ACADEMIC YEAR 2025-2026: INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY WELCOMES OVER 1,800 NEW STUDENTS
On the morning of September 5, 2025, International University – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (IU–VNU-HCM) – held the opening ceremony for the 2025–2026 academic year. In this new academic year, the university welcomes over 1,800 new students from (the former) 46 provinces and cities across the country.
Founded in December 2003, International University became the first public university in Vietnam to use English as the primary language of instruction and research. As of September 2025, the university has more than 10,000 undergraduate students and over 600 postgraduate students and doctoral candidates.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lê Văn Thăng – President of International University – delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2025–2026 academic year, expressing his heartfelt sentiments toward the new students.
In the 2025–2026 academic year, International University welcomed over 1,800 new students admitted through three different pathways: Direct Admission and Priority Admission – including direct admission and priority admission under the Ministry of Education and Training’s regulations, priority admission for excellent and talented high school students, priority admission according to VNU-HCM regulations, and admission of students graduating from international high schools. Admission based on the 2025 Competency Assessment Exam organized by VNU-HCM and . Admission based on the 2025 National High School Graduation Exam results.
In this academic year, IU has 10 faculties and 2 departments offering 23 undergraduate programs, along with 11 master’s and 5 doctoral programs.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Đinh Đức Anh Vũ – Vice president of International University, on behalf of the university, presented flowers and plaques of appreciation to the sponsors:Mr. Đặng Văn Kiên, Director of the East Saigon Branch, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Ms. Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà, Deputy Director, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) – Ho Chi Minh City Branch and Mr. Phạm Trường Thành, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Branch, Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank)
Annually, in order to encourage undergraduate and graduate students with outstanding achievements, International University allocates nearly 10 billion VND from its own budget to provide scholarships to students, graduate students, and doctoral candidates who perform well in entrance examinations as well as those with excellent academic results at the university. Scholarships are awarded based on individual academic performance and include: Full scholarships (100% tuition fee waiver – approximately 120 to 200 million VND); Partial scholarships (50% tuition fee waiver – approximately 60 to 90 million VND). In this new academic year, the university decides to award scholarships with a total value of about 7 billion VND to honor and reward the new students who achieved outstanding results in the 2025 undergraduate admission cycle.
In 2025, International University honored eight outstanding new students for their impressive achievements: Phan Vương Dạ Minh (former student of Lê Quý Đôn High School for the Gifted – formerly Bình Định, English Language major group), Nguyễn Văn Dũng (former student of Hùng Vương High School for the Gifted – formerly Bình Dương, Business – Management – Economics major group), Nguyễn Ngọc Trung Sơn (formerly student of VNU-HCM High School for the Gifted, Mathematics – Computer Science major group). Đặng Lê Trúc Linh (former student of Nguyễn Hữu Huân High School, Ho Chi Minh City, Mathematics – Computer Science major group), Nguyễn Hoàng Quyên (former student of Lê Quý Đôn High School for the Gifted – formerly Đà Nẵng, Life Sciences and Chemistry major group), Phan Huỳnh Ái Vy (former student of Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School, Ho Chi Minh City, Life Sciences and Chemistry major group), Nguyễn Vũ Hoàng Phúc (former student of Lê Hồng Phong High School for the Gifted, Engineering major group), Nguyễn Minh Quang (former student of Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School for the Gifted – formerly Sóc Trăng, Engineering major group). Among them, two students achieved the highest entrance scores and were named Top Scorers of the 2025 admissions cycle: Đặng Lê Trúc Linh with 1050/1200 points in the Competency Assessment Test organized by VNU-HCM. Nguyễn Vũ Hoàng Phúc with 28.5/30 points in the 2025 National High School Graduation Exam.
Đặng Lê Trúc Linh – former student of Nguyễn Hữu Huân High School, Ho Chi Minh City, Mathematics – Computer Science major group, 2025 Valedictorian of IU admissions with a score of 1050/1200 – delivered a speech on behalf of new students on the morning of September 5, 2025.
In particular, the opening ceremony this year featured the flag procession and the presentation of the IU traditional flag. Throughout its journey of establishment and growth, International University has continuously affirmed its position as one of Vietnam’s leading higher education institutions. The spirit of innovation and excellence in teaching, learning, and research has empowered thousands of students to soar, reach further, and affirm themselves across many fields. With this ceremony, more than 1,800 new students officially became members of International University (VNU-HCM), intake of 2025.
The honor of raising the traditional flag of International University was given to the valedictorian of the 2024 graduating class, Engineer Lưu Nguyễn Minh Thư, top graduate of the School of Industrial Engineering and Management. Minh Thư then handed the flag over to Đặng Lê Trúc Linh and Nguyễn Vũ Hoàng Phúc—the two top incoming freshmen of 2025.
The passing of the traditional flag marked the official start of the academic year—a symbolic reminder of the responsibility to uphold and continue IU’s values built over more than two decades.
With the academic year’s theme, “Youth Aspiration – Shaping the Future,” the new students will continue to write the brilliant chapters of youth—daring to dream, daring to aspire, and daring to act. Their youth is a powerful source of energy to create the future, not only for themselves but also for the nation and the world.
After 22 years of establishment and development, International University has become one of the most prestigious public universities in Vietnam’s higher education system, with academic programs accredited by international standards such as the ASEAN University Network – Quality Assurance (AUN-QA), the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the Accreditation Agency for Study Programs in Engineering, Informatics, Natural Sciences and Mathematics (ASIIN), the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), and the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA). International University has been institutionally accredited by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET, 2016), AUN-QA (2018), and ASIIN (2023). In 2022, it was recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training as one of seven universities in Vietnam that meet international education standards.