VNU Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies

What VNU Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies does

VNU Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS), founded in 1955 and headquartered in Cau Giay District, Hanoi, is Vietnam's premier public university for foreign language education and international studies and a member of the Vietnam National University system. The university offers undergraduate, graduate (master's and doctoral), second-degree, and part-time programs across eight language departments — English, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Vietnamese-Southeast Asian Studies — plus language pedagogy tracks, with English proficiency output standards aligned to the B1-B2-C1 levels of the Vietnamese six-level framework. Its digital ecosystem includes the VNU Learning Management System, the proprietary VNU-TESTS and VSTEP language proficiency assessment platforms, an Open Conference System (OCS), a Digital Repository, a Student Portal, the ULISER one-stop admin portal, and the recently launched experimental AI ULIS RESEARCH assistant built on ChatGPT. Revenue is generated through tuition and academic fees across regular, second-degree, and part-time cohorts; transaction fees from HSK, VSTEP, and VNU-TESTS language proficiency examinations administered to internal and external candidates; and professional services including corporate language training, teacher certification, and continuing education programs.

ULIS also operates two affiliated K-12 feeder schools (ULLIS middle school and FLSS specialized foreign language high school) and publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Foreign Studies, ranked in the top 10 by citation index among Vietnamese online science journals. The university is mandated as the central training institution for Vietnam's National Foreign Language Project 2020, coordinates with eight international partner universities (notably Université d'Artois and Inalco in France, and University of Oregon in the US), and runs employer-engagement programs with FPT Corporation, Havina Group, Regina Miracle, Almus Tech, and MCC Vietnam for student internships and recruitment. Its go-to-market combines a sales-led admissions funnel (national entrance exams, ROAD TO ULIS CUP roadshows, ULIS Success experience programs) with event-driven recruitment (campus visits, career fairs, the annual F.I.R.E. festival) and a structured enterprise partnership channel for graduate employment.

Name

VNU Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies

Legal name

Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ – Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội

Website

https://ulis.vnu.edu.vn

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

ULIS is Vietnam's premier public foreign language and international studies university within the Vietnam National University system, offering undergraduate through doctoral programs across eight languages, language proficiency testing (VSTEP, VNU-TESTS, HSK), and an experimental AI research assistant.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Foreign Language University)

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Language Schools (61163), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAIAEAD

Exam Preparation Language Programs (IELTS/TOEFL/DELE/DALF/HSK, etc.)

Education/International Education & Study Abroad/Overseas Language Schools & Immersion Programs

Keywords

• Foreign language education
• Higher education services
• Language proficiency testing
• University degree programs
• International studies training

Headquarters

HQ city

Hanoi

HQ country

Vietnam

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Fees: Tuition revenue from undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs across regular (chính quy), second-degree (văn bằng 2), part-time (vừa làm vừa học), and international education programs.
2. Testing and Certification Fees: Revenue from organizing HSK, VSTEP, and VNU-TESTS language proficiency examinations for both enrolled and external candidates.
3. Training and Professional Development: Revenue from short-term training programs, teacher certification (Chứng chỉ nghiệp vụ sư phạm ngoại ngữ), corporate language training, and continuing education courses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ULIS is a public university delivering foreign language and international studies education at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels across 8+ languages. It also administers standardized language proficiency examinations (VSTEP, VNU-TESTS, HSK) and provides continuing education, second-degree, and professional training programs for students and working professionals.

Product overview

VNU Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS) is a comprehensive national university specializing in foreign language education and international studies, operating under Vietnam National University. Its portfolio spans undergraduate and graduate degree programs (Standard, High-Quality CLC, and Second Degree tracks), postgraduate training (Master's and Doctoral), and continuing education. Core academic programs cover multiple foreign languages including English, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Vietnamese-Southeast Asian Studies. The digital ecosystem supporting its educational mission includes: the Student Portal (student.ulis.vnu.edu.vn) for academic administration; VNU-TESTS and VSTEP for standardized language proficiency assessment; LMS for online/distance learning; a Digital Repository for institutional publications; and OCS for conference management. Student career services are delivered through the Job Portal and ULIS Career Hub. Specialized programs include the ULIS Success pre-university experience course, an HSK Chinese proficiency test center, and AI ULIS RESEARCH (experimental ChatGPT-based research assistant). The university also publishes the Journal of Foreign Studies, a peer-reviewed academic journal ranked in the highest category by the Vietnamese State Council of Professors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Standard & High-Quality Undergraduate Training Programs (Chương trình đào tạo Chuẩn & Chất lượng cao) Core undergraduate foreign language degree programs in 8 language departments (English, French, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese-Southeast Asian Studies), offered in standard and high-quality (CLC) tracks with varying proficiency output standards. Designed for high school graduates seeking a bachelor's degree in language, translation, interpretation, or language pedagogy.
• Second Degree Programs (Chương trình đào tạo Văn bằng 2) Second-degree (bằng kép/bằng 2) programs that enable students to earn an additional bachelor's degree in a foreign language, offered in both full-time and part-time formats. Targeted at students who already hold a primary degree and working professionals seeking to add a foreign language credential.
• Master's and Doctoral Programs (Đào tạo Sau Đại học) Postgraduate master's and doctoral programs in applied linguistics, foreign language pedagogy, translation studies, and intercultural communication, including specialized tracks such as Intercultural Educational Psychology. Designed for research-oriented students and language professionals.
• VNU-TESTS English Proficiency Assessment Standardized English proficiency testing and certification system used across VNU member universities to assess student language levels from A1 to C2 under the national 6-level framework. Open to both enrolled students and external candidates.
• VSTEP (Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency) National standardized English proficiency examination aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), used for graduate admissions and certification across the university system. Offered at vstep.vnu.edu.vn.
• HSK Chinese Proficiency Test Center Official HSK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) and HSKK Chinese language proficiency testing center administered by the university, serving Chinese language students and external candidates with multiple exam sessions per year.
• ULIS Success Pre-University Experience Course (ULIS Success – Hành trang hướng tới tương lai) Pre-university experience program designed to help prospective high school students prepare for higher education in foreign languages and international studies, currently running its 5th edition. Supports the university experience course (ULIS Success) initiative.
• ULIS Career Hub and Job Portal Career services providing employment bank, career counseling, enterprise connections, skills development, and job fair organization for students and alumni through the Job Portal at job.ulis.vnu.edu.vn.
• International Education Programs (Giáo dục Quốc tế) International-linked education programs delivered through the Faculty of International Education (FIED), including international student enrollment, joint training programs, and English-medium instruction for foreign students and partner university exchange participants.
• Teacher Certification and Professional Training (Chứng chỉ nghiệp vụ sư phạm ngoại ngữ) Short-term training programs and teacher certification (Chứng chỉ nghiệp vụ sư phạm ngoại ngữ) for foreign language educators, plus corporate language training and continuing education courses for working professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 134 student research projects completed with 400+ student participants in academic year 2018-2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration14 records

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Université d'Artois (France)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026Co-organized the international conference 'Artificial Intelligence: A Lever for Language Analysis and Foreign Language Teaching' (April 2026) alongside ULIS and Inalco France, representing a major academic collaboration in applied linguistics and language pedagogy research.
• Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco), FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2026Partnered with Université d'Artois and ULIS to co-host the April 2026 international scientific conference on AI applications in language analysis and teaching, demonstrating Inalco's role as a key European partner in Oriental studies and language research.
• Vietnam National University (VNU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerULIS is a member university of Vietnam National University (ĐHQGHN), Vietnam's premier national university system. VNU coordinates foreign language standards across all member institutions and administers the VSTEP proficiency framework.
• Đại học Huế (Hue University)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organized international conferences on language studies and language teaching (ASEAN FLE conference series), with joint hosting of the 2017 National Interdisciplinary Conference on Language and Language Teaching.
• Đề án Ngoại ngữ Quốc gia 2020 (National Foreign Language Project 2020)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerULIS serves as the anchor institution for the National Foreign Language Project 2020, providing consultation on language teaching strategy, curriculum development for language programs nationwide, and training for secondary school foreign language teachers.
• Tập đoàn FPT (FPT Corporation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrengthening enterprise partnerships for student employment support. FPT collaborates with ULIS in career development activities, providing recruitment, internship, and professional development opportunities for students.
• Văn phòng Học bổng Giáo dục Quốc tế Đài LoanminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMet with ULIS in October 2025 to discuss and facilitate Taiwan government scholarship opportunities for ULIS students pursuing master's degrees in Taiwan.
• Đại học Oregon (USA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic exchange and scholarly collaboration between ULIS faculty and visiting professors from University of Oregon for academic exchange and research purposes.
• Trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội (Hanoi National University of Education)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on multilingual education research and foreign language teaching conferences as part of the ASEAN FLE international conference series.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hanoi University (HANU): Major public university in Hanoi offering foreign language degree programs alongside economics, technology, and social sciences. Comparable in student scale, multilingual program mix, and Hanoi-based public university positioning.
• Foreign Trade University (FTU): Fellow VNU member university with intensive foreign language curricula (English, French, Japanese, Chinese, Korean) integrated into business and economics programs. Comparable in Hanoi-based public university scale and emphasis on multilingual professional education.
• University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU-HCM: Vietnam National University's southern counterpart, also a VNU member university with a comprehensive foreign languages and humanities portfolio. Direct peer in mandate, scale, and language-focused curriculum serving the same national university system.
• Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE): Vietnam's premier teacher-training university with strong foreign language pedagogy and applied linguistics departments. Specifically named as a ULIS collaborator in the ASEAN FLE conference series, making it a natural peer in language-teacher education.
• University of Languages and International Studies, VNU-HCM (ULIS-VNUHCM): Name and mission counterpart of ULIS within the VNU-Ho Chi Minh City system. Direct peer offering foreign language degrees and serving the same national university framework, with parallel curriculum and testing infrastructure.

Regional players

• Hue University: Multi-campus public university in central Vietnam with foreign language departments and joint conference activity with ULIS (ASEAN FLE series). Comparable in comprehensive university offerings but serving a more regional central Vietnam market.

Broad incumbents

• RMIT University Vietnam: Australian university with a major Vietnam campus offering English-medium business, technology, and design degrees. Larger but broader international institution competing for Vietnam's premium foreign-language-instructed student segment.
• Fulbright University Vietnam: Vietnam's first nonprofit, US-style liberal arts university with full English-language instruction. Comparable in premium positioning and Hanoi location, though curriculum breadth is broader than ULIS's language focus.
• British University Vietnam (BUV): UK-curriculum private university in Hanoi offering British degrees with English-medium instruction. Comparable Hanoi location and premium international positioning, but broader portfolio beyond languages.

Emerging players

• INALCO (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales): French national institute specializing in languages and civilizations, deeply comparable to ULIS through multi-language degree programs and applied linguistics research. Active strategic partner of ULIS via the April 2026 AI conference and broader collaboration.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/vnuhanoi.ulis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ulistvnuhanoi

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VNU Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies