Life-Changing Scholarship Programs for Girls and Young Women in Vietnam

The Asia Foundation’s University Scholarship and Secondary School Scholarship programs support low-income and disadvantaged girls and young women in Vietnam to pursue an education and build key life and leadership skills. Since 2004, they have supported 1,700 girls in Nam Dinh, Dien Bien, Cao Bang, An Giang, Can Tho, and Hau Giang provinces to attend secondary school. With declining dropout rates and higher grades, more than 70% of these students have been admitted to universities or vocational colleges. Since 2011, they have supported 220 young women to pursue university degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in which women are particularly underrepresented, such as engineering and natural sciences. Of the 100 young women in the first cohort, 100% graduated from university, 84% found a stable job, and 10% have pursued a Master’s degree overseas.