How Vietnamese Universities Convert IELTS Scores for Admission and English Exemption
By Muntasir • Published Nov 30, 2023 • Updated Sep 27, 2026 • Study in Southeast Asia
Vietnamese universities use your IELTS score in 2 separate ways: to exempt you from the THPT Foreign Language paper if you clear the Ministry's minimum band, and to earn points inside a university's own certificate-based admission combination. Both conversion tables are set separately by each authority and change every cycle, so always check the current one before relying on a specific score.
📩 Route 1: THPT exemption, set nationally by the Ministry of Education and Training each year
🎓 Route 2: university-specific combined admission scores, set individually by each school
The 2 routes use different minimum bands and different point values, so a score that qualifies for one may not qualify for the other
Higher bands generally convert to a bigger point value inside a school's own table, but the exact numbers are not standard across universities
2 different uses for the same IELTS score
Vietnamese students use an IELTS certificate for university admission in 2 separate ways, and mixing them up is a common planning mistake. The first is exemption from the THPT Foreign Language paper itself, set nationally by the Ministry of Education and Training. The second is a bonus toward a university's own certificate-based admission combination, set independently by each school.
Route 1: THPT Foreign Language exemption
If your IELTS band clears the minimum threshold the Ministry sets for that admission cycle, you skip sitting the Foreign Language paper on exam day. Your certificate converts to a score for that paper instead, based on a table the Ministry publishes alongside its yearly exam regulation circular. This threshold and its matching point table change from cycle to cycle, so check the current circular on the Ministry's official site (moet.gov.vn) before assuming a previous year's numbers still apply to your intake.
Route 2: university combined admission scores
Separately, many universities run an admission combination that swaps out the English subject score for an IELTS-based point value, alongside your Math and Literature or other subject scores. Each university sets its own minimum band and its own conversion table in its yearly admission scheme (đề án tuyển sinh), and these numbers are not standardized across schools. A band that earns close to the maximum bonus at one university might earn a smaller bonus, or nothing extra, at another.
What the IELTS band roughly maps to
IELTS bands map to CEFR levels in a general way across most institutions worldwide: bands 4.0 to 5.0 sit around CEFR B1, 5.5 to 6.5 around B2, 7.0 to 8.0 around C1, and 8.5 to 9.0 around C2. Vietnamese universities often set their exemption and bonus thresholds somewhere in the B2 range and above, though the specific band each school or the Ministry requires is not fixed and needs checking every cycle.
Other certificates besides IELTS
Both routes usually accept more than IELTS. TOEFL iBT, Cambridge English certificates and a handful of other standardized English tests appear on most schools' accepted lists alongside IELTS, each with its own separate minimum score and conversion value. If you hold one of these instead of IELTS, look for it by name in the same circular or admission scheme rather than assuming an IELTS-only rule applies to you.
How to plan around this
Check the Ministry's current circular for the THPT exemption threshold before exam registration closes
Check each target university's admission scheme separately for its own IELTS conversion table, since it differs from the Ministry's exemption rule
Keep your IELTS certificate valid through your entire application window, since most bodies cap validity at 2 years
Do not assume a certificate that qualifies you for exemption automatically also earns the maximum bonus at your target university