Department of International Trade at Feng Chia University Master s Program Requirements Policy Revised and approved by the Department Affairs Committee on June 9 th, 2005 Revised and approved by the Department Affairs Committee on June 8 th, 2006 Revised and approved by the Department Affairs Committee on July 7 th, 2006 Approved by the president on July 18 th, 2006 Revised and approved by the Department Affairs Committee on June 21st, 2007 Approved by the president on August 8 th, 2007 Revised Approved by Department Affairs Committee on Sep 13 th, 2007 Approved by the president on October 12 th, 2007 Revised and approved by the Department Affairs Committee on Jan 24 th, 2008 Approved by the president on Feb 28 th, 2008 Revised Approved by Department Affairs Committee on June 12 th, 2008 Approved by the president on June 30 th, 2008 Revised Approved by Department Affairs Committee on August 3 rd, 2009 Approved by the president on August 17 th, 2009 Revised Approved by Department Affairs Committee on June 24 th, 2010 Approved by the president on July 29 th, 2010 I. The policy is based upon Feng Chia University Policy and Feng Chia University Doctoral and Master s Degree Examination Policy. II. The master s program courses are classified as required courses and elective courses. Refer to the course schedule prepared for the admitted graduate students for a complete course list. III. The master s degree program requires students to complete a total of 38 credit hours. The master s thesis does not count towards credit hours. IV. Course Requirements A. Students enrolled in the first two years may not take less than 3 credit hours or more than 13 credit hours each semester for counting towards the total credit hours required for graduation. Exceptions subject to the approval of the department chair. B. The admitted students are expected to have completed at least 3 credit hours in Economics and Statistics. Those who have not completed this requirement should attend the summer classes prior to the admission or take the courses during the first year of graduate study with a minimum grade of 60%. The credit hours do not count towards the credit hours for graduation or the above-mentioned maximum credit hours allowed in one semester. C. Students enrolled in International Trade Department must meet the following conditions when taking courses offered in other departments: (1) The maximum credit hours taken in one semester may not exceed 3 credit hours. The total credit hours may not exceed 6 credit hours during the whole period of master s 1
program. Exceptions can be made in the case where the courses are closely related to the study filed and thesis topic. Three more credit hours are allowed upon the approval of the thesis advisor. (2) In the event of a dispute students may submit a request to Master s Program Committee of Department for solution. D. To enhance the language skills of non-native English speaking students, the students must provide an English proficiency examination certificate with a minimum score equivalent to a TOEIC score of 750 for graduation. Students need to take the graduate level English course offered by the department each semester prior to obtaining the required certificate. E. International students must pass the basic level Chinese proficiency examination given by the FCU Chinese Language Center for graduation. Those who do not pass the examination need to take at least two Chinese courses before graduation. IV (I). Study Period Students may apply to shorten the study period if the following two conditions are met: A. The student receives an average grade of 86% or above each semester. B. The student is one of the top three students in the class each semester. The application must be submitted to and approved by the Master s Program Committee to become effective. V. Request for a thesis advisor A. Graduate students need to make a formal request for a thesis advisor no later than one year before graduation. B. A thesis advisor must be a full-time faculty in the department of International Trade. The approval of the Master s Program Committee is required if the thesis advisor does not fit this description. C. A full-time department faculty may not advise more than 3 graduate students on thesis writing per year. Other situations are allowed upon the approval by the Master s Program Committee of Department. VI. Application of approval of thesis topic A. Students may begin to discuss with the advisor about the thesis topic once the confirmation of willingness to act as the thesis advisor is received. B. Students need to complete two copies of the thesis topic application form within the time period indicated and obtain the approval from the thesis advisor and department chair. The application forms should then be returned to the department office. C. Students who need to change the thesis topic should complete two copies of the topic variation form and obtain the approval from the thesis advisor and department chair. The forms should then be returned to the department office. 2
VII. The master s program examinations include general examination, thesis proposal presentation, and degree examination. VIII. General examinations include in-class tests, midterm examination and final examination held by the instructor in accordance with the class schedule. IX. Students must obtain the qualification from the Master s Program Committee of Department prior to making the thesis proposal presentation and taking the degree examination. X. The Master s Program Committee of Department exams the following performances: A. attendance of the speech and events held by the department B. publication of conference articles C. assistance with the department affairs D. graduation requirements on English proficiency XI. Thesis proposal presentation A. presentation: written report and presentation clips, both in English B. application: After the approval of the advisor, the application may be submitted once per semester. The Master s Program Committee of Department announces the schedule 2 weeks prior to the presentation. C. The thesis proposal presentation and degree examination may not be held in the same semester. D. Participating faculty: in addition to the thesis advisor, at least one other faculty must be present and give advice. XII. Degree Examination A. application for the degree examination: (1) Students may apply for the degree examination after passing the thesis proposal presentation. (2) Students need to make 4 copies of the research thesis and thesis summary which complies with the specified format (completing the degree examination application form, and the thesis advisor s approval) two weeks prior to the examination. The documents are to be reviewed by the Degree Examination Committee. B. Holding of examination: (1) The degree examination is held once every semester. (2) The time and location of the examination are arranged by the Master s Program Committee of Department and announced one week prior to the examination. (3) The examination is related to the thesis topic and is done by writing and oral exams in English; writing in Chinese is allowed in certain situations, but students need to submit an English article which is at least 15 pages and is suitable to submit for journal publication. Writing exams may be held if necessary. 3
C. Examination score: (1) The total score is 100 points; and the passing grade is 70 points. The score is calculated from the average points given by the participating examination committee members. Students would receive a failing grade if (more than) half of the committee members mark the exam below 70 points. The examination may be graded once only. (2) Students who do not pass the degree examination may apply to take the exam again the following semester/year. Students can only take the degree exam twice. Those who do not pass the exam the second time may not continue their study. Those who pass the degree examination the second time would receive a grade of 70 for their thesis. D. The appointment of the Degree Examination Committee members (1) The degree examination is arranged by the Degree Examination Committee members who are appointed by the school president. (2) The Degree Examination Committee members should possess the expertise in the field which relates to students thesis subject, literary creation, exhibition, or technical reports. A member should also meet one of the following qualifications: a. has the position as a professor, associate professor, or assistant professor. b. being a member of Academia Sinica, research fellow or research associate of Academia Sinica c. has obtained a doctoral degree and achieved academic success d. working in a distinctive professional field and achieved academic or professional success The qualification of condition (c) and (d) are determined by the Master s Program Committee. (3) The Degree Examination Committee consists of 3 members, of which one besides the thesis advisor should be the convener. At least one member must be a full-time faculty in International Trade Department. (4) The 3 committee members must all be present during the examination. Committee members should attend the examination personally and may not ask for a substitute to do the job. XIII. The class work counts towards 50 % of the graduation grade, and the degree examination counts towards the other 50% of the graduation grade. XIV. Students must publish an academic article in a peer-reviewed journal or conference (presentation personally) and obtain the approval of the advisor before completion of the degree requirements. XV. Granting the degree: An M.B.A. degree is awarded upon completion of the degree requirements and passing the degree examination. 4
XVI. Refer to the Feng Chia University Policy and Feng Chia University Doctoral and Master s Degree Examination Policy for other related regulations XVII. Consult the Master s Program Committee for issues not yet addressed in this policy XVIII. This policy statement became effective upon the approval of both the Department Affairs Committee and the school president. Revisions require re-approval. 5