Pham Hoang Tung, 23, a former student of the specialized Math class at Hanoi–Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, received a full scholarship worth around US$400,000 to pursue a PhD in Statistical Science at Duke, which is ranked No. 6 among U.S. national universities in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.
Tung previously graduated with First Class Honors in Mathematics and Statistics from Imperial College London, ranked second globally in the 2026 QS World University Rankings.
He moved to the U.K. in 11th grade to study at Cambridge Tutors College. He initially struggled with English communication but adapted through discipline and building connections with classmates and teachers. His efforts paid off with three A* grades in the U.K.’s A-level exams.
The loss of his father to cancer in 9th grade sparked Tung’s interest in applying statistics to decode cancer genes, inspiring his pursuit of data analysis tools that could aid in early detection. This motivation guided his academic path and decision to study Mathematics and Statistics at Imperial.
Pham Hoang Tung in a photo he provides.
While strong academically, Tung found presenting a coherent personal story in scholarship applications challenging. With feedback from his uncle and senior students, he refined his essays and successfully gained admission to Imperial, graduating with the highest distinction in 2023.
Beyond academics, Tung actively joined the Vietnamese Student Association, balancing volunteer, sports, and cultural activities while serving as a bridge between students and the university.
After graduation, he interned at VinBigData, where he contributed to gene decoding applications in healthcare. His work focused on bacterial gene analysis using non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) to process multimodal single-cell omics data, helping classify cell types more precisely.
He later worked at a bank, where he honed his skills in handling large datasets and improved communication and presentation abilities, though he felt unfulfilled.
“I felt like a skilled technician, operating tools but not truly exploring deeper knowledge,” Tung said, explaining why he chose to apply for PhD programs at U.S. universities strong in AI, data science, and statistics.
With guidance from Chu Cong Son, a PhD graduate from Oxford and director of D.U.T Consultant, Tung strengthened his personal statement, making it more structured and persuasive. His professors also recognized his talent.
“I am impressed with how quickly Tung grasps new and complex concepts, as well as his passion for mathematics,” said Dr. Heather Battey, his research supervisor at Imperial.
This month, Tung begins his PhD journey at Duke University. “Duke is very strong in Bayesian statistics, a methodology I am particularly interested in,” he said, adding that he hopes to publish research in statistics, attend academic conferences, and explore local culture during his studies.