Over 100,000 Vietnamese students studied abroad in 49 countries and territories in 2011, according to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET).

Students of Education First on graduation day 

Of the total, around 90% of students pursued overseas training programmes based on their own funding, a 10-fold increase compared to a decade ago.

Sharp rise in number of Vietnamese students in the US

Vietnamese student numbers in the US rocketed in 2011 to 14,888 people. The country became the second most popular overseas study destinations after Australia, with 25,000 Vietnamese students.

They were followed by China with 12,500, Singapore with 7,000, France with 5,540 students, Russia with 5,000 and Japan with 3,500 students.

Last year, many universities in the US listed Vietnam as among one of the fastest emerging markets in terms of student attraction.

The US’ Open Doors 2011 report showed that the number of Vietnamese students in the country increased by 14% during the 2010-2011 academic year.

Vietnam ranks eighth among countries and territories sending students to the US, a considerable increase compared to the 20th place five years ago.

Around 72.1% of Vietnamese students in the US pursued tertiary education, 15.2% attended post-graduate programmes, 9.9% studied at other education levels and 2.8% followed vocational training programmes.

Changes in subjects

Nguyen Thi Thanh Tri, a co-ordinator for the International Student Exchange Programme, said more and more students opt to study at high schools in the US.

“Many parents think that sending their children to study at high schools in the US might lay good foundations for their tertiary education,” Tri shared.

According to Tri, there had been a change in the subjects students have chosen to study. Increasingly large numbers of students have decided to register for majors in finance, banking, information technology and bio-chemistry, instead of business administration as previously.

The same situation is recorded among Vietnamese students in other countries in the world.

Nguyen Xuan Vang, Director of the MoET’s Vietnam International Education Development said privately-funded students who study abroad often prefer majors in economics and finance, while those who benefit from State-funding often choose technical, technology and management majors.