Abstract
As labor market demands evolve, aligning higher education curricula with students’ career goals and learning needs has become increasingly vital. This study investigates career aspirations and expectations of English-majored students at five universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, including public, private, and international institutions. Drawing on survey responses from 560 students, the research explores three core dimensions: preferred career paths after graduation, expectations regarding course content, and perceptions of how effectively current programs support professional development. The study also explores students’ perspectives on hidden curricula, which refer to the implicit experience’s students learn through institutional culture, teacher-student interactions, and social norms and activities. The findings reveal a strong interest in careers such as English teaching, translation, and business, with growing attention to tourism, diplomacy, and media. Students expressed strong appreciation for English skills and specialized courses but reported dissatisfaction with modules perceived as outdated or lacking practical relevance, such as physical education, some literature subjects, and technology-related courses. These results highlight urgent needs for curriculum innovation that balances local responsiveness with global alignment. Universities should tailor course offerings to reflect evolving domestic career demands while benchmarking curricula against regional and international standards to ensure quality, comparability, and student mobility.