International Master‵s Program in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, National Chengchi University

Writing a master's thesis is a milestone in graduate education and an important opportunity to synthesize years of learning while demonstrating one's ability to conduct independent research. Before applying for the Master's Degree Examination, students in the NCCU Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Program must complete the following requirements: Complete the 24 credits required for graduation, as stipulated in the Program's Academic Regulations. Complete and pass the research ethics course as required by the University. Confirm a thesis advisor, and complete the procedures for registering the thesis advisor and thesis topic as required by the University. Pass the Thesis/Creative Work Proposal Review (Qualifying Examination). Complete the writing of the thesis/written report accompanying the creative work. Complete a similarity check using the University's thesis similarity detection system. The similarity check results must comply with Article 15 of the Program's Academic Regulations. Next page: Confirm Your Thesis Advisor

1. Introduction 1-1. In accordance with the regulations of the NCCU Office of Academic Affairs, before applying for the Master's Degree Examination, graduate students must complete all required coursework, fulfill the graduation requirements of their department or program, and complete the procedures for registering their thesis advisor and thesis topic.  Official Announcement: link 1-2. According to Article 10 of the Program's Academic Regulations, graduate students must select a thesis advisor and complete the Thesis Topic/Creative Work Topic Registration Form before the end of their third semester. The form must be signed by both the thesis advisor and the Program Director before being submitted to the Registration Section of the Office of Academic Affairs. 2. Guidelines for Selecting a Thesis Advisor The following guidelines are based on Article 9 of the Program's Academic Regulations: 2-1. As a general principle, a student's thesis advisor shall be an NCCU Assistant Professor or above who teaches in the Program. The advisor's signed consent is required for the Thesis/Creative Work Proposal Review (Qualifying Examination). 2-2. An NCCU faculty member who does not teach in the Program may serve as a thesis advisor with the approval of the Program Director. Students must submit the Non-IACS Faculty Thesis Advisor Approval Form (see the attachment below). 2-3. If cross-university advising is required, an NCCU faculty member who teaches in the Program must serve as the co-advisor. Students must submit the Co-Supervision of Thesis Approval Form and the External Degree Examination Committee Member's Brief Resume (see the attachments below), subject to approval by the Program Director. 3. Declaration Regulations Once you have confirmed your thesis advisor and identified a tentative thesis title, you may proceed with the declaration process. Please note the following: 3-1. Eligibility: Students must be enrolled for the current semester and meet the Program's eligibility requirements. 3-2. Period: From the completion of semester registration until the end of the semester. 3-3. Procedure: 3-3-1. Log in to the iNCCU: NCCU Information System → Students → Academics → Graduate Student Degree Thesis Title Declaration(研究生申報論文題目) 3-3-2.Complete the registration form and print a hard copy. After obtaining your thesis advisor's signature, submit it to the Program Office for verification. The Program Office will forward the completed form to the Registration Section of the Office of Academic Affairs. 4. Changing Your Thesis Advisor or Thesis Title After Declaration 4-1. Changing thesis advisor: Fill out the Application Form for Changing Master's and Doctoral Advisors and Thesis Titles (see the attachment below), obtain the signatures from both the advisor and the department, and then submit the form to the Registration Section of the Office of Academic Affairs. 4-2. Changing thesis titles: Before the degree examination results are submitted and recorded by the Registration Section of the Office of Academic Affairs, if there is a need to change the thesis titles, please fill out the Application Form for Changing Master's and Doctoral Advisors and Thesis Titles, obtain the thesis advisor's signature, and submit the form to the Program Office for processing.   For further information regarding Thesis Title Declaration, please click here.

1. Introduction 1-1. In accordance with the regulations of the NCCU Office of Academic Affairs, before applying for the Master's Degree Examination, graduate students must complete all required coursework, fulfill the graduation requirements of their department or program, and complete the procedures for registering their thesis advisor and thesis topic.  Official Announcement: link 1-2. According to Article 10 of the Program's Academic Regulations, graduate students must select a thesis advisor and complete the Thesis Topic/Creative Work Topic Registration Form before the end of their third semester. The form must be signed by both the thesis advisor and the Program Director before being submitted to the Registration Section of the Office of Academic Affairs. 2. Guidelines for Thesis Title Declaration Once you have confirmed your thesis advisor and identified a tentative thesis title, you may proceed with the declaration process. Please note the following: 2-1. Eligibility: Students must be enrolled for the current semester and meet the Program's eligibility requirements. 2-2. Period: From the completion of semester registration until the end of the semester. 2-3. Procedure: 2-3-1. Log in to the iNCCU: NCCU Information System → Students → Academics → Graduate Student Degree Thesis Title Declaration (研究生申報論文題目) 2-3-2.Complete the registration form and print a hard copy. After obtaining your thesis advisor's signature, submit it to the Program Office for verification. The Program Office will forward the completed form to the Registration Section of the Office of Academic Affairs. 3. Changing Your Thesis Advisor or Thesis Title After Declaration 3-1. Changing thesis advisor: Fill out the Application Form for Changing Master's and Doctoral Advisors and Thesis Titles (see the attachment below), obtain the signatures from both the advisor and the department, and then submit the form to the Registration Section of the Office of Academic Affairs. 3-2. Changing thesis titles: Before the degree examination results are submitted and recorded by the Registration Section of the Office of Academic Affairs, if there is a need to change the thesis titles, please fill out the Application Form for Changing Master's and Doctoral Advisors and Thesis Titles, obtain the thesis advisor's signature, and submit the form to the Program Office for processing. Next: Proposal Review

This page explains the procedures for the Thesis / Creative Work Proposal Review. Introduction Per Article 11 of the Program's Academic Regulations, graduate students who have completed a minimum of 18 credits are eligible to apply for the Thesis / Creative Work Proposal Review. With the thesis advisor's written approval, an oral examination committee of three to five members shall be appointed in accordance with the NCCU Regulations Governing Graduate Student Degree Examinations, with the thesis advisor serving as an ex officio member. External committee members must constitute at least one-third of the total committee. For regulations regarding the appointment of oral examination committee members, please refer to Article 20 of the Program's Academic Regulations and Item 6 of the NCCU Guidelines for Graduate Degree Examinations. The following sections outline the relevant preparations and important notes, organized according to what needs to be done before and after the proposal review. Section I. Before the Proposal Review I. Student Preparation: Confirm with your thesis advisor that you are ready to proceed with the Proposal Review, invite the committee members, and arrange the date and time of the oral examination. The oral examination must be scheduled during the University's administrative office hours (Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). Confirm with your thesis advisor and committee members how the electronic and printed copies of the full Thesis / Creative Work Proposal should be delivered, and send them in advance. The proposal copies should reach the committee members at least two weeks before the oral examination. The formatting of the proposal should follow the NCCU Thesis Dissertation Format Regulations. II. Ten (10) working days before the oral examination: Submit the completed Thesis / Creative Work Proposal Review Application Form, together with one electronic copy and one printed copy of the full proposal, to the Program Office. The Teaching Assistant will arrange the examination venue, appointment letters for committee members, Proposal Review Evaluation Forms, examination supplies, and related expenses. Applicants will be notified by the Program Office at least seven (7) working days before the oral examination. The Thesis / Creative Work Proposal Review Application Form is available in the attachments below. III. Seven (7) working days before the oral examination: The Teaching Assistant will notify students of the examination venue, appointment letters for committee members, and the required examination documents (including the Procedure, Proposal Review Evaluation Forms, and oral examination fee receipts), as well as examination supplies and related expense arrangements. Section II. On the Day of the Proposal Review Please check in at the Program Office at least one hour before the oral examination. Collect the required examination documents and supplies, then proceed to the examination venue to test the equipment and prepare the room. The required examination documents include the Procedure, Proposal Review Evaluation Forms, and oral examination fee receipts. Examination supplies include the committee member sign-in sheet, name placards, stationery, a presentation clicker, a USB drive, HDMI adapters and cables, and a voice recorder. All documents and supplies are prepared by the Program Office. On the day of the examination, students should prepare snacks, beverages, or boxed meals according to the needs of the thesis advisor and committee members. After the oral examination, restore the room to its original condition and return all borrowed documents and supplies to the Program Office. Section III. After the Proposal Review Within five (5) working days after the oral examination, submit the completed Proposal Review Evaluation Forms to the Program Office. The forms may be submitted by email (electronic copy) or post (printed copy). If applicable, please also return the original oral examination fee receipt. Students who have not yet completed the thesis advisor and thesis topic registration are required to do so through the NCCU iNCCU system. Students who have already completed registration do not need to register again. According to Article 15 of the Program's Academic Regulations, students may apply for the Master's Degree Examination no earlier than three months after passing the proposal review. Next: Guidelines for Thesis Writing

During the thesis writing stage, graduate students shall conduct their research and writing based on the thesis topic approved by their thesis advisor. Students are expected to maintain regular consultation with their thesis advisor throughout the research and writing process and complete the thesis under the advisor's guidance. Thesis writing shall follow established academic writing style guidelines (such as APA or MLA), including font and formatting, chapter structure and heading hierarchy, the preparation and numbering of figures and tables, and citation and reference formatting. Students should adopt the appropriate style according to their research topic, academic field, and their thesis advisor's requirements. The University has also established the National Chengchi University Thesis/Dissertation Format Regulations (see the attachment below). All thesis copies submitted for oral examinations by students of the Program—including both the Thesis/Creative Work Proposal Review (Qualifying Examination) and the Master's Degree Thesis Examination—shall comply with these guidelines in both content and formatting. Please refer to the attachment below for the complete guidelines. In addition, the NCCU Chinese Writing Center provides ongoing academic writing consultation services for currently enrolled students, including one-on-one writing consultations. Professional writing consultants assist students in reviewing thesis content and academic writing, and provide guidance on scholarly writing. For further information and appointment procedures, please visit the Chinese Writing Center website: https://writing.nccu.edu.tw/home.jsp Next: Plagiarism Check

Introduction According to NCCU regulations, graduate students must complete a thesis similarity check and submit the similarity report before applying for the degree examination.  The relevant regulations are as follows: 1. National Chengchi University Guidelines for Graduate Degree Examinations, Article 3, Paragraph 2: Application Procedure: Graduate students must apply the degree examination, and obtain the signature and approval of their dissertation advisor after the dissertation is compared in the dissertation plagiarism verify system. After the department completes the preliminary graduation assessment, the application form must first be signed by the Department Chair before it is submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs for a secondary assessment. The degree examination may be conducted only after the aforementioned procedures have been completed. 2. Academic Regulations for MA Program, IACS-NCCU, Article 15: After submitting their thesis topic, students should apply for the degree examination within the time limit specified by NCCU. The students should prepare the Turnitin Report before the degree examination. The permissible similarity index shall not be more than 30%. If the similarity is higher than 30% due to special circumstances, please provide written explanation for the examination committee to consider. Turnitin Account Application NCCU uses Turnitin, the academic originality checking system, for thesis similarity detection. Students using Turnitin for the first time must apply for an account through the Program Office. Application procedure: Email the Program Assistant during office hours. The assistant will create your account in the system. You will receive an account activation email from Turnitin. Follow the instructions in the email to activate your account. Once your account has been activated, you may begin submitting your thesis for similarity checking. Resources For detailed instructions on using Turnitin, please refer to the NCCU Library's Turnitin User Guide: https://lib.video.nccu.edu.tw/p/Turnitinuserguide