• As a student of IMAS you will be held to research ethics standards when writing your thesis and when conducting other research. You must complete the research ethics coursework before the end of the first school year. Each student is required to pass the research ethics course, or receive explicit authorization for an exemption from the research ethics course before their application for graduation. 
• To comply with the Research Ethics Course requirement, please follow the following guide: Research Ethics Course Brochure

• First of all, students must find a Thesis Supervisor and confirm their commitment in writing. Once the student has finished the draft proposal, they should apply for the Thesis Proposal Defense at the IMAS office. Please collect the proposal defense application forms and submit these documents below:
  • IMAS Submission of Thesis Title and Supervising Professor Review Form
    
  • IMAS Application for Review of Master’s Thesis Research Scheme
    
  • IMAS Thesis Format and Qualification Checklist for Proposal Exam
    
  • Transcript
  • Final Proposal

It may need at least 14 work days to process the application. All documents need to be signed before the proposal defense takes place. 

While waiting for all files to be signed and collected by the IMAS office, please ensure that you contact and confirm with all three professors (Examination members) the date and time of your proposal defense. Kindly notify the IMAS office to send invitations to the professors regarding your Proposal Defense, with all emails copying the applicant as well. Once settled, the office will reserve a classroom for the proposal examination. 

Students must complete the proposal defense four months before the final thesis defense. (Since the academic year 2023)

• For the thesis proposal defense, the student should find at least 3 committee members (including your supervisor). One of these members must be a full-time faculty in the College of Social Sciences. At least one-third of the committee must be from a university or institute other than NCCU.
• After the defense, please collect all the signed forms and submit them to the office.
  
• For more information, please check the regulations of IMAS.
  

Write the thesis in accordance with the approved thesis proposal. Once the thesis is complete, students can apply for the Thesis Defense. The finalized thesis must be submitted at least one month before the final defense.

• Proposal defense and Thesis Oral Defense have to be held four months apart.
  
• Students must apply for the thesis defense before the prescribed time stated on the University Calendar.
• Procedure and required documents:
  1. Apply for thesis defense online
  → Instructions→ https://tinyurl.com/2lh64o6k→Click “線上學位考試申請系統說明(中英文版)” for English instructions
  (IMAS does not permit students to manually fill in the degree examination committee. The system will skip step #4 and will automatically proceed to print the form.)
  2. Please make sure you have followed the IMAS Thesis Format and checked the Qualification Checklist for Thesis Examination form. Please print and fill out this checklist as well.
  3. Turnitin
  Please go to this link to see the guide and get started. The secretary will set up an account and password for you to further proceed. https://lib.video.nccu.edu.tw/p/Turnitinuserguide
  After uploading your thesis to the platform, please screenshot your score, print it out, and have your advisor sign it.
  Your score should be no more than 15% on the plagiarism scale to be considered passing.
  For further questions, this link should address most of your questions: https://help.turnitin.com/feedback-studio/turnitin-website/instructor/instructor-category.htm & https://lib.video.nccu.edu.tw/p/turnitin-student3
  4. Ethics course certification
  5. A copy of the thesis draft
  6. A copy of the transcript
• All files need to be signed before the proposal defense takes place.
• Wait until all files have been signed and gathered by the IMAS office. In the meantime, students should contact and confirm with all three professors (Examination members) the date and time of their Thesis Defense. Please kindly notify the IMAS office to send invitations to professors regarding your Thesis Defense. All emails will cc the applicant as well. After the defense, please collect all the signed forms and submit them to the office.
• Please prepare a presentation of the final thesis and anticipate tough questions. Students should also send the final draft (preferably a print-out copy as well) to your committee and provide refreshments for the committee to show  appreciation for their presence and time.