VIED Scholarships 2009 for Vietnamese to Study Undergraduate, Masters, Doctoral, and Courses Overseas

2009: many scholarships for training PhD, Masters, for short term training and for training undergraduate overseas will be provided by MOET of Vietnam.
In 2009, the Vietnam International Education Development (VIED – replaced the Management Committee of Project 322) will on behalf of Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) select and award many scholarships for studies overseas. These scholarships comprise of:

• 500 scholarships for full time doctoral study overseas,
• 200 scholarships for full time masters study overseas,
• 30 scholarships for short term training courses overseas,
• 100 scholarships for doctoral and master study at joint programs,
• About 150 scholarships for undergraduate study overseas.

The scholarships for doctoral and master study overseas will be provided for Vietnamese universities, colleges research institutes and state officers. The scholarship for Undergraduate study will be awarded to excellent students (International Olympic Award winner, students with highest result at the entrance examination into Vietnamese universities) and good students from rural and remote areas, students of minority nations.

This year the admission process will be done firstly by VIED/MOET who will screen the applications. In the next step, VIED will ask foreign universities or their representatives to join in the process by conducting individual interviews. The minimum English required at the application and interview stage is TOEFL 500 (or equivalent). During the interview, applicants should show their interest in study or research clearly to make the interviewers see their research and English capabilities. VIED/MOET have agreed with foreign partners to send recruited students to study at universities of high quality only (mostly among the first ranking 200 universities worldwide based on international or national assessment of their campus and their list of streams). At the same time, that universities have agreed to financially support students after the first two years of the PhD program. These supports not only save the State budget but also enhance students’ creativeness in study and research, hence, to gain the trust and support from their academic supervisors, host faculties and institutions. Therefore, the difference to last year’s selection is that the students are recommended to some certain universities. It is a common recruitment process for all the English speaking countries. However, as the requirements of each country vary, it is important to get the full and clear information, especially about the study in English speaking countries.

Application to study in the United States of America:

For the fields of engineering, technology, science, public health, the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) will cooperate with VIED/MOET in screening applications and conducting interviews. Besides, some universities in the USA will directly cooperate with VIED in verifying applications and interview for the social science, humanities, economics and other fields that VEF take into consideration. There are 80 scholarships for study in the USA in total.

After receiving the results of the interviews, the applications will be sent to universities recommended by interviewers. In order to obtain the universities’ acceptance, the candidates must have the TOEFL above 550 and many courses require for GRE. Besides, the candidates must have a Statement of Purpose. After the first two years of the PhD program, the PhD students have to take the qualified examination. If their result is good enough, they will receive the official acceptance for the PhD research program and the financial support or other kinds of sponsor from the university to complete PhD program. If any PhD student can not meet the requirement of the university, that student must exit the PhD program and can get the Master degree, MOET will allow that student to finish the study.

Application to study in Australia:

Some Australian institutions including the University of South Australia, Curtin University of Technology, Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, La Trobe University have agreed with the proposal of the VIED to sponsor Vietnamese PhD students from the 3rd year and onward by their scholarship and internal funds. The University of Queensland and the University of New South Wales have a special scholarship scheme for MOET students. Some other Australian universities will join this cooperation. Therefore, applications of the short listed candidates will be forwarded to the institutions which confirmed to sponsor Vietnamese students.

Australian academic staff will involve in the recruitment process including application screening and individual interview. Australian institutions do not require GRE attached with the application. Minimum English requirement is TOEFLE 500 or equivalent at the application and interview stage. Those who do not meet English requirement for direct entry will be supported with the English training by the institutions and the MOET. During the study in Australian, the institutions will assess the academic ability of the applicants only, no qualified examination is required. Some of universities mentioned above will provide MOET students a stipend higher than one from Vietnam for encouraging students study well.

Total scholarships given to study in Australia are 50. Application form can be found in the VIED’s website: www.vied.vn

Application to study in New Zealand:

The Government of New Zealand has policies to encourage students to take PhD program in New Zealand. Therefore, the tuition fees for the international PhD students are equal to the local PhD students at the annual cost of AU$3,000. The eight universities: University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology, University of Otago, University of Canterbury, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Waikato, Lincoln University, Massey University are among the high-ranking universities in New Zealand and in the world as well.

The academics from New Zealand universities will involve in the selection process including application screening and individual interview. The New Zealand universities prefer a sort of “virtual interview” via email work for the VIED – New Zealand Program on the basis: the student must “Provide evidence that they have been in contact with the relevant department of their chosen institution and discussed their proposed research, research interests and the availability of appropriate supervision.” Provided this requirement has been met, and they provide other supporting material (such as IELTS test results and academic transcripts etc) then they are accepted for the scholarship.

The total costs for 3-year PhD course and a half-year of qualified programs (for some specified students) in New Zealand are lower than the total costs for first 2 year study in some other countries. Thus, if the candidates who apply for the PhD program in New Zealand are recruited, the MOET will support and award scholarships for 3.5 years. The university may support after that.

Total scholarships given to New Zealand are 50. For the last few years, information about higher education in New Zealand was still little, therefore the number of candidates applying for study in New Zealand was limited. This year, study in New Zealand becomes a good and potential choice for the students. Application form can be found in the VIED’s website: www.vied.vn

Application to study in Canada:

The University of Alberta in Canada has agreed to support PhD students from Vietnam from the third year of the PhD program. U of A will provide the scholarships for graduate students for covering the international student differential tuition fee. U of A will also provide top undergraduate students from Vietnam the additional financial support for living and for covering some English as a Second Language (ESL) training in the U of A’s English Language Program. The recruitment process is similar to ones in the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Many top education institutions of Canada have been encouraged by Canadian Embassy to Vietnam to explore more partnership opportunities in Vietnam, especially with VIED. VIED will give priority to these universities.

The total scholarships given for study in Canada are 50. By implementing the new admission method to some limited counterparts, the choice to study in Canada becomes increasingly potential.

Application to study in United Kingdom:

Project 322 is looking for the universities in UK for cooperation in the selection process and finance support after two years of PhD program. During seeking the counterparts from UK universities or educational organization, according to the Article 10.3 of MOET’s Admission Notice, MOET prefer to offer students scholarship for a standard three-year PhD program in UK, and the tuition fees limit at USD 15,000 a year. Any additional costs will be at students’ expenses.

The total scholarships given for study in UK are 40.