Graduation Requirement
The maximum period of study is limited to two (2) years for a Master student, excluding two years for an approved leave of absence. Those who do not finish within the stipulated duration will be dismissed from the program.
Course Requirements and Grades
Students have to take a minimum of 33 credits (the equivalent of 11 courses, 3 credits each). Students are evaluated on a 100-point scale. The passing grade is 70 points.
There are 3 required courses (9 credits in total) for IMES students: Applied Microeconomics, .Applied Econometrics/ Research Method, and Applied Macroeconomics.
Students can take up to one-eighth of these credits (3 credits) from other graduate-level programs and departments at NCCU, or from partner universities in other countries.
Credit hours must be from a Master’s degree program taught in English in other departments/programs at NCCU or University System of Taiwan (abbreviated as UST). However, students taking IMAS/IDAS courses, can take up to 4 courses, including the inter-departmental courses or UST courses.
Students who study abroad must follow the relevant NCCU rules and regulations in this regard.
M.A. Thesis Writing
Students are suggested to find their thesis advisor after the end of the 1st semester.
Thesis Advisor Qualifications
Thesis advisors need to be full-time or joint appointment faculty members of NCCU. Adjunct professors, professors from other schools or assistant professors may be accepted under approval by the IMES Director and the Dean of the College of Social Sciences.
Thesis Oral Defense
The final defense is the last step before graduation. Students will defend their whole dissertation before a committee.
Students may apply for the Thesis Defense upon approval of their completed thesis by the supervisor.
The candidate must have fulfilled the required credit hours of coursework and present a completed thesis approved by the advisor in order to apply for the thesis defense.
In order to ensure all students to abide by a high standard of research ethics, starting from Academic Year 2016-2017, newly enrolled students (including those who have early enrollment before Fall 2016), must complete the research ethics coursework before the end of their first school year. A student is required to pass the research ethics course, or receive explicit authorization for an exemption from the research ethics course before his/her application for taking the final graduate degree examination.
To apply for the Thesis Defense, students should be submitted between the time of registration for the current semester and the deadline for semester withdrawal, as specified in the academic calendar.
The thesis Defense can be done anytime during the semester, but the application for the thesis oral defense must be submitted TWO WEEKS before the day of the thesis defense.
Master’s thesis defense committees shall consist of three (3) to five (5) members. At least one member should me a full time professor from the College of Social Sciences. External members accounting for no less than one third of the committee.
** Any video recording of the ‘Dissertation Defense/Accreditation Exam’ requires approval by the program.
The final dissertation defense is an open-style oral exam. In addition to the advisor and members of the committee, other lecturers and students can also attend. They may not disturb the progress of the oral exam and, at the advisor’s discretion, the audience may be invited to ask a few questions at the end.
Before the defense, a draft of the completed thesis should be submitted to the Thesis Defense Committee at least TWO WEEKS before the oral defense.
In order to pass the accreditation exam, the candidates must receive a minimum score of 70 out of 100 points. Failing scores given by one half or more of Master’s thesis defense committee members will result in a failed defense.
Students who fail the defense and are still within the valid duration requirements of their study may apply for a second oral defense in the following semester. Barring this, there are no extra opportunities to counter a failed oral defense.
Scores and results of defenses will be officially recorded. A student who fails their second thesis oral defense must withdraw from the university.
After the thesis is defended successfully and its revisions approved by the advisor, students must upload their theses to the NCCU Thesis Searching System.
