Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BGDĐT Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Master's Degree Training Regulation issued together with Decision No. 45/2008/QĐ-BGDĐT dated August 5, 2008 of the Minister of Education and Training.

CIRCULAR

Clause 4 of Article 6Amending and supplementing certain articles of the Master's Degree Training Regulation issued together with Decision No. 45/2008/QĐ-BGDĐT dated August 5, 2008 of the Minister of Education and Training, as follows:

1. Point a Clause 2 Article 10 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“a) Foreign language subject:

- Based on the requirements of the training program and the ability to meet the foreign language proficiency level before defending the master's thesis as stipulated in Clause 4 Article 39 of the Master's Degree Training Regulation issued together with Decision No. 45/2008/QĐ-BGDĐT dated August 5, 2008 of the Minister of Education and Training, the head of the training institution shall specify the foreign language subject in the admission process and the foreign language proficiency level for applicants according to each major and specialty;

- The head of the training institution shall decide to exempt the foreign language examination for the following cases:

+ Hold a bachelor's degree in foreign languages; or hold a bachelor's degree from a foreign country; or hold a bachelor's degree from Vietnam where the specialized curriculum is taught in a foreign language without translation;

+ Hold a foreign language certificate from reputable domestic foreign language training institutions, international language testing centers with authority, requiring an English proficiency level of TOEFL ITP 400, TOEFL iBT 32, or IELTS 4.0 or higher or equivalent; or hold a certificate of other foreign languages at Level B within two years from the date of issuance of the certificate to the date of the master's degree training admission test;

- Applicants for master's degree training in foreign language specialties must take a second foreign language examination as specified by the head of the training institution.”

2. Clause 1 Article 33 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“1. Candidates must achieve a score of 5 or above out of 10 in basic and foundational subjects. The foreign language subject must meet the requirements set by the head of the training institution.”

3. The second bullet point under Point a Clause 1 Article 37 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“- Foreign language subject: The head of the training institution shall determine the amount of supplementary study time to allow students to refer to specialized materials for learning and scientific exchange.”

4. Point a Clause 4 Article 39 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“a) Meeting the English proficiency requirement with one of the following certificates or diplomas:

- Achieving a TOEFL ITP 450, TOEFL iBT 45, or IELTS 4.5 or higher or equivalent within two years from the date of issuance of the certificate;

- Holding a bachelor's degree in English, a bachelor's degree from a foreign country where English is the language of instruction, or a bachelor's degree from Vietnam where the specialized curriculum is taught in English without translation.

For candidates applying for master's degree training in English specialties, the head of the training institution shall specify the required foreign language proficiency level before defending the master's thesis.”

Article 2. Amendments and supplements regarding terminology: Replace the phrase "English subject" with "foreign language subject" in Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 33 of the Master's Degree Training Regulation issued together with Decision No. 45/2008/QĐ-BGDĐT dated August 5, 2008 of the Minister of Education and Training.

Article 3. Abolish Article 46 and Clause 6 Article 47 of the Master's Degree Training Regulation issued together with Decision No. 45/2008/QĐ-BGDĐT dated August 5, 2008 of the Minister of Education and Training.

Article 4. This Circular takes effect from June 8, 2009. Any previous regulations that conflict with this Circular are abolished.

Article 5. The Head of the Office, the Director of the Higher Education Department, the heads of relevant units under the Ministry of Education and Training, and the heads of educational institutions offering master's degree training are responsible for implementing this Circular./.