Super rare: 25-year-old female student gets PhD after 3.5 years of study

(Dan Tri) - From an excellent student, graduating a year early and being the valedictorian of the National Economics University, in 2021, Tran Thuy Linh was given special permission to study for a doctorate when she was not yet 21 years old. This year, Linh received her doctorate degree.

Previously, Thuy Linh won the national excellent student award and was admitted directly to the National Economics University.

Linh was also an excellent valedictorian of Hanoi . In 2021, thanks to her outstanding achievements in studying and researching, she was given special permission to study directly for a PhD in International Economics without having to go through a master's degree.

Linh is also a young researcher who received the VinIF scholarship in 2024 for excellent doctoral students and possesses an impressive list of achievements: Third prize for scientific research students at the school level, the title of "5 Good Students of the Capital", main author of 2 scientific articles within the maximum score frame of the State Council of Professors, along with many research works, ministerial and school-level topics and reports at international conferences.

Tran Thuy Linh was given special permission to study for a doctorate without having to go through a master's degree (Photo: Provided by the school).

According to Thuy Linh, successfully defending her thesis and receiving her doctorate degree is the most emotional milestone in her research journey.

“Like other graduate students, I feel very happy when my “brainchild” - the thesis after going through a long and difficult process - is completed and recognized by the council,” Linh said.

However, I think that above all, it is gratitude. “My starting point is later than that of my fellow PhD students because I went from undergraduate to PhD. Therefore, both my knowledge and experience are still young.

“I have reached the finish line, all thanks to the teachers’ dedicated guidance, encouragement and instruction. My respect and gratitude for the teachers’ efforts are difficult to express in words,” Linh said.

Sharing about the important factor that helped her complete the program while still ensuring the quality and depth of research, Thuy Linh said that she remembered in the first lesson of the doctoral class, the teacher said that the best thesis is the one that is completed on time.

She believes that defending a thesis and receiving a doctorate is not the final destination but only the starting point of a path of independent research.

A thesis will still have limitations and will be considered "satisfactory" when it meets the basic requirements set out in regulations, follows the correct procedures and is on time.

Linh believes that receiving a doctorate degree is not the final destination but the beginning of a research path (Photo: Provided by the school).

This is the foundation for developing more in-depth and valuable research in the future. Therefore, for Linh, the most important thing is to be steadfast in her goals, trying to complete each section of the thesis on schedule with a spirit of learning and discipline.

Sharing about this challenging academic journey, Linh said: “This is truly a challenging academic journey, even at times extremely confusing and deadlocked. But my supervisor always said: “It’s okay, just keep going and you will get there.” I believe that as long as you don’t give up and keep exploring, your doctoral studies will eventually reach the finish line successfully.”

It is known that Linh is working at a research institute. She hopes that working and researching at the same time will help her have the opportunity to connect theory and practice, and see more clearly the role of scientific research in policy making.

At first, Linh had a hard time because she had to worry about graduating, working, and going to school to complete her PhD.

Therefore, Linh must spend all her time during the week to focus on working - studying - researching and must set specific deadlines for each goal, and discipline herself to meet the specified deadlines.

Later, after completing all the courses, Linh had more time to focus on reading, thinking and starting to write her thesis.

“Of course, I still have time for myself and my family, but sometimes I feel sad when I see my peers having the opportunity to explore here and there.

I understand that I need to try harder because I still have many shortcomings. I believe that every experience is valuable with its own unique mark,” Linh shared.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/sieu-hiem-nu-sinh-25-tuoi-lay-bang-tien-sy-sau-35-nam-hoc-20251023112408694.htm