This study examined a conceptual and simulated quantitative framework for assessing aesthetic competence among economics students in contemporary Vietnamese higher education and considered its implications for university teaching and curriculum development. A simulated cross-sectional dataset comprising 360 hypothetical undergraduate student records across three higher education institutions in Hanoi, Vietnam, was used to illustrate the proposed analytical approach; no independently documented student survey or raw observational dataset was supplied with this manuscript. A structured 20-item questionnaire based on a five-point Likert response format represented four dimensions: aesthetic perception and experience, aesthetic interpretation and judgment, aesthetic expression and creativity, and aesthetic application in academic and professional contexts. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, independent-samples $t$ tests, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were presented as illustrative analytical outputs. Within the simulated results, the four dimensions displayed satisfactory internal consistency, and the composite scores indicated a generally high level of self-reported aesthetic competence. Aesthetic perception and experience was the highest-scoring dimension, whereas aesthetic interpretation and judgment was comparatively less developed. The simulated comparisons also illustrated differences by gender, institutional context, and year of study, with the most pronounced descriptive pattern occurring across successive university years. These findings should be understood as demonstrations of an analytical framework, not as independently verified empirical evidence about actual Vietnamese students. The conceptual implications suggest that aesthetic competence need not be treated as an isolated component of arts education; instead, it can be incorporated into economics education through professional learning activities, creative academic tasks, cultural experiences, and digital communication. The article offers a transparent basis for designing and validating future empirical research on aesthetic development as part of the professional and personal formation of economics students.
