Study and find schools in Vietnam
Click on one of the following types of study for Vietnam:
Cities to study in Vietnam
Vietnam, one of the most populous nations on the Southeast Asian mainland, occupies a long strip of tropical coastline on the South China Sea. It is a land of idyllic palm-lined beaches and dense tropical rainforests, steeped in a rich yet bloody history. For decades, Vietnam has been under the rule of a 1-party authoritarian government controlled by the leaders of the CPV (Communist Party of Vietnam). Although problems like petty crime and corruption still plague many parts of the country, it has stabilized rapidly since the 1955-1975 war that split the country in half, with the Communist North fought bitterly against the American-backed South, and ultimately ended in victory for the Communists and humiliation for the United States. Despite the horrific violence of the war and the suffering of many Vietnamese civilians on both sides, a united post-war Vietnam has been stitched together, and old enmities are beginning to heal.
In recent years, Vietnam’s economy has been rapidly improving, due in some measure to increasing investment from abroad. The nation’s GDP has steadily grown throughout the last several years, and Vietnam’s has become one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. The recognizes that the continuation of this rapid growth depends on the ability of the education system to inject skilled and knowledgeable graduates into the workforce, and so a significant portion of GDP has been invested in education.
Despite the heavy emphasis on education and the fact that Vietnamese citizens place a high value on a good education, there are a number of serious problems that will need to be addressed if Vietnam is to have a world-class education system. The most prominent is the outdated curriculum and lack of highly qualified teachers. This problem affects all levels of the Vietnamese education system, but is of particular concern at the university level, since notoriously unreliable quality makes foreign employers wary of recognizing degrees from Vietnamese institutions. Graduates from these institutions, then, often have trouble finding employment on the global jobs market.
The exception to this rule – and a good option for foreign students – is colleges and institutes run by foreign universities. These schools, which often run study abroad programs, teach in English, and offer degrees that meet the standards of the American or European higher education systems, tend to be among Vietnam’s finest, and provide a good alternative to the public education system, especially for non-citizens seeking educational opportunities in Vietnam.
One of the most striking changes to the Vietnamese education sector has been the recent explosion of demand for English language classes. In Vietnam, as elsewhere in the world, students recognize that the ability to speak English is an extremely valuable skill in the worldwide jobs market, and so English-language academies have sprung up all over Vietnam. Many foreign students find that teaching English is a great way to finance their stay in the country while they complete a degree or a study-abroad program.