1. General information
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 ECTS). In the academic year 2024 – 2025, USTH launches a joint doctoral training program with French partners (Co-Tutelles Programs – CTP). With this program, the PhD students will spend 18 months at USTH and 18 months at a French higher education institution. The PhD topic is co-designed and supervised by 02 high-qualified mentors representing both Vietnamese and French sides. After graduation, students will be awarded 2 doctoral degrees (1 from USTH and 1 from a higher education institution in France).
2. Training duration
The PhD training program is conducted in 3 years (18 months in Vietnam, 18 months in France) in the form of formal education.
3. Requirements for application
Applicants to PhD training programs of USTH should have the following qualifications and capabilities:
– Applicants must hold a Master’s degree in the field of application or a field relevant to the field of application;
– Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher qualification in English, or in a recognized training program using English as the main language of instruction or 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/ 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.
+ Applicants must submit a research proposal on one of the topics provided below, which is approved by their expected supervisors (see templates).
4. List of topics
| Ref. No | Potential topics for PhD candidate | French Institutions |
| CTP1 | Angle-based correlation in space images for enhanced sensors in nanosatellites | PSL, Observatoire de Paris |
| CTP2 | Molecular Imprinted Plasmonic Platform for a high performance sensing substrate. | University of Paris-Cité |
| CTP3 | Functional analysis by knockout (KO) of candidate genes (GCs) involved in root architecture on coffee and potential effects on tolerance to water stress | University of Montpellier |
| CTP4 | Using deep learning for the satellite retrieval of peatlands surfaces | PSL, Observatoire de Paris |
| CTP5 | New observational insights on primeval galaxies | University of Marseille |
| CTP6 | Multimodal Analytical Modeling for Innovative and Sustainable Management of Heritage Documents | University of La Rochelle |
| CTP7 | Investigation of sulfido- selenido- molybdenum complexes as catalysts for CO2-to-fuels conversion | University of Grenoble |
| CTP8 | Formation, evolution and impact of stellar binaries | University of Paris-Cité |
| CTP9 | Agent-based simulation for the study of innovation diffusion. Application to the adoption of agro-ecological practices in the Mekong delta. | University of Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier |
| CTP10 | Better modelling for better consultation: an agent-based approach to simulating the impact of urban traffic on air pollution in a digital twin of Hanoi | Sorbonne University |
| CTP11 | Design and evaluation of opto-acoustic instrumentation for the study of loaded fluids | ENGEES – Strasbourg University |
5. Scholarship and fellowship
For CTP, Co-Funding is an obvious requirement on both French and Vietnamese sides. On the Vietnamese side, USTH is innovating with this investment into Co-Tutelles. The university have secured the possibility to serve a monthly 5.550.000 VND during the 18 months of each Co-Tutelle held at USTH. On the French side, the level of financial support is determined by the Doctoral school where the PhD will be registered.
Additionally, USTH offers various scholarships to PhD students who are enrolled at the university. Scholarships are as follows:
- Pathway to Success Scholarship (DS-PS) for PhD students who graduated from USTH’s Master programs and further their study in USTH’s Doctoral programs. Scholarship value is up to 100% of the tuition fee for the actual training duration at USTH (the scholarship grants for the first training year).
- Capacity Building Scholarship (DS-CS) for PhD students who are employees of VAST’s institutes and centers. Scholarship value is 50% of tuition fee for the actual training duration at USTH.
- 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 (GS) for foreign PhD students who have GPA of bachelor and master programs equivalent to 12/20 or higher. The highest scholarship value is 100% of tuition fee for the actual training duration at USTH.
- Academic Encouragement Scholarship: for PhD students with excellent academic achievements who have entered the school, Scholarship values is up to 100% of the tuition fee for the actual training duration at USTH.
USTH’s Scholarship Committee decides the list of scholarship recipients pursuant to the Regulations on awarding scholarship for USTH students.
6. Application dossier
Applicants have to submit an application dossier including the following documents:
1. Application form in English.
2. Notarized copies of degrees, certificates, transcripts of Bachelor and Master Levels.
* If the degrees, certificates and transcripts are not in English, 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 in English of the candidate.
5. Most updated résumé in English (CV) including awards and prizes (if any).
6. At least 01 Recommendation Letter (by scientists or professors and head of current employers)
7. Pre-proposal in English (A4 size, 02 pages maximum)
8. Copies of invoice, documents of payments of application fees
9. Other related documents (if any).
Templates can be downloaded HERE
* Applicants having completed their Master’s 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. Application submission time: before June 30, 2024
8. Application fee
Application fee: 1,000,000 VND/dossier (non-refundable in all cases).
9. Application dossier submission
The applicant submits the application dossier at the following address:
| Doctoral School
University of Science and Technology (USTH) Room 102, A21 Building Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi Tel: +84 247 772 7748, +84 247 774 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/envelope:
-
- Full name of applicant
- Home/mobile phone numbers, and Email address
- Application for CTP – No.
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 the following address doctoral.school@usth.edu.vn (Doctoral School), and copy to CTP@usth.edu.vn with the email title: Admission.PhD-CTP-Full name.
Applicants can contact Admissions Team at the phone numbers: +84 247 772 7748, +84 247 774 7748 (Ms Le Thi Cuc) 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