Ho Chi Minh City Open University

Ho Chi Minh City Open University (HCMCOU) is a public higher education institution founded in 1990. Our mission is to implement open education, to create equity for everyone in access to higher education, to contribute to building a learning society, and to improve knowledge and workplace competencies for learners in flexible, convenient, and effective ways. Our vision is to become a multiversity, focusing on open, practice-oriented, and advanced education.

In 2024, we are among the 13 universities in Viet Nam in THE (Times Higher Education) Impact Ranking. We are also ranked among the top 1,201-1,500 universities worldwide in THE World Universities Rankings 2025, and among the top 701-750 in QS Asia Rankings 2025. We have 7 campuses with nearly 35,000 undergraduate students, 1,195 graduate students, and 832 academic and support staff. We were institutionally accredited by MOET (Viet Nam Ministry of Education and Training) in 2017 and renewed in 2023.

We are proud to be members of open education and quality assurance organizations such as ICDE (International Council for Open and Distance Education), QM (Quality Matters), AAOU (Asian Association of Open University), AUN (ASEAN University Network), and SEAMEO-SEP (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization - Sufficient Economic Philosophy). We also join various Erasmus+ projects (3 KA1 and 5 KA2).

We offer multidisciplinary programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels with diversified study modes: full-time learning, part-time learning, distance learning, and online learning. In 2020, we were honored to be among the 8 universities nominated for the "Times Higher Education Awards Asia" for the "Teaching and Learning Strategy of the Year". With 13 faculties and schools in business and economics, engineering and technology, social sciences and humanities, we offer 32 bachelor's programs, 12 bachelor's advanced programs, 18 online bachelor’s programs, 12 master's programs, and 8 doctoral programs. We also have various joint programs with international partners, including 7 bachelor's programs, 4 master's programs, and 1 doctoral program. Among them, 36 programs have been internationally and nationally accredited (13 by FIBAA, 4 by AUN-QA, and 19 by MOET).

Apart from teaching, HCMCOU also has a solid research capacity. In recent years, MOET has enlisted us among the top 10 universities for research publications in WoS (Web of Science). In 2024, we ranked 16th in Viet Nam in SCImago Institutions Ranking, 16th in Viet Nam and 112th South East Asia in Webometrics. In 2024, we ranked 2nd in Viet Nam, 105th in the Asiatic Region in Economics, Econometrics, Finance and Education, and 410th in the world in SCImago Institutions Ranking. In 2024, we are among the top 5 universities in Viet Nam in Economics, Econometrics and Finance; Business, Management and Accounting; Social Sciences; Computer Science; and Mathematics in SCImago Institutions Ranking.

We are among the first universities to implement the LMS (Learning Management System) since the early 2000s. In 2015, we initiated the first steps to build our online learning ecosystem in all areas, such as research, software, and the development of teaching and learning content suitable for online and blended learning. In 2019, we were granted the national research project on e-learning. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020, within 2 weeks, all our classes went online with almost no disruption. With our bold leap toward quality digital education, in 2023, we are QM’s first-ever member institution in Viet Nam to receive the "Making a Difference for Students Award" as the recognition of our commitment to improvements in course design and delivery. Nearly 9,500 online learners are following our bachelor's programs in 18 majors, and online learning has been integrated into most of our full-time courses.