Phd degrees Regulations

PhD Degrees Regulations

I. The following regulations are established according to National Chiao Tung University’s masters and doctoral degrees granting rules. They are applicable for the doctoral students admitted in year 103 and after.
II. Admission Requirements

1. 
   Students who have received a master’s degree or its equivalence recognized by the Ministry of Education from public or private universities (including independent institutes), or foreign universities recognized by the Ministry of Education, are eligible for admission. Students should have passed the doctoral students admission test in order to be admitted.
   

2. 
   For master’s students in the institute who wants to apply for joint MA/PhD program, please see the MA/PhD joint degree regulations and application form.
   

3. 
   For newly admitted students who cannot be enrolled due to major accident, they should provide proof before the dates of registration expired. They have to explain the reason in order to retain their admitted status.
   

III. Duration of Study

1. 
   The maximum period of the doctoral program is seven years. For the part-time students it can be extended to eight years.
   

2. 
   Students who for some reason need to apply for academic suspension are subject to the approval of their advisor and the chair of the institute. Suspension may be one semester or one academic year, and no more than four semesters (2 years) during the whole course of study. Accumulated duration cannot exceed two academic years. However, due to illness or rehabilitation, students may apply for an extension and the decisions are subject to the university senate. If students who apply for one or two-year suspension wish to resume, they will be permitted if they have not yet received the call-up notice for their military service. Those who have received their call-up notice will not be permitted to resume. Students who are called for military service during the suspension and who will not be discharged within two year should provide a proof from the military service and apply for an extension. They may apply for resumption with proof upon their military service is completed.
   

3. 
   Doctoral Program Schedule:
   

year progress	1^st year		2^nd year		3^rd year		4^th year		5^th year
	Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring	Fall	Spring
Taking Courses
Qualifying Exams
Thesis Proposal
Oral Defense

IV. Granting the Degree
After the completion of the following requirements, they will be recommended by their advisor to proceed a status review. It is after passing the final oral defense that students will be granted a doctorate degree.

1. 
   Completion of all the degree credits; proficiency of a second foreign language
   
2. 
   Completion of qualifying exams
   
3. 
   Passing the thesis proposal and the thesis oral defense
   

V. Selecting an Advisor

1. 
   When students are enrolled in the institute, they will choose a professor in the institute as their mentor. For those who have not selected a mentor, they will be given one by the department. From the first semester onwards, the mentors will assist students in selecting courses and adapting in the academic life. The mentor’s assistance will end until the students choose their advisors. Students are advised to choose their advisor at the third semester after they are enrolled (there has to be at least one full-time assistant professor and above teaching at Chiao Tung University), and they are to submit an application for their selection.
   

2. 
   At the beginning of each semester, students should discuss with their advisor or mentor about the semester’s course selection, have them approve and sign on the course selection sheet and submit to the department.
   

3. 
   Every fall semester students should submit their academic report of the previous academic year through email and paper form. The academic report should include their course selection, conference attended, publications and the language proficiency. A copy should be sent to the advisor or the mentor.
   

4. 
   Doctoral students are to proceed the qualifying exams under the advisor’s guidance. If students whish to change their advisor, they need to provide an application with the approval from the previous advisor, the new advisor and the chair of the department. If for any reason either the student or the advisor wish to terminate the advising relationship, it is required that both are informed before the change. It will be decided through the department meeting if any issue cannot be settled.
   

VI. Courses and Credits

1. 
   Students are required to gain 24 credits in total.
   

2. 
   9 credits are compulsory, including “Introduction to Cultural Studies,” “Professional Training Seminar” and “Independent Study.” 6 credits need to be selected from the course group “Social, Cultural and Political Thoughts.” “Independent Study” is to be conducted according to students’ research areas and the thesis topic, during which students will meet with their advisor or professor to discuss the books that are planned to read and the progress of their research. “Independent Study” should be taken for three semesters with 1 credit gained from each. For students who have taken “Introduction to Cultural Studies” and “Professional Training Seminar” during their master study, they can select courses from Social, Cultural and Political Thoughts instead.
   

For foreign students they can take “Introduction to Cultural Studies B” or any other course that is recognized by the department as the equivalence. If they also take “Introduction to Cultural Studies,” the credits will be recognized. (this also applies to the students admitted in year 100 and before).

Foreign students may select “Thesis Writing and Methodology” (course conducted in English; open every two years) consisted in the “International Institute for Cultural Studies” curriculum. The course is recognized as the equivalence for the “Professional Training Seminar.” Alternatively students may select “English Thesis Writing” at Chiao Tung University.

3. 
   Elective Courses: According to their research areas, students are required to select 9 credits from the theoretical group: Social, Cultural and Political Thoughts and the three main areas: East Asian Modernity, Taiwan Cultural Studies, and Comparative Study on Cultural History. Permitted by the advisor (or the mentor if advisor is undecided), students may select courses from another institute or university, but no more than 9 credits. Auxiliary courses, or any other courses outside the department or school recognized by the institute will be approved as institute’s credits. (Amendment to this also applies to students admitted in year 97).
   

4. 
   Completion of second foreign language.
   
5. 
   For those who take the joint MA/PhD program, a total of 48 credits are required (including courses taken during master study; excluding the language course credits).
   

6. 
   Any credits waiver should be recognized by the department meeting. A maximum of 6 credits cannot be exceeded for the credits waiver.
   

VII. Second Foreign Language Proficiency

1. 
   Students may choose one of the following to satisfy the second foreign language proficiency requirement:
   

1. 
   Completion of two consecutive years of foreign language courses, with passing grade of 70 and above.
   

2. 
   Obtain the proof of passing the language proficiency exam recognized by the institute. For example: the second foreign exam held by the university, Japan Interchange Association, German Cultural Center or French Cultural Center.
   

3. 
   Students may have two instructors from the Foreign Language department at Chiao Tung University to give them the exam. If passing the exam they can waive the language course.
   

2. 
   For foreign students whose native language is not Mandarin, they can determine their own first and second foreign languages and provide the proof of language proficiency test or any language courses taken.
   

The proof of foreign language proficiency should be submitted before the application for the thesis oral defense. Once students have obtained the proof they should submit a copy to the department.

VIII. PhD Candidacy Qualifying Exams

1. 
   Doctoral students will attain the PhD candidacy when they have completed the following:
   

1. 
   Completion of all the required credits
   
2. 
   Completion of the qualifying exams
   

2. 
   Schedule for qualifying exams: Doctoral students may apply for qualifying exam in the second semester of their second academic year. The exams are to be completed before the end of their third academic year. If the schedule cannot be met, it may extend another semester with the approval by the department meeting.
   

3. 
   Exam Subjects: The qualifying exams should include two subjects. The required subject is “Social and Cultural Theory,” and the selective subject is “Professional Area,” which is to be planned according to the student’s research area of their thesis topic. Students should provide a statement of purpose of 5000 words each, explaining their understanding to the subject, the reason for the planning of the bibliography, and the correlation to their thesis. The statement should be accompanied by an annotated bibliography. The examiners can provide additional bibliography if needed, and they are to give the exam by referencing to the student’s statement and the bibliography.
   

4. 
   The Exam Committee: Every exam is to be convened by a professor in the institute, and at least one member is from outside the university. The exam committee, the exam subject, bibliography and the statement are to be approved by the department meeting. (The amendment also applies to students admitted in year 97 and before).
   

The department meeting will review the following in paper:

1. 
   The statement of purpose: the significance of the subject, the scope and the dimensions of the subject (3000 to 6000 words, not including bibliography).
   
2. 
   A bibliography accompanied the statement
   
3. 
   The names of the exam committee
   

5. 
   Method of the Qualifying Exams: Students are to proceed the exam in an assigned or unassigned location. For students who choose an assigned location, the exam is to be completed within 8 hours. Students may choose to complete the exam within one day (8 hours) or two separate days (4 hours each). For students who choose an unassigned location, the exam is to be completed within 3 days (72 hours). Any alternative can be made through the decision of the department’s meeting.
   

The result of the exam: 1) 70 is considered passing. 2) conditional passing: students should fulfill the requirement specified within one month 3) fail. For the failed exams, students can apply for re-examination no earlier than the following semester. Students are allowed to change a subject for the selective subject. If students fail both required and selective subjects twice, they will not be granted PhD candidacy. (this also applies to students admitted in year 98 and before).

6. 
   Academic Publication as a Substitution for Comprehensive Examination:
   

A PhD student who publishes a peer reviewed thesis in an academic journal during the years of his/her PhD study can apply for this substitution. A “Professional Field Review Committee” by the student’s dissertation advisor and two other experts who are also in that professional field will be held 2 weeks after application. The main goals of this committee are: A. To review the quality and ranking of the academic journal; B. To review the research direction of the academic thesis; C. To review to what degree the thesis is related to the professional field of that PhD student. A written comprehensive examination will be waived once the application is approved by the committee. If failed, the student must take the regular comprehensive examination (see article no. EIGHT, paragraph 2 ~5).

The written comprehensive examination requirement consists of two exams; if student wishes to waive both exams he/she must submit two applications, i.e. he/she must submit two academic publications.

【This revised article can also be applied to students who enrolled before the academic year of 2015】
IX. PhD Thesis Proposal

1. 
   Students will proceed their thesis proposal after they have passed the qualifying exams. The thesis proposal is to be approved by the advisor, then a thesis committee can be formed in order to proceed the oral exam for the proposal.
   

2. 
   The thesis proposal can be made at the 3^rd year of their doctoral study. Students should complete the oral exam for the thesis proposal no later than the end of their 4^th year. If the schedule cannot be met, it may extend another semester with the approval by the department meeting.
   

3. 
   Starting from the forth year after they are enrolled, all the students should give an oral report every year to the department based on their research status.
   

4. 
   Thesis committee should include at least five members (including at least two external members). Oral defense is to be open to public. The thesis committee will not give grades but may provide comments on the subject and its feasibility. The committee may request another proposal to be made if necessary.
   

5. 
   The PhD degree examination (oral defense) cannot be made earlier than 3 months after the proposal.
   

X. PhD Degree Examination

1. PhD degree examination includes the thesis evaluation and oral defense.

2. PhD thesis must be an academic contribution of originality. It should be completed within the maximum years of study and passed the oral defense. The oral defense is to be open to public.
3. PhD thesis Committee: The thesis committee should be composed of 5 to 9 scholars from or outside the university who specialize in the area of the student’s thesis. The committee members are to be proposed by the advisor, approved by the department meeting, then hired by the president of the university. One member will be appointed as the convener and the advisor cannot be appointed. Members from and outside the university should each be one third (or above) of the whole members.
Committee members should have one of the following qualifications:

1. 
   who has been a professor
   
2. 
   who has been a research fellow at Academia Sinica
   
3. 
   who has been an associate professor or an associate research fellow at Academia Sinica and has academic contribution
   
4. 
   has received a doctoral degree and has been an assistant professor who has academic contribution
   
5. 
   presents academic or professional achievement in rare or special subjects
   

From c to e the qualification is regulated by the department’s meeting.

4. Oral defense: the thesis needs to be submitted three weeks before the oral defense, and within the school calendar’s regulated dates. If the dates are expired it needs to be put off to the following semester. The passing grade for the oral defense is 70 out of 100. It is a one-time evaluation, based on the average of all committee members’ grades given. If one third of the committee members give grades lower than 70, then the grades will not be averaged and is considered as failing the exam. Students who fail the exam can re-apply for the second oral defense in the following semester. Students who fail twice will not be granted the degree.

6. 
   Thesis Evaluation: Students who are accused of plagiarism or fraud will be re-evaluated by the committee, and if proven, the oral defense will be considered as failed. When students have passed the oral defense, it is to be provided by the committee with the suggestions for revision. Students are to revise the thesis based on committee members’ suggestion. The revised thesis should be evaluated. The evaluation is considered passed when 2/3 of the committee approve of it. The evaluation will not be graded. When evaluation is completed, the committee members are to sign “thesis oral exam committee evaluation.” For those who complete the evaluation, the grade of the oral defense is to be the grade of the degree exam.
   

7. 
   If students pass their oral defense by January 31 or July 31, and cannot complete the revision and turn in the “thesis oral exam committee evaluation” within the first two weeks of the following semester, they should still enroll in school in that following semester. If students cannot turn in the evaluation form by the end of their regulated maximum years of study, the final exam will be considered as failed and the students will be dropped out from the university.
   

8. 
   Except for the students who are taking the teacher’s education course and who will have to remain in school for the course, for those who pass the oral defense and final evaluation, they should submit the oral exam grades and a copy of “thesis oral exam committee evaluation” to the university’s registrar division within one week. The semester students graduate will be the same semester when they turn in the oral exam grades and the evaluation form. Those who have turned in the grades and the form but have not yet completed the rest of the administration for graduation, it will be considered as graduated status.
   

XI. For students who are on a joint MA/PhD program who pass the PhD candidacy qualifying exams but fail to pass the oral defense, their PhD thesis is to be evaluated by the thesis committee to consider granting a master’s degree.

XII. Students who fail to complete required credits and the oral defense within the regulated years of study will be dropped out from the school.
XIII. For the granted master or PhD degree, the school has to right to revoke the degree if plagiarism is found in the thesis. If proved by investigation, the degree and the diploma will be revoked.
XIV. PhD thesis (including abstract) is advised to be written in Chinese, and should be accordance to the National Chiao Tung University Thesis Format Regulations. Within one month after the oral defense, students should submit the thesis abstract and the full thesis online (according to the “National Chiao Tung University Library thesis digital file archiving regulations”), and submit 4 copies of the thesis, including 2 copies to the department’s office, 1 hardcopy to the library, and 1 copy to the academic affair’s office which will be sent to the Ministry of Education.
XV. The above regulations are established by the department meeting, and are reviewed by the school course committee and university course committee. The regulations are executed with the approval from the students affair office. Same when the amendments are made.