MA in Political Economy

Graduation Guidelines and Procedures

A. General Regulations

B. Graduation Requirements

C. Proposal, Thesis & Oral Defense

C-1. Schedule and Deadline

C-2. Thesis Formatting and Citation Requirements

C-3. Confirming Thesis Advisor

C-4. Scheduling Master’s Thesis Proposal (Public Presentation)

C-5. Applying for Oral Defense

C-6. Oral Defense

C-7. Submitting Thesis and Completing Leaving School Procedure

A. General Regulations

1. National Tsing Hua University’s Master’s Degree Examination Measures
2. Forms & Regulations (Division of Registration)

B. Graduation Requirements

1. Complete TSE required coursework: 24 credits
   • Curriculum (Applied to the Class of 2024, who matriculated in the academic year of 2022) (Applied to the Class of 2023, who matriculated in the academic year of 2021)
   • Required Coursework Checklist (Applied to the Class of 2024, who matriculated in the academic year of 2022) (Applied to the Class of 2023, who matriculated in the academic year of 2021), to be submitted for oral defense application (see C-5) [IMPORTANT: this file is view-only, choose "File" to make a copy for use]  
   • How to use to coursework checklist: instructions
   • Curriculum (Applied to the Class of 2025, who matriculated in the academic year of 2023) 
   • Required Coursework Checklist (Applied to the Class of 2025, who matriculated in the academic year of 2023),to be submitted for oral defense application (see C-5) [IMPORTANT: this file is view-only, choose "File" to make a copy for use]  
   • How to use to coursework checklist: instructions
   • Course Substitution Form
   • Course Exemption Form (Class of 2025)
   • Track Shifting Form
2.  Complete the Mandarin Course Requirements for NTHU International Students (Chinese Language Center): 4 credits (International students only)
3. Complete the Online Academic Research Ethics Education Course (Division of Registration)
4. Complete Proposal, Thesis & Oral Defense (see section C below)

C. Proposal, Thesis & Oral Defense

C-1. Schedule and Deadline

* E.g. The registered day of Fall 2023 semester is Monday September 11; the deadline to complete the leaving school procedure is Friday September 8.

C-2. Thesis Formatting and Citation Requirements

1. Citation: Chicago Manual of Style
2. Regulations Governing the Formats of Graduate Thesis (Division of Registration)
3. Guidelines for submitting a thesis (Division of Registration)
4. Master Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation Format Guide and Related Forms (NTHU Library)
5. Thesis Cover Sample
6. References Management Software (NTHU Library)
7. Other Tools (NTHU Library)

C-3. Confirming Thesis Advisor

1. Select a thesis advisor and submit the "Thesis Advisor Confirmation Form" to the program office before the deadline (see C-1).
2. Eligibility: The thesis advisor, or main advisor of co-supervision, should be full-time faculty or joint appointments of the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science (TSE).

C-4. Scheduling Master’s Thesis Proposal (Public Presentation)

1. Deliver a Master’s Thesis Proposal on the thesis outline and research progress in English at least two months before the oral defense is held. All members of the Thesis Committee will attend and review the student’s proposal.
2. Prior to applying for the Master’s Thesis Proposal, students should complete the following requirements: 
   1. Selecting the Thesis Committee: the thesis committee must have at least three members (maximum of five), one of whom are student's thesis advisor, and at least one of whom are from another University/institution. Committee members are usually recommended and approved by the advisor.
   2. Qualification for the committee members:
      1. Assistant professor or Assistant researcher (or higher rank).
      2. Experts or professional scholars who have held a doctorate for at least one year.
      3. Experts or professional scholars who have expertise in an unusual or highly specialized academic research field or professional practice field and have achieved significant results in their respective academic or professional field(s).
   3. Set a date and confirm the committee members are available
3. Submit "Master’s Thesis Proposal Form" to the program office to reserve a room. 

C-5. Applying for Oral Defense

1. Application for the oral defense should be set forth to the program office, then in Academic Information System, at least three weeks before the oral defense is held.
2. Submit the following supplemental documents to the program office for approval:
   1. The preliminary application for Master’s degree Examination [to be provided]
      • The preliminary application for Master’s degree Examination (Class of 2023 ONLY)
      • The preliminary application for Master’s degree Examination (Class of 2024 onward) [to be provided]
   2. Required Coursework Checklist 
      • Required Coursework Checklist (Class of 2024)(Class of 2023) [IMPORTANT: this file is view-only, choose "File" to make a copy for use]  
      • Required Coursework Checklist (Class of 2025) [IMPORTANT: this file is view-only, choose "File" to make a copy for use]  
   3. A copy of the approved Thesis Advisor Confirmation Form
   4. Official transcript
   5. Thesis draft
   6. Similarity report of the thesis draft (Plagiarism Check with Turnitin, see item 6)
3. Apply the oral defense in the NTHU Academic Information System for approval by the Division of Registration:
   1. Log into the Academic Information System.
   2. Click "The Graduate Degree Oral Defense" (研究生學位考試)
   3. Click "Online Application" (登錄作業)
   4. Fill in the application and submit
4. Preparing the Defense:
   1. Reserve a room with the program office
   2. Send invitation (聘函) and thesis copy to the thesis Committee member two weeks before the oral defense date
   3. Collect receipts of review fees and transportation reimbursement from the program office (if applicable)
   4. Print out required documents from the Academic Information System
5. Graduate Degree Exam Process Flow Chart – Master's Students (Division of Registration)
6. Plagiarism Check with Turnitin
   1. Use the Plagiarism check tool: Turnitin.
   2. Apply Turnitin account (Division of Learning Technology)
   3. The result of the Turnitin paper similarity index should be under 25% (reference not included). If it is unavoidable to over the limitation, the advisor should state the reason.

C-6. Oral Defense

1. Preparation on the oral defense day:
   1. Check the equipment
   2. Provide the following documents to the thesis committee members:
      1. National Tsing Hua University Master Thesis Oral Defense Form
      2. National Tsing Hua University Master Thesis Advisor Approval Form
      3. Graduate Student Oral Defense Grade (3 copies)
2. If the thesis is approved at the defense, the committee will sign the final approval document. Students who have passed the oral examination and have met all other degree requirements will be eligible for graduation.
3. If the committee asks for revisions, the student will have to submit the revisions and have them approved by the thesis advisor in the designated time period.
4. The results and required documents of the oral defense exam should be submitted to the program office, which will be later forwarded to the Division of Registration.

Documents to be submitted by the student

1. 1. 1. National Tsing Hua University Thesis/Dissertation Affidavit
      2. List of thesis committee members (碩士學位考試委員名冊)
      3. Oral defense result (碩士班口試名單)
      4. Signed receipts of review fees and transportation reimbursement (if applicable)

Documents to be submitted by the advisor

1. 1. 1. National Tsing Hua University Master Thesis Oral Defense Form
      2. National Tsing Hua University Master Thesis Advisor Approval Form
      3. Graduate Student Oral Defense Grade (3 copies)

C-7. Submitting Thesis and Completing Leaving School Procedure

1. The leaving school procedure should be completed before the last working day of the next Fall semester. Otherwise the oral defense result will become invalid.
2. Submit the thesis in the NTHU Academic Information System for approval by the NTHU library.
   • Graduate Degree Exam Process Flow Chart – Master's Students (Division of Registration)
   • Thesis/Dissertation Format Reference (NTHU Library)
   • Graduation Reminders (NTHU Library)
3. Once approved, print out three hard copies of the thesis. Submit two copies to the program office and one to the NTHU The program office will deliver one copy to the Division of Registration.
   • Checklist before you submit your Printed Thesis or Dissertation (NTHU Library)
4. Complete all the leaving school procedure in the NTHU Academic Information System.
5. Bring student ID card to the Division of Registration and collect the diploma.