Circular 54/2026/TT-BGDĐT · Training-program standards and approval
What this means for you
- Bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs need the applicable standards and development, appraisal and implementation decisions.
- A foreign-issued program must not fall below the corresponding Vietnamese entry, outcome and quality requirements.
- Match learning outcomes, workload and assessment before agreeing credits. A US credit is not automatically interchangeable with a Vietnamese credit.
- Program approval does not itself authorize every online mode, teaching site or foreign partnership.
Questions about how this applies to your institution? Talk it through with a USVN senior advisor.
The detail
1. The rule and its status
Higher-education programs must meet the applicable program standards and pass the correct development, appraisal and implementation-approval process. In force: issued and effective June 30, 2026. Official signed Vietnamese text, Articles 1 and 24.
2. Who it affects and what it means for a US school
The circular covers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs, including standards, design, appraisal, issuance, delivery, quality improvement, approval and suspension. Article 1(4) expressly addresses foreign institutions/branches permitted in Vietnam and foreign-linked programs awarding a foreign qualification: the foreign issuer's rules and applicable law govern development and delivery, but entry, outcome and quality requirements may not fall below the corresponding Vietnamese standards. This is not a blanket exemption for a US degree.
Treaty-established providers follow the treaty/agreement where it addresses the matter; otherwise this circular applies. Specialist postgraduate medical qualifications excluded by Article 1(3) need their own analysis. Credit comparisons require care: Article 2(4) defines a credit as 45–50 sixty-minute hours of learner workload, including guided independent study and assessment; a US semester credit is not automatically interchangeable.
3. What to do, by partnership model
- Recruitment: verify the Vietnamese program's implementation approval, scope and published curriculum before describing it as an authorized pathway.
- 2+2/3+1: compare outcomes, workload and assessment, and agree remaining requirements. Combine this analysis with Circular 52's applicable credit-recognition rules rather than matching course titles alone.
- Dual degree and joint program: identify each issuer's standards, internal appraisal and implementation decision. Article 1(4)'s quality floor remains relevant to a foreign award; separate foreign-cooperation authorization must also be established.
- Online/blended: show how mode-specific teaching, assessment, resources and support achieve outcomes; this circular's program approval does not by itself expand the modes permitted under other rules.
- Branch campus: maintain the licensed institutional/program scope, foreign-issuer compliance and corresponding Vietnamese quality floor. Read alongside Decree 361 and Circular 07 where applicable.
For programs within the domestic approval allocation, Article 17 reserves teacher-training, health and law programs at all three levels, specified doctoral fields, and doctoral programs at institutions not meeting Article 18(2), to the Minister. Article 18 otherwise assigns implementation approval to the institution's head within its licensed scope, with conditions for new doctoral programs. Do not apply this domestic allocation as conclusive proof of the approval route for every foreign-linked program. Articles 15–16 require program appraisal and evaluation of delivery capacity before implementation; Articles 20–23 address continuing review, oversight and disclosure.
4. Change history
Article 24 replaces Circulars 17/2021, 35/2021, 02/2022 and 12/2024. The official final clauses, pages 23–24, identify these earlier instruments. Article 25 preserves already approved programs, requires comprehensive review within 36 months, sets a 24-month update period after a later field/group standard, preserves specified pending opening applications under 02/2022 as amended, and protects students already enrolled. New teacher-training, health, law and doctoral programs built after the effective date have the stated new approval requirements. A review transition is not permission to launch a new program without approval.
5. Sources and verification
Official signed text · Official Gazette record
Last verified: 2026-10-21. English explanation; the official Vietnamese text controls.
6. Related pages
Articulation · 2027 classification · University Atlas · Joint-program rules · Keuka case.
7. Briefing and legal note
Not legal advice. Prepare a briefing with a USVN senior advisor using the award issuer, field, level, mode, intake and implementation approval to identify the correct approval and quality checks.
For general information only, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with qualified counsel and the relevant Vietnamese authorities before acting.