Doctoral Program 

Coursework

• Doctoral program students must complete 20 credits (2 credits of seminar inclusive) to fulfill the requirement of graduation. Only two "Independent Studies/Special Topics" courses (6credits) are allowed to be counted in fulfilling graduation requirement.

• Master's students who apply for direct pursuit to doctoral degree program must complete 44 credits (2 credits of seminar inclusive) to fulfill the requirement of graduation.

• Academic credit will not be given if a grade of B- (score of 70 in the percentage system); a grade of B- (score of 70 in the percentage system) is the passing grade.

Online ethics courses

The ethics education center of the Ministry of Education. https://ethics.moe.edu.tw/ 

This online course is for learning and training to be applicable to master and doctoral students. teachers, and researchers. All students need to attend courses and get a certificate.

English language proficiency

Students must meet one of the following English criteria as proof of English proficiency prior to applying for a doctoral dissertation defense. 

• A TOEIC score of 700 or above, or an equivalent test/standard established by other language test organizations approved by the Ministry of Education. Please enclose a credible documents of proof and authorize the institute chair to make recognition. https://oia.nsysu.edu.tw/p/404-1308-278513.php?Lang=zh-tw
• During doctoral study periods, completing at least 3 credits (inclusive) of HighIntermediate level English course offered by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature of the university or 3 credits of English Technical Writing one course offered by various departments/institute of the engineering college. A student must obtain at least a grade of B- (70 points in the percentage system) for either of the aforementioned courses. 

Qualification Assessments   

<<For the details of qualification assessments, please refer to the webpage of Regulations.>>

1. Qualification Assessments:

** Applicable for Students Enrolled at/before the 2021 spring semester : Students must pass the qualification examinations within two semesters (the period of suspension not included) after entry into the program. Students may face expulsion if they fail the examination. 

** Applicable for Students Enrolled at/after the 2021 autumn semester : Students can select qualification examinations, or course selection as their qualification assessment. Students must complete one of the qualification assessments within four semesters (the period of suspension not included) after entry to the program. Students may face expulsion if they fail the assessment. 

2. Dissertation Proposal Review: 

Within 5 years of admission (the period of suspension not included), doctoral students must pass a dissertation proposal review after passing qualification examinations and being approved by their advisor. The review is conducted orally. Students obtain the qualifications of doctoral candidates once they passed the dissertation proposal review. If a doctoral student does not submit a dissertation proposal within 5 years of admission, they will be disqualified for the program, and they will be expelled, in accordance with the university’s Doctoral Program Candidate Performance Evaluation Requirements rule three.   

3. Publication Points:

A minimum of 20 publication points for graduation is required during the study period of the doctoral program. Please note that the qualification assessment failure will result in a requirement for additional publication points.

4. Ph.D. Dissertation Defense