"University of Science served as a pioneer in science education in southern Vietnam by establishing the Division of Indochina College of Science in 1942. In 1977, after the country unified, the Faculty of Science was merged with the Faculty of Letters to create the Ho Chi Minh City University." After some reforms, beginning in 1996, the Faculty of Science became the University of Natural Sciences, one of the five affiliated universities of the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City. From the year 2007, the university was renamed as the University of Science. The University of Science is the public university which plays a particularly important role in education and scientific research in Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City. Recently, HCMUS featured the Laboratory of Stem Cell Research & Application in order to support academic research & new technology in related fields. Also, the Faculty of IT (FIT) has grown considerably in the last few years and is currently sponsored by the government to become one of the key faculties of IT in HCMC and Vietnam.