Details of the regulation on postgraduate admission and training under Circular No. 53/2026/TT-BGDDT

On June 30, 2026, the Ministry of Education and Training officially issued Circular No. 53/2026/TT-BGDDT, providing detailed regulations on the Regulation on Postgraduate Admission and Training (Master's and Doctoral levels). This landmark document completely replaces the previous Circular No. 23/2021/TT-BGDĐT and Circular No. 18/2021/TT-BGDĐT.

I. General information

Target audience: Applicable to admission cohorts announced from January 1, 2027.

Specific note for the Medical and Pharmaceutical sector: This Regulation does not apply to specialized postgraduate medical training programs leading to degrees such as Resident Physician or Specialist Physician (these programs are governed by specific regulations of the Ministry of Health).

Transitional provisions: Cohorts admitted before January 1, 2027, will continue under the old regulations. Foreign language certificates obtained under the old regulations can still be used until December 31, 2027.

II. Regulations on training timeframes

The training duration is tightly managed and standardized between the two levels of study (calculated from the date of the admission decision to the completion of all graduation requirements):

III. Flexible Inter-level articulation and credit transfer mechanism

The new regulation opens up opportunities to optimize learning pathways through the recognition of prior accumulated credits:

General transfer cap: The total amount of recognized transferred learning volume must not exceed 40% of the total volume of the training program (except for special integrated/articulated programs).

Advanced credit accumulation for undergraduate students: Pharmacy students with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of Good or higher can register to take certain Master's courses in advance (not exceeding 40% of the program's volume).

Advanced credit accumulation for Master's students: Master's students who have accumulated 40% of the program's volume and achieved an Excellent grade can register to take certain Doctoral courses in advance (not exceeding 25% of the program's volume).

IV. Detailed regulations by training level

1. For Master's degree training in Pharmacy

Admission: Open to individuals who have graduated or are eligible to graduate with a Bachelor's degree. Applicants must meet the entry foreign language proficiency standard of at least Level 3 according to the 6-level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework for Vietnam (or equivalent).

Application of information technology: Course assessments may be conducted online but must not exceed 30% of the total learning volume (except for force majeure circumstances such as natural disasters or epidemics).

Thesis committee: The thesis topic must be supervised by a lecturer meeting professional standards. The Master's thesis defense committee must consist of at least 03 members.

2. For Doctoral degree training in Pharmacy (PhD Candidates)

Supervisor standards: Supervisors must hold the title of Professor (GS), Associate Professor (PGS), or a Doctorate degree in a relevant field. Additionally, they must demonstrate strong research capability through international scientific publications (WoS or Scopus indexed) within the last 05 years. Each PhD candidate can have a maximum of 02 supervisors.

Dissertation & international publication standards: The dissertation must ensure novelty, academic value, and especially academic integrity. Pharmacy PhD candidates must be the main author of international publications indexed in WoS/Scopus or highly reputable international reference book chapters to be eligible for defense.

Independent peer-review process: This is a mandatory step before defending before the Institutional Committee. The dissertation must receive approval from at least 2/3 of the independent reviewers.

Defense committee: Consists of at least 05 members, in which external members (outside the training institution) must account for at least 40% to ensure objectivity.

V. Regulations on joint training and digital governance

Domestic joint training: The host institution must directly deliver at least 50% of the total learning volume of the program.

International joint training: The foreign partner must be accredited in its home country, assign foreign lecturers to directly teach at least 25% of the program volume, and the output standards must not be lower than Vietnam's regulations.

Digitalized management: Higher education institutions are required to build digital student data management models to facilitate post-audits, and publicly disclose information regarding topics, supervisors, and research results on the university's official portal.

For the full text of the Ministry of Education and Training's document, please click here: Circular No. 53/2026/TT-BGDDT.