training.

5. Scholarship and fellowship

USTH offers various scholarships to PhD students who are enrolled at the university. Scholarships are as follows:

• Scholarship for Excecllent Students for PhD students with outstanding academic achievements. Scholarship values for academic year 2022-2023: DS-A1: 15,000,000 VND; DS-A2: 10,000,000 VND; DS-A3: 5,000,000 VND.
• Pathway to Success Scholarship for PhD students who graduated from USTH’s Master programs and further their study in USTH’s Doctoral programs. Scholarship values for academic year 2022-2023: DS-PS1: 15,000,000 VND/year; DS-PS2: 10,000,000 VND/year (the scholarship is available throughout the regular training duration).
• Capacity Building Scholarship for PhD students who are employees of VAST’s institutes and centers. Scholarship values for academic year 2022-2023: 10,000,000 VND/year (the scholarship is available throughout the regular training duration).
• Access Scholarship for PhD students who are employees of the institutions that have signed cooperation agreements with USTH: The scholarship is granted pursuant to the agreement.
• Global Scholarship for foreign PhD students who have GPA of bachelor and master programs equivalent to 12/20 or higher. Scholarship values for academic year 2022-2023: GS1: 40,000,000 VND/year; GS2: 20,000,000 VND/year (the scholarship is available for the first year of the program).

USTH’s Scholarship and Financial Aid Council decides the list of scholarship recipients pursuant to Regulations on awarding scholarship and financial aids for USTH students. 

6. Application dossier

Applicants have to submit an application dossier including the following documents: 

1. Application form (see template).
2. Notarized copies of degrees, certificates, transcripts of Bachelor and Master levels.* If the degrees, certificates and transcipts are neither in English nor in French, notarized copies must be translated into English. In case these documents are issued by a foreign university, the applicants should include an explanation of the grading system of that university.
3. Valid English certificates.
4. Motivation letter of the candidate.
5. Updated and detailed resume (CV) includind awards and prizes (if any).
6. Certificate of employment (if any) (see template).
7. Consent letters and scientific resumes of proposed supervisors (see template).
8. Recommendation letters from 2 scientists having worked at least 6 months with the candidate (see template).
9. Research proposal in English (maximum 10 pages) (see template).
10. List and copies of publications in the research field (if any).
11. Other related documents (if any).

Templates can be downloaded HERE

*Applicants having completed their Master programs but not yet received their diploma or official academic transcripts can submit a provisional letter of graduation confirmation or academic transcript (notarized copies and translations in English). Successful candidates will be required to submit all those documents to be officially accepted. 

7. Admission plan for the year 2022 – Second wave

Application submission	From January 16th, 2023 to March 15th, 2023
Application dossier preselection	March 2023
Admission interview jury	April 2023
Admission results and enrollment	May 2023

8. Admission fee 

Admission fee (non-refundable in all cases): 1,000,000 VND/dossier.

9. Application dossier submission

The applicant submits the application dossier at the following address:

University of Science and Technology (USTH) Room 102, A21 Building Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi Tel: +84 24 3791 7748

All the documents of the application dossier must be put in a suitable bag/envelope. The following information should be clearly written on the cover of the bag/envelop:

1. Full name of the applicant
2. Home/mobile phone numbers, and Email address
3. Research field

In addition to sending the original dossier to the address above, applicants need to scan the above dossier into PDF files only and not exceeding 6 MB (zip acceptable), and send via email to both of the following addresses: pham-thi-minh.hien@usth.edu.vn (Ms. PHAM Thi Minh Hien) and doctoral.school@usth.edu.vn (Doctoral School) with the email title: Admission. PhD-Research field-Full name. Applicants can contact Doctoral School at the phone number +84 24 3791 7748 to be assisted in the preparation and submission of the application dossier.

Information about the USTH Doctoral School including available scholarships can be found at: www.usth.edu.vn