Students in Vietnam National University in Hanoi have for the first time access to apply to spend an exchange semester at the top university and Asia's best university, Tsinghua in China, and this is entirely free.
From this year, students in their second year and above of Vietnam National University-Hanoi who have good academic records and decent foreign language capabilities, either 7.0 IELTS for English or at least the HSK 5 level for Chinese, will be eligible for a free-fee semester in Tsinghua, as a statement by the Vietnam National University in Hanoi said.
Applications for the fall semester (September 2025–January 2026) need to be submitted by 30 April, and applications for the spring semester (February–June 2026) on or before Nov. 30.
Successful applicants will have their tuition fees covered by Tsinghua for the period of their exchange there but must cover their own living costs, insurance and visa charges.
This program is included in a wider collaboration agreement inked by VNU and Tsinghua University on March 2. Other similar agreements were also inked with Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam's National Economics University.
Tsinghua University has been ranked the most prestigious university in Asia by Times Higher Education. It is ranked eighth in the world in THE World Reputation Rankings 2025, beating Yale University and the University of Tokyo.
It is ranked number 12 in THE World University Rankings 2025, the highest ranking among Chinese universities, followed by Peking University, another top-ranked university in China.
Tsinghua has around 200 exchange agreements with universities all over the world.
