Vietnam National University to abridge bachelor's programs to 2.5-3 years

But it has not yet announced when the new model will be implemented or in which majors.

While the total number of credits will remain unchanged, the structure of the curriculum will be reorganized so that the best students can graduate faster.

The duration will be three years with three semesters a year instead of the current four years with two semesters each.

Students will be allowed to personalize their academic progress to shorten their study period.

Besides, general and political theory courses will be taught in Vietnamese while most subjects related to their majors and graduation theses will be entirely in English to prepare students for international working environments.

Students will also be encouraged to engage in scientific research early by joining lecturer-led groups.

To enable graduation within three years, digital technologies will be adopted, especially AI. Various learning formats will be used, including in-person, online, group work, supervised self-study, and fully individualized plans based on each student's ability.

Capable students can thus obtain a bachelor's degree in just 2.5 years and directly enter doctoral programs.

VNU already has the "VNU 12+" program to nurture gifted high school students in basic sciences, providing participants with career orientation, early research experience, and some university-level courses to shorten their studies subsequently.

Globally, similar models exist.

At Tsinghua University in China, exceptional students can begin studying at 13–14 years old, complete a bachelor's degree by 16–18 and get a PhD by 20.

VNU Hanoi is a public research university with 12 member universities and is among the largest higher education institutions in Vietnam.

According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings released in April, VNU was in Asia's 501–600 group.

In the QS World University Rankings by Subject released in March by higher education analytics Quacquarelli Symonds, it ranked 451–500 globally in engineering & technology and 351–400 in mathematics.