Won a PhD scholarship after 4 years of parallel bachelor's and master's studies

It took Tra My four years to complete her bachelor's and master's degrees, before she was awarded a full PhD scholarship by Deakin University at the age of 22.

Le Nguyen Tra My graduated with honors from the Master of Strategic Communication Management program at Monash University, Australia, in September with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.75/4. Two months later, she received a full PhD scholarship, including tuition, living expenses and insurance, worth VND4 billion, from Deakin University.

"My excellent," said Ms. Vo Nguyen Thu, Director of Admissions at Deakin University in Vietnam and Cambodia, adding that to pursue a PhD, students must have good results in their master's degree, good English, and a thesis topic that is relevant to the school's orientation.

Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, PhD in Economics at the University of Technology Sydney, President of the Vietnamese Students Association in Australia, also acknowledged that to receive a full PhD scholarship like My, academic ability must be outstanding.

"Since I decided to pursue a PhD, My has proactively asked for advice from seniors and worked hard to achieve this goal," said Mr. Dat.

Tra My received her master's degree from Monash University in September 2023. Photo: Provided by the character

In 2019, My studied Communications at Monash University, one of the top 8 universities in Australia. During the three years, the former Literature major at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted only studied the first and last semesters in Australia, and returned to Vietnam to study online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At home, she has a lot of time and is quiet, so My concentrates on studying and gets good results. She also learns about the dual program, studying for a bachelor's and master's degree at the same time from the first year. To be eligible to apply for this program, My must have a good GPA.

"I always try to find the most optimal way in terms of time to be able to do more things," My said.

Realizing that she could shorten her study time, My chose to study her major first, leaving the electives for later. In her second year, My applied for a master's degree with a GPA of 3.3/4 and was accepted. This time, instead of choosing electives for the undergraduate level, she studied the master's program subjects.

In 2022, My returned to Australia, received her undergraduate degree, and began her master’s program. Unlike the undergraduate environment, the master’s class consisted of working students who always brought up real-life situations when discussing in class. Meanwhile, My did not have much knowledge and experience.

The master’s curriculum and assignments are also more difficult. My takes one subject for 6 weeks and 12 subjects for the entire course. Each subject has three major assignments, of which 2/3 are essays and the rest are presentations. Lecturers usually require each essay to be 2,000-3,000 words. When lecturing, they also speak quickly because they assume that master’s students already know that knowledge.

"The pace of learning in the master's program made me, a student who had not yet graduated from the bachelor's program, somewhat overwhelmed," My recalled, saying she was worried because her learning speed was not fast enough and she felt like she was falling behind in class.

With the experience of learning "without accents", My actively communicates and exchanges with teachers and focuses on doing homework. She also listens to how people in the class ask questions, then analyzes, evaluates the situation and gradually improves her thinking. Before coming to class, My always reads all the materials, previews the lecture and takes careful notes. If there is anything she doesn't understand, she comes to class to ask or email the teacher.

"I tried to contact them but avoided asking them about the knowledge they had taught in class," My said.

Wanting to pursue an academic path, My also researched the criteria for a PhD during this time. In addition to grades, candidates need research experience and a research proposal. My's strategy was to focus on her strong subjects to push her scores to the highest level, while compensating for subjects where it was difficult to achieve excellent scores, such as data analysis and research.

My then completed her thesis on anonymity, privacy, freedom of speech and accountability, and surveillance from social media platforms and graduated with honors.

Thanks to her teacher's introduction, My connected and exchanged with a professor at Deakin University, who had the same research field as her. This person also played an important role in the school reviewing My's application and granting her a scholarship.

My's doctoral research focuses on age verification systems for social media users to protect underage users. In addition, My proposes to study policies and regulations on age for social media use in different countries and their impact on the community.

My received her master's degree from Monash University. Photo: Provided by the character

Looking back on her journey, My is grateful for the experiences that have helped her gain more confidence and skills.

During her online studies in Vietnam, My worked as a collaborator for several TV shows and interned at a media company. She also participated in the Miss Vietnam 2020 contest, reaching the final round. My spent a month in a shared house, practicing catwalks, losing weight, and participating in contest activities. However, due to her school schedule and homework, My had to stop.

"I learned many skills from my sisters, from how to take care of myself, my appearance, to how to walk, talk, and maintain a neat spirit and state in all activities," My shared.

My is currently the Vice President of the Vietnamese Students Association in Australia, working some extra jobs, before starting her PhD program in May. She hopes to have the opportunity to return to Vietnam to teach after graduation.

Dawn

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/gianh-hoc-bong-tien-si-sau-4-nam-hoc-song-song-cu-nhan-va-thac-si-4698173.html