Social Science Research Council

The Interdisciplinary Social Science Research Training Program, a collaboration between the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) (formerly the National Center for Social Sciences and Humanities)* in Hanoi and the SSRC, was established to help meet the current need to accelerate social science training in Vietnam. The first year of the program started in 2002. The training activities are conceived as an interim and time-bound step toward expanding social science capacity in Vietnam by 1) making social science training and research opportunities available to those who cannot go abroad and 2) creating a stronger pool of applicants to take advantage of existing scholarships for advanced studies in Vietnam and abroad.

In the long term, the goal of the program is to contribute to the development of improved curricula and degree programs in Vietnamese universities and research institutes and to build institutional capacity that will nurture social sciences in Vietnam.

The year-long in-country interdisciplinary training program emphasizes core social science concepts, theories, and research methods through an issue-based examination of practical challenges facing developing countries and through guided practice in research and fieldwork. Participants also receive English training during the course. The 40 participants come from positions directly engaged in one or more aspects of social research, teaching, program implementation, coordination, or social policy-making throughout Vietnam. A staff of international and Vietnamese professors teach in the program.

The Interdisciplinary Social Science Research Training Program is funded by the Ford Foundation.

* The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences officially changed from the name "NCSSH" in February of 2004.