On May 28, Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee said that the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee has just approved the project to merge Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism into Hong Duc University, forming a multi-disciplinary, multi-field higher education institution, with the goal of improving training quality and meeting the socio-economic development needs of the province.
After the merger, from the 2026 school year, Hong Duc University will manage a total of 19,572 students, including 78 doctoral research students, 988 master's students, 18,400 university students and 106 intermediate students. The expected enrollment scale will increase from 10–15% annually for university training majors and from 5–10% for other majors; at the same time, the school will coordinate with Thanh Hoa Sports Training and Competition Center to orient careers for athletes.
The school's Board of Directors includes the Principal and Vice Principals. The organizational structure includes departments, specialized faculties and affiliated units such as: Hong Duc Practical Kindergarten, Primary School, Secondary School and High School, along with the National Defense and Security Education Center. In addition, the school also has the Center for Research, Application and Transfer of Science and Technology, Hong Duc Science Magazine, contributing to consolidating the research, technology transfer and international cooperation foundation.
The team of officials and lecturers of the school after the merger includes 926 people, including 708 public employees and 218 contract workers.
The total number of lecturers is 562 people, including 230 PhDs (including 35 Associate Professors), 314 masters and 18 university bachelors; all meet pedagogical professional standards and have foreign language and informatics certificates according to the national capacity framework.
The management apparatus includes Principals, Vice-Rectors and leaders of affiliated units with a total of 125 people. Among them, 88 people have doctoral degrees (including 23 Associate Professors), 36 people have master's degrees and 1 person has university degrees, ensuring management capacity and comprehensive education quality.
Hong Duc University owns modern facilities with a total managed land area of more than 54.4 hectares. The school receives the original facilities from Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and continues to plan, upgrade and expand to serve training work.
The school's training system is maintained multi-level with: 52 university majors, 23 master's majors, 8 doctoral majors and 3 intermediate majors. The modern library system owns more than 150,000 books and 19,482 titles, connecting interconnected with universities at home and abroad, ensuring the full provision of textbooks and reference materials for learners.
The tuition fee collection mechanism continues to be implemented according to current regulations, maintaining a stable level for students in the 2025–2026 academic year and adjusting the roadmap from the 2026–2027 academic year. The school also maintains welfare and support policies for students, lecturers and management staff, especially focusing on people in difficult areas and ethnic minorities.
According to the school representative, the merger not only helps expand the scale and improve training efficiency, but also strengthens scientific research capacity, technology transfer, develops a high-quality teaching staff and expands international cooperation. The goal is to build a modern, multidisciplinary Hong Duc University, effectively serving social needs and the comprehensive development of Thanh Hoa province.
