Number of PhDs decreasing due to international article barriers?

The regulations on doctoral admission and training from 2009 to present have undergone 4 amendments, supplements and changes. The 2009 regulations were amended in 2012. In 2017, a new regulation was issued, replacing the previous regulations. In 2021, the regulations on doctoral admission and training were issued, replacing the 2017 regulations.

Strict regulations, reduced number of graduate students

Among the amendments and promulgations of replacement regulations, it seems that the regulations of 2017 and 2021 have had the most impact on the number of new graduate students recruited by universities.

Although the 2017 regulations took effect from May 20, 2017, the important content regarding the publication of scientific articles in international journals by graduate students was only applied from January 1, 2019. Immediately, the number of newly recruited graduate students in 2019 decreased sharply compared to previous years.

The number of new graduate students admitted to universities in recent years is as follows:

The regulations on admission conditions, international publication of the regulations on admission and training of doctoral degrees in 2009 and 2012 were relatively relaxed, the number of new doctoral students recruited every year was very large. 2017 witnessed a historic number with more than 3,000 new doctoral students recruited. However, the number began to decrease in the following years.

The 2017 regulations set out stricter conditions for admission, supervision, and evaluation of doctoral theses. They clearly state that for courses enrolling from January 1, 2019 onwards, in order to be registered for thesis evaluation at a professional unit, doctoral students must publish at least 2 articles on the research results of their thesis.

Including 1 article published in a scientific journal in the ISI-Scopus journal list, or publishing at least 2 reports in a foreign language in the proceedings of a peer-reviewed international conference, or 2 articles published in a foreign scientific journal with peer review.

In the year this provision took effect, the number of graduate students dropped sharply. Of which, the number of public schools decreased by 31% compared to 2018, and the number of non-public schools decreased by 92%.

In the following years, the number of newly recruited graduate students gradually increased, but the number of newly recruited graduate students was still very low, only 26-27 people compared to the peak of 435 people in 2017.

Regulations "loosen", number of PhDs increases

In 2021, new regulations on doctoral training admissions were issued, replacing the 2017 regulations. The conditions for thesis evaluation at professional units are more relaxed with many alternatives, not just international articles.

Accordingly, being the main author of a scientific conference report, a scientific article published in publications in the WoS/Scopus category, or a reference book chapter issued by reputable international publishers, or an article published in domestic scientific journals is regulated by the State Council of Professors with an evaluation score of 0.75 points or higher according to the training field.

In addition, the doctoral student is also evaluated for his/her thesis if he/she is the author of a monograph published by a reputable domestic and international publisher. The publications must achieve a total score of 2.0 points or more, calculated according to the maximum score set by the State Council of Professors for each type of work, relevant and contributing significantly to the research results presented in the thesis.

Not only that, the above requirements can be replaced by evidence of being the author or co-author of: 1 research result, scientific and technological application that has been registered and granted a national or international patent; or 1 official award of a national or international competition recognized by a competent state management agency in the field of arts and sports ; related to and making an important contribution to the research results presented in the thesis.

The number of new graduate students recruited in the following years has begun to increase. In which, the number of new students recruited in 2023 is almost equal to the peak year of 2017.

In terms of doctoral training scale, 2017 is still the year with the largest training scale with more than 14,000 doctoral students.

However, 2022 is the year with the lowest scale of doctoral training in 8 years, although the number of new recruits has increased significantly compared to the previous two years. In 2023, although the number of new recruits is nearly 3,000 PhD students, the scale of doctoral training is still much lower than previous years.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/so-nguoi-lam-tien-si-giam-do-rao-can-bai-bao-quoc-te-20250526123555123.htm