Ph.D. Program Regulations
Institute of Business and Management
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Approved by the Institute Administrative Council on April 9, 2024
Article 1 These regulations are enacted by the Institute of Business and Management (the Institute) of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), in accordance with the NYCU Regulations for Conferral of Graduate Degrees, and for the purpose of facilitating the study of Ph.D. students (including full-time and on-job students) in this program of the Institute.
Article 2 The period of study for full-time Ph.D. students in the Institute shall be two to seven years. The period of study for on-job Ph.D. students in the Institute shall be two to nine years.
Article 3 The students who apply for direct admission to the Ph.D. program shall comply with the NYCU Regulations for Direct Admission to Ph.D. Program. The application shall be reviewed and approved by the Institute Administrative Council.
Article 4 Any Ph.D. student whose study period has reached or exceeded one semester may apply for transfer to another department/institute, subject to approval by his/her original institute, following the rules below:
(1) The transfer application of any Ph.D. student to the Institute shall be approved by the original department/institute, before it is reviewed and approved by the Institute Administrative Council. The application will then be sent to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for approval.
(2) The transfer application of any Ph.D. student from the Institute to another department/institute shall be reviewed by the Institute Administrative Council. Upon approval, the application will then be sent to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for approval.
Any application filed and approved before the start of a semester shall become effective in that semester. Any application filed and approved during a semester shall become effective in the following semester. The years of study from the original department/institute shall be included in the maximum period of study in the department/institute to which he/she transfers.
Within one week after approval by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the student may file a written application to the Division of Registrar to decline transfer.
Each student will be allowed only one transfer to another department/institute within the same academic program, and must fulfill the requirements of the department/institute to which he/she transfers for graduation.
Matters not mentioned herein will be referred to the NYCU Regulations for Transfer of Students between Departments/Institutes.
Article 5 The research areas for the program include (but not limited to) “Business Strategy”, “Organization & Human Resource”, “Marketing”, “Finance”, “Technology and Information”, and “Management Science”. Independent enrollment for each research area may be held if necessary. Interdisciplinary research is encouraged.
Article 6 The Ph.D. curriculum is composed of “prerequisite courses”, “required courses”, and “area-specific courses”. A minimum of 36 credits is required for graduation (78 credits for students admitted directly to the Ph.D. program), excluding the credits from prerequisite and seminar courses. No more than six course credits from institutions outside of the Institute will be counted as degree credits, no more than six credits from institutions outside of NYCU for foreign students, and no more than 12 credits for students admitted directly to the Ph.D. program.
The courses taken must include at least three Ph.D. professional courses (nine credits), which include those offered by the Institute as well as those offered by the College of Management. Students shall complete all courses mentioned above prior to application for the Doctoral Degree Examination. Students may apply for course waiver, but not credit exemption, of any prerequisite courses, methodology courses, and fundamental courses of the six research areas. If the student has not completed the prerequisite courses or the student’s waiver application is rejected, the student may take elective courses offered by the Institute as prerequisite courses following approval by the Institute. However, the credits of such courses will not be counted as degree credits (36 credits). Please refer to the Curriculum Regulations and Course System for the Ph.D. Program for details.
Article 7 Ph.D. students are required to submit the Application for Ph.D. Plan of Study within the first semester after enrollment. The Application for Ph.D. Plan of Study must be approved by the Institute.
Article 8 Qualifying Examinations (on statistics and either research methods or econometrics) are held once in the spring semester of each academic year by the Institute. However, the Institute may, depending on the circumstances, host another Qualifying Examination in the fall semester. Students who cannot pass the Qualifying Examinations within the first two years of studies, including the period of a leave of absence, will be dismissed. Ph.D. students who have published or been accepted as the first-author in any peer-reviewed journal within the first two years of studies (including any leave of absence) are regarded as passing the Qualifying Examinations, following approval by the Institute Administrative Council.
Article 9 The Ph.D. student shall select a dissertation advisor within six months after passing the Qualifying Examinations. If not, he/she must choose an advisor and form a Doctoral Committee no later than the Dissertation Proposal Defense. If the student fails to complete the above, the Institute Administrative Council will review the matter and arrange an advisor for the student. The advisor(s) must be selected in accordance with the following rules:
(1) The advisor(s) must be (a) a full-time (or jointly appointed) professor, associate professor, or assistant professor in the Institute, (b) a retired faculty member from the Institute who has published in journals within the past three years, or (c) a full-time assistant (or above) professor in the University System of Taiwan.
(2) The Doctoral Committee is responsible for advising the student and monitoring his/her progress toward obtaining the degree. The Doctoral Committee must include at least three members. The members must be (a) full-time (or jointly appointed) professors, associate professors, or assistant professors in the Institute, (b) retired faculty members from the Institute who has published in journals within the past three years, or (c) full-time assistant (or above) professors in the University System of Taiwan. The advisor(s) shall be the convener of the Doctoral Committee.
(3) Regulations for change of advisory relationship:
1) During the period of study, a Ph.D. student may terminate the advisory relationship or change his/her dissertation advisor(s) by applying to the Institute with an application form. Such change becomes effective after notifying the original advisor(s) and the completion of hand-over matters; the consent of the original advisor(s) is not required. Requests for change of Doctoral Committee members shall follow the same regulations.
2) If the advisor(s) intends to terminate the advisory relationship, he/she shall file an application in the form of a written document to the Institute. The Institute will notify the Ph.D. student of the result of the review. After termination of the advisory relationship, the Institute may assist the Ph.D. student in finding another advisor. A Doctoral Committee member who wishes to terminate an advisory relationship shall follow the same regulations.
3) When a Ph.D. student applies for the termination of the advisory relationship with or the replacement of an advisor (or Doctoral Committee member(s)) in accordance with the Guidelines, the Ph.D. student may not use the original ideas or concepts provided by the former advisor (or Doctoral Committee member(s)) without the consent of the former advisor (or Doctoral Committee member(s)). Furthermore, research results obtained under the guidance of the former advisor (or Doctoral Committee member(s)) may not be used for his/her dissertation without the consent of the former advisor (or Doctoral Committee member(s)).
(4) If a dissertation submitted by a Ph.D. student is inconsistent with the professional scope of the Institute, or involves violation of academic ethics, the responsibility of his/her advisor(s) will be reviewed by the Institute’s Faculty Evaluation Committee.
(5) Matters not mentioned herein will be referred to the NYCU Guidelines for Interaction Between Thesis Advisors and Graduate Students.
(6) Every procedure mentioned above must be reported to the Institute. The application for replacement of advisor(s) will be submitted to the College Leadership Board for approval.
Article 10 Each advisor can advise no more than two Ph.D. students per class, and no more than five Ph.D. students (including students on a leave of absence) in each academic year. Teachers who have received a Merit Pay for research excellence from NYCU in the past three years may advise at most seven Ph.D. students.
Article 11 A Ph.D. student who has fulfilled the following requirements may apply to become a Doctoral Candidate with the recommendation of his/her advisor(s).
(1) The student has studied for more than two years and completed all the required courses.
(2) The student has acquired 36 credits (78 credits for students admitted directly to the Ph.D. program), excluding the credits from prerequisite and seminar courses. No more than six course credits from institutions outside of the Institute will be counted as degree credits, no more than six credits from institutions outside of NYCU for foreign students, and no more than 12 credits for students admitted directly to the Ph.D. program.
(3) The student has passed the Qualifying Examinations.
Article 12 Before applying for the Dissertation Proposal Defense, the Ph.D. student is required to pass the Qualifying Examinations and provide specific research direction. The Dissertation Proposal Defense will be arranged by the Institute and presented publicly. The Dissertation Proposal Defense Committee consists of not only Doctoral Committee members, but also one or two professors with expertise in a related research field and recommended by the Institute. The Ph.D. student must pass his/her Dissertation Proposal Defense within four years after enrollment (including the period of a leave of absence), or the student shall be expelled from NYCU.
Article 13 The Ph.D. student, after passing the Dissertation Proposal Defense and before taking the Doctoral Degree Examination, is required to present his/her research progress (including related publication information) every academic year. The presentation date and time is arranged by the Institute.
Article 14 The Doctoral Degree Examination includes the dissertation final defense and dissertation revision. Before applying for the Doctoral Degree Examination, the Ph.D. student must:
(1) Be qualified as a doctoral candidate.
(2) Pass the Dissertation Proposal Defense.
(3) Meet one of the following requirements for English proficiency:
1) TOEFL Test: 550 or above in TOEFL PBT; 213 or above in TOEFL CBT; 80 or above in TOEFL iBT, or 85 or above in TOEFL iBT MyBest Scores; 8 or above in TOEFL Essentials, or 8.5 or above in TOEFL Essentials MyBest Scores, or the equivalent grades in other forms of TOEFL.
2) GEPT Test: High-intermediate or above.
3) TOEIC Test: 750 or above.
4) IELTS Academic Test: overall 6.5 or above in IELTS Academic, or overall 7 or above in IELTS One Skill Retake, or the equivalent grades in other forms of IELTS Academic.
5) The student may complete two doctoral English courses offered by the NYCU Language Teaching and Research Center.
6) Students who received their degrees in English-speaking countries may request a waiver for the English language competency requirement mentioned above.
(4) Publish in any SSCI/SCI journal at least once with the full title of the Institute. If the publication is in an excellent non-SSCI/SCI journal, the qualification for graduation must be reviewed and approved by all of the full-time (or jointly appointed) professors in the Institute, and approved by the College of Management. The publication shall not include the one mentioned in Article 8 for passing Qualifying Examinations. If the paper is waiting for publication, the student must submit the acceptance letter of the paper.
(5) Complete an originality check on the dissertation, and provide the report for the Degree Examination Committee members’ reference. The similarity score must not exceed 20%.
Article 15 The Degree Examination Committee of each Ph.D. candidate must consist of five to nine members, who can either be members from the student’s Doctoral Committee or scholars and experts specializing in the area of research or study of the candidate. The Examination Committee members may be recommended by the Doctoral Committee member(s). Apart from the advisor(s), the Committee shall include at least one full-time (or jointly appointed) faculty member in the Institute. If there is no appropriate committee candidate in the Institute, a full-time faculty member in other departments/institutes of the College of Management will be acceptable. Both the number of members from inside and outside of NYCU should account for at least a third of the total number of members. The Committee shall be approved by the Director of the Institute before it is recommended to the President’s Office for approval. The Committee members must fulfill at least one of the following requirements:
(1) The member is or was a professor or associate professor.
(2) The member is a research fellow, or is or was a researcher or associate researcher of Academia Sinica.
(3) The member holds a Ph.D. degree, and has outstanding academic achievements.
(4) The member’s area of study concerns a rare or specific subject, and the member has outstanding academic or professional achievements.
The criteria for determination of the requirements in subparagraphs 3 and 4 of the preceding paragraph shall be established by the Institute Administrative Council.
The current or former spouse of a Ph.D. student or any of his/her relatives by blood or marriage up to, and including, the third degree may not serve as a member of the Degree Examination Committee.
Article 16 The dissertation final defense shall be conducted orally in accordance with the following requirements. If necessary, it can be held via video conferencing.
(1) The Ph.D. candidate shall apply for a Degree Examination at least one month prior to the date of examination, and approval must be given for the examination to be conducted.
(2) Prior to a dissertation final defense, an originality check report shall be completed and submitted to the members of the Examination Committee for reference. After completion of the dissertation final defense, the advisor(s) shall sign the Degree Examination Grade Sheet for confirmation.
(3) A final defense shall in principle be conducted publicly. The time and place of the final defense and the title of the dissertation shall be publicly announced prior to the examination.
(4) Members of the Degree Examination Committee shall attend the final defense physically or via video conferencing. Attendance by proxy is not permitted. A final defense requires the attendance of at least five members of the Examination Committee, with non-NYCU members accounting for at least one-third of the attending members. Any final defense not meeting the requirements of this subparagraph may not be conducted, and the grade of any such final defense will not be recognized.
(5) The Director of the Institute shall appoint one of the members of the Examination Committee as its convener, who may not be the dissertation advisor.
(6) The passing grade shall be B- (70/100), with A+ (100/100) as the maximum grade. The grade shall be determined by the average of the grades given by the attending members of the Examination Committee. If at least one-third of the attending members have given failing grades, the Degree Examination grade shall be deemed as failing without averaging the given grades.
(7) The Examination Committee shall check whether the title and contents of the dissertation are consistent with the area of study in which the academic unit of the candidate is specialized. The convener of the committee shall sign the Degree Examination Grade Sheet for confirmation.
(8) If the Examination Committee reviewing a dissertation has found and confirmed any fraud, alteration, plagiarism, ghostwriting or other fraudulent practice regarding the dissertation, the Degree Examination grade will be recorded as zero, and the Examination will not be reconducted.
(9) An applicant who fails to pass the Doctoral Degree Examination may apply for a re-examination after revising his/her dissertation. However, the re-examination can only be applied for once.
(10) Thesis by publication shall meet National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Rules for Thesis by Publication.
Article 17 For any Ph.D. candidate whose dissertation has passed the final defense, the Examination Committee will provide directions and instructions for revision of the candidate’s dissertation.
The candidate shall submit the revised dissertation for review. The dissertation will pass review if approved by at least two-thirds of the members of the Examination Committee.
No separate grade will be given for the dissertation revision. Where the revised dissertation has passed review, the attending members of the Degree Examination Committee shall sign a Thesis Approval Form. For any Ph.D. candidate whose dissertation has been approved, the dissertation final defense grade will be his/her Degree Examination grade.
Candidates should complete a report of originality comparison of their revised dissertation and it should also be confirmed by their advisor(s).
Article 18 Any Ph.D. student who has passed the Degree Examination shall submit the Degree Examination Grade Sheet to the Division of the Registrar during the semester in which the examination is conducted. The deadline for its submission shall be January 31 in the first (fall) semester or July 31 in the second (spring) semester.
Ph.D. students who have passed the Degree Examination should submit their Degree Examination Grade Sheet, hard copies of their dissertation, a report of originality comparison of their dissertation, and a Statement of Academic Ethics and Originality Comparison. Additionally, students must upload their dissertation abstract and full-text electronic file online and complete the school-leaving procedures before the Division of Registrar issues a degree certificate to them.
The deadline for submission of a printed dissertation shall be the final working day before the start of classes of the following semester, after the Degree Examination was conducted. Any student who has failed to submit a printed dissertation by the deadline, and whose study period has not expired, shall still register in the next semester.
Any student whose study period has expired, and who has failed to submit the Degree Examination Grade Sheet within the semester when his/her study period expires or submit a printed dissertation by the final working day before the start of classes of the following semester, shall withdraw from NYCU.
Article 19 Students who pass the Doctoral Degree Examination and submit their dissertation will be conferred a degree of Doctor of Philosophy in compliance with university regulations.
Any Ph.D. student who has failed to pass the Degree Examination or complete the required courses within the specified period of study shall withdraw from NYCU.
Article 20 A Ph.D. dissertation (including its abstract) shall in principle be written in Chinese or English and shall meet the requirements for the format of a degree dissertation of NYCU. Any graduate student who has passed the Degree Examination shall upload an electronic file of the abstract and full text of his/her dissertation online (in accordance with the NCYU Guide for Submitting Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETD)), and submit two copies of his/her dissertation (one shall be displayed in the NYCU Library and one shall be provided to the National Central Library for collection).
The preservation or provision of a degree dissertation shall be in accordance with Article 16 of the Degree Conferral Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any degree dissertation involving confidential or patent information or the provision of which is prohibited by law shall be subject to the NYCU Regulations for Embargo of Degree Thesis/Dissertation.
Article 21 If any of the following circumstances applies to any student who has been granted a Ph.D. degree, his/her degree shall be revoked, and the degree certificate awarded shall be canceled by announcement:
(1) His/Her admission eligibility or course of study involves misrepresentation or fraud.
(2) His/Her dissertation involves fraud, alteration, plagiarism, ghostwriting or other fraudulent practice.
After the degree has been revoked in accordance with the preceding paragraph, a notice shall be given to require the student to return his/her degree certificate, and other junior colleges, universities and competent authorities shall be informed of such revocation and cancellation.
Article 22 Matters not mentioned will be referred to the NYCU Regulations for Conferral of Graduate Degrees.
Article 23 This Regulations, and any amendment thereof, shall be implemented after approval by the Institute Administrative Council, the College of Management Curriculum Committee, and the University Curriculum Committee.
These Regulations are adopted in Chinese, which shall prevail in case of any discrepancy between the English translation and the Chinese original.