The case of the doctoral thesis accused of plagiarism: The evaluation council rated it as average

(Dan Tri) - Most members of the council evaluated the doctoral thesis of a former graduate student of the University of Science, Hue University, as average and recommended accepting and correcting the errors pointed out.

On the afternoon of July 1st, Associate Professor, Dr. Vo Thanh Tung, Rector of the University of Science , confirmed that he had forwarded the entire conclusion of the Council's re-evaluation of the doctoral dissertation of Ms. LTAH (currently working at the Hue Ancient Citadel Conservation Center) to Hue University.

Previously, on May 22nd, the council responsible for reviewing Ms. H.'s doctoral dissertation, established by the Director of Hue University (consisting of 7 members), held a meeting at the University of Science. One member was absent from the meeting due to business travel.

The doctoral dissertation of a former graduate student from the University of Science, Hue University, is accused of plagiarism (Photo: Provided by a citizen).

According to the evaluation committee's conclusion, one member stated that Ms. H.'s dissertation did not meet the standards of a doctoral dissertation if the plagiarized sections were removed. The other five members assessed the dissertation as achieving 55-60% quality.

During the deliberation, 5 out of 6 members of the council disagreed with approving the dissertation unless the doctoral candidate LTAH incorporated, revised, and supplemented the dissertation according to the council's feedback.

The committee members urged the doctoral candidate to be receptive, seriously consider the feedback, and correct the errors pointed out in the dissertation.

The committee members unanimously agreed that, after removing plagiarism and duplication, the content in Chapters 2 and 3 of the dissertation still had scientific significance, demonstrating the effort and contribution of the doctoral candidate. The plagiarism and duplication were concentrated in Chapter 4, so the scientific and theoretical value in this chapter was almost negated.

These members rated the thesis as average; however, they did not provide a specific assessment of the percentage of plagiarism.

One member disagreed with the thesis approval because it did not meet the requirements.

Previously, as reported by Dan Tri newspaper , on December 10, 2024, the Ministry of Education and Training sent a document to Hue University after receiving a report on the results of resolving a complaint related to the doctoral thesis of Ms. LTAH, a former doctoral student in 2013, specializing in Vietnamese History, Faculty of Science, Hue University.

After reviewing the conclusions of the complaint resolution, the Ministry of Education and Training requested Hue University to re-evaluate the content of Ms. H.'s dissertation, and then determine the appropriate disciplinary action.

If the dissertation no longer meets the requirements of a doctoral dissertation, Hue University needs to consider the responsibility of the committee that approved it.

Following instructions from the Ministry of Education and Training, Hue University established a council to re-evaluate Ms. H.'s doctoral dissertation, consisting of 7 members.

To ensure objectivity, all members of the council remain anonymous.

After receiving the conclusions of the review board for Ms. H.'s doctoral dissertation from the University of Science, Hue University, a report was submitted to the Ministry of Education and Training for consideration.

According to Dr. Le Van Tuong Lan, Head of the Training and Student Affairs Department at Hue University, the unit is awaiting the final conclusion from the Ministry of Education and Training before taking further action.

According to an investigation by Dan Tri reporters, the thesis in question is titled "History of Vietnam: The Formation, Development and Transformation of Royal Court Festivals in Hue from 1802 to 1945," and was defended in March 2018.

After verification, Hue University concluded that the plagiarism complaint regarding the dissertation was true. Many sections and ideas in the dissertation used concepts and passages similar to those in published works by others, but the author failed to cite the sources.

The plagiarism in Ms. H.'s dissertation was identified as spanning 12 pages. The author also made errors regarding historical sources.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/vu-luan-an-tien-si-bi-to-dao-van-hoi-dong-danh-gia-dat-muc-trung-binh-20250701170409571.htm