Why
CET Vietnam students come from many different academic backgrounds but are all motivated to explore international development in their own way. With Vietnamese language classes to help you connect with the local community and culture, a Traveling Seminar to bring academic concepts to life, and electives that let you customize your focus, learning about development isn’t confined to the classroom in Vietnam.
Semester
Snapshot
- Recommended Credits: 15
- Customizable curriculum
- Option to pursue an internship or research project
- Traveling Seminar around northern & central Vietnam
- Diverse English-taught elective options
- Host University: University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City (UEH)
Curriculum & Syllabi
You take one 3-credit core course, 3 or 9 credits of Vietnamese language, and one or three 3-credit electives to meet the total of 15 recommended credits.
You take this 3-credit core course where you connect global issues to local realities:
If you want to take 3 credits of Vietnamese language, you are placed into one of these courses:
- HC/LANG 100 Beginning Vietnamese
- HC/LANG 150 Elementary High Vietnamese
- HC/LANG 200 Intermediate Vietnamese
- HC/LANG 250 Intermediate High Vietnamese
- HC/LANG 300 Advanced Vietnamese
If you want to take 9 credits of Vietnamese language, you are placed into one of these courses:
- HC/LANG 110 Beginning Vietnamese (Intensive)
- HC/LANG 160 Elementary High Vietnamese (Intensive)
- HC/LANG 210 Intermediate Vietnamese (Intensive)
- HC/LANG 260 Intermediate High Vietnamese (Intensive)
- HC/LANG 310 Advanced Vietnamese (Intensive)
Are you a heritage learner? We can accommodate you! Language classes can be tailored to meet the specific needs of Vietnamese language heritage speakers.
Add one or three 3-credit electives to your course load to meet the total 15 recommended credits.
Study Development Your Way
Choose how much Vietnamese language you want to study. Dive into engaging courses in topics like media or diaspora studies, or learn about public health in an emerging nation. Interested in a more hands-on experience? Build your résumé with an internship at a local organization, or sharpen your analytical skills through Directed Research. No matter how you choose to tailor your curriculum, classroom concepts are connected to your surroundings with engaging coursework, field-based components, and program-sponsored travel around the country.
Traveling Seminar: Connecting the Dots
Day 1: Travel to Hanoi. Visit the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) compound and learn about local engagement projects.
Day 2: Day trip to the scenic city of Ninh Binh.
Day 3: Head to iSee, a local organization that does advocacy work for gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and cultural preservation.
Day 4: Return to the UNDP compound for a new initiative launch. Travel to Hue.
Day 5: Meet with iDE staff, a non-profit that creates livelihood opportunities for poor rural households.
Day 6: Discuss social innovation at The Peaceful Bamboo Family, a living community and vocational training center for young adults living with disabilities. Travel to Hoi An.
Day 7: Learn about sustainability efforts at An Nhien Farm, then head to a cooking class.
Day 8: Enjoy free time by exploring town by bike or visiting An Bang Beach.
Internships
Adaptability, international experience, and cross-cultural teamwork; these are not just buzzwords rattled off in job interviews. Pursuing an internship allows you to develop these skills and become an integral team member of a local organization. We work with public, private, and non-profit organizations throughout the city to create sustainable internship placements, where your work builds on that of your predecessors.
Heritage Students Welcome
"I truly felt like more than just a tourist in Vietnam. I've had a fulfilling experience in this country, and I feel that I've had a comprehensive look into the culture. It was great to learn about mroe than what meets the eye in Vietnam, especially past the curtain of tourism."
University of Michigan | Spring 2018
& Meals
- Program House
- Off-campus housing
- Live with CET peers & local roommates
- 2 people/room and bathroom
- Communal kitchen and dining space, in-unit washer/dryer, shared bathrooms
- Wifi, A/C, bed linens, towels, basic furnishing, kitchenware, in-room mini fridge
You’ll share a room and bathroom with a local roommate at the CET program house in District 1—the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. The program house is your home in the big city, filled with classmates and other local roommates to chat with or share a meal. Your neighborhood is largely residential, with many local families around. And within a 5-minute walk, you can find everything you need—24-hour convenience stores, smoothie shops, small restaurants, pharmacies, and supermarkets.
Local Roommates
Your roommate is a local student handpicked by the program’s resident director. Want to learn which neighborhood hangout has the best Vietnamese coffee? Whether to take a bus or flight for your weekend trip? Need to know which apps to download to navigate the city efficiently? Sharing a room with a local roommate gives you instant insider’s access to the city, as well as someone who can provide perspective on modern Vietnamese culture.
Eating in Ho Chi Minh City
For meals, choose from hundreds of nearby restaurants, cafés, and street vendors. Local dining options range from simple to fancy, and include Vietnamese, American, and other international cuisine. Don’t forget to check out the che (sweet soybean desserts) or a fresh smoothie on your way home! Feeling like a home-cooked meal? Pick up ingredients at the supermarket and have a night in with your roommates.
Life in
- Population: 8.637 million
- Local Currency: Vietnamese Dong
- Famous for: Colonial architecture, rapid development, a busy calendar of events for art and culture, bubble tea, Vietnam's financial and business hub
Enjoy the city’s fast-paced, but unpretentious vibe. While exploring the city’s 24 districts, you’re as likely to stumble across a modern art space as you are a Buddhist temple. On any given night, you can go shopping in one of the city’s outdoor markets or chat with a street vendor selling bun cha (grilled pork and noodles). And when the weekend comes, head out to the plentiful mountains, highlands, deltas, and coastlines surrounding your urban “home away from home.”
Activities & Excursions
Around Ho Chi Minh City
Each term, the program offers different extra-curricular activities that allow you to explore HCMC and Vietnamese culture. Make traditional handicrafts for charity. Settle in for movie night on the guesthouse rooftop. Play a pick-up soccer game with roommates. Follow a local expert on a food tour of the historical city center. And there’s even more to see on your own—hunt for the best banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) with your roommate, stroll the Botanical Gardens, or get a group together for a night of karaoke.
Meet the Mekong
Witness changes brought on by development firsthand (by boat and on foot!) as you learn about disappearing traditional trades and the flight of youth from rural to urban areas. Head to a cacao farm to learn about efforts to revive the industry, then go on a food tasting tour. Explore sustainable tourism in the region after watching the sunrise over the floating market. Reflect on your time in the Mekong River Delta over a campfire on the last night. It’s a full weekend and it’s on us—just pack your bags.
"I had never taken Vietnamese in a classroom before, and I realized how much I care about my family's language and how fast I could progress given the opportunity. My time abroad really helped me start to reflect upon and grow my relationship to my family's homeland, which I'm grateful for."
Brown University | Spring 2018
On-site Staff
Peter Nguyen
Program Director
Vu Ho
Resident Director
Program
Spring/Fall 2020
|
$17,990
Spring/Fall 2020: $17,990
Of the total program fee, $15,490 goes to tuition and fees, and $2,500 goes to housing and other related costs.
All of your classes and program-related learning are included with your tuition.
If you choose to intern while in Vietnam, we help you land the internship and make sure you’re prepared. And after you get started, we stay in touch with your host organization to provide support all semester long.
We arrange for you to live in the guesthouse with a local roommate. Your program fees go toward rent, furnishing, and other management costs.
From pre-departure to orientation, from on site to re-entry, CET provides you with the support you need every step of the way.
You’re provided with a comprehensive insurance plan through GeoBlue that even includes medical evacuation coverage.
The activities and excursions that we arrange are included in your program fee. All you need to do is remember to bring your camera!
We process your multiple-entry visa in Washington, DC, and cover the fees for you.
Your textbooks and course supplies are covered and waiting for you on site.
You receive an official transcript jointly issued by CET and UEH at the end of the term. You also have the option to request a School of Record transcript from the University of Minnesota for an additional fee if necessary.
Estimated
Out-of-Pocket
Costs
- Round-trip Airfare: $900 - $1,150
- Meals: $1,100
- Personal Expenses: $700
- Open to students from any US college or university
- GPA: 3.0 or higher preferred, but admissions decisions are made on a case-by-case basis; lower GPAs still encouraged to apply
- Open to all levels of Vietnamese, from absolute beginner to advanced to heritage learner
Complete the application through your online CET account. This is a brief form that asks for basic information and has a few short answer questions about why you want to study abroad.
Use the link in your online account to send a recommendation request to one of your previous or current instructors.
This is an online form that your study abroad office completes to let us know you meet the requirements to study abroad. To send the electronic form request, simply enter the name and email address of your study abroad advisor in the designated fields of your online account.
Your online CET account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.
Spring deadline:
November 1st
Fall deadline:
May 1st
Price Subject to Change:
CET reserves the right to increase quoted charges at any time without prior notification, based on increased instruction costs, exchange rate fluctuation or other cost increases beyond CET’s control.