Viet Nam: Culture and Development

Beginning Spring 2010, this program will be titled:

Viet Nam: National Development and Globalization


Program Overview


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The SIT Viet Nam: Culture and Development study abroad program examines economic and social development patterns in the cultural context of one of Southeast Asia's most fascinating and rapidly changing countries. After emerging from decades of war and isolation, Viet Nam today is experiencing tremendous growth and, over the last decade, has boasted one of the strongest economies in Asia. Concurrent with this growth, the country has been wrestling with critical issues such as sustainable resource management, intense urbanization, changing family and marriage patterns, and integration with global networks and institutions.

Students in the Viet Nam: Culture and Development program examine these trends firsthand. Through interdisciplinary coursework, field study, and complementary educational excursions led by academic and community experts, students learn about Viet Nam's history, social characteristics, and recent economic development trends.  Intensive language study and meaningful homestays, in two distinct regions, further facilitate deep cultural immersion and cross cultural learning.

Field study outside the program base is an essential component of this program. In most semesters, program participants are able to examine Viet Nam's different cultural contexts and development processes in four distinct regions: Southern, Central, and Northern Vietnam as well as the Central Highlands. Topics for inquiry in a field-study context include:

  • Examining the challenges of sustainable development and current strategies for rural development in the Mekong Delta and the Red River Delta
  • Exploring the effects of war, development, and tourism on Viet Nam's rich but increasingly fragile heritage through travel to Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, the ancient streets of Hoi An, and the old imperial citadel of Hue
  • Studying key social issues including internal migration, domestic violence, and community outreach toward Vietnamese suffering from HIV/AIDS, in An Giang  (Mekong Delta region), Ho Chi Minh City, or Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam's commercial and cultural center, serves as the program base and is where students begin their thematic coursework, field study seminar, and language instruction. As the country's most populous metropolitan area, Ho Chi Minh City serves as an exceptional location to examine Viet Nam's rapid pace of urbanization.

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research