Ph.D. Program Regulations
Institute of Business and Management
National Chiao Tung University
Approved by the Institute on November 7, 2002
Revised by the Institute on March 13, 2006
Revised by the Institute on March 11, 2008
Revised by the College on April 16, 2008
Revised by the Institute on April 15, 2010
Revised by the Institute on March 29, 2012
Revised by the Institute on April 19, 2012
Revised by the Institute on March 21, 2017
Revised by the School on May 15, 2017
Revised by the Institute on April 10, 2018
Revised by the Institute on April 9, 2019
Approved by the School on May 23, 2019
Revised by the Institute on April 7, 2020
Approved by the School on May 19, 2020
1. These regulations are enacted by the Institute of Business and Management (the Institute) of National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), in accordance with the NCTU Regulations for Master and Doctoral Degrees Conferment, and for the purpose of facilitating the study of Ph.D. students (including full time and part time students) in this program of the Institute.
2. The years of study for full time Ph.D. students in the Institute ranges from two to seven years. The years of study for part time Ph.D. students in the Institute ranges from two to eight years.
3. The students who apply for the qualification of doctoral program direct admission shall comply with the Institute Regulations for Direct Pursuit of Ph.D. Degree and reviewed by the Institute Council, in accordance with the NCTU Direct Pursuit of Ph.D. Degree Regulations.
4. Any NCTU Ph.D. students currently enrolled in other programs that desire to transfer to the Institute shall first acquire approval from his/her program, as well as the recommendations from two or more teachers in the Institute. The Institute Council shall have the power to review all applications. If the application is approved, the transfer will be effective in the next semester after such approval, and the year of study in the original program shall be taken into account.
5. The research areas for the program include (but are not limited to) ‘Business Strategy’, ‘Organization & Human Resource’, ‘Marketing’, ‘Finance’, ‘Technology and Information’, and ‘Operation and Decision Science’. Independent enrollment for each research area may be held if necessary. Interdisciplinary research is encouraged.
6. The Ph.D. curriculum consists of ‘prerequisite courses’, ‘required courses’, and ‘area-specific courses’.
(1) Prerequisite courses: ‘Economics’, ‘Accounting’, and ‘Statistics’.
(2) Required courses: ‘theory courses’, ‘methodology courses’ and ‘seminar courses’.
1) Theory courses: First-year graduate students are required to complete ‘Management Theory (I)’ and ‘Management Theory (II)’.
2) Methodology courses: Students are required to complete ‘Research Methods’, ‘Statistical Methods and Data Analysis’, ‘Multivariate Analysis’, and ‘Econometrics’.
3) Seminar courses:
a. ‘Seminar on Business and Management’ course: Students must complete three semesters of this seminar course.
b. ‘Individual Study’ course: After selecting a dissertation advisor, the Ph.D. student shall take ‘Individual Research’ at least once per academic year, except for students participating in overseas exchange programs, overseas research or students who have waived the course in the academic year of graduation.
(3) Area-specific courses: Students are required to complete six fundamental courses for the six specified research areas specified in article 5, and at least three elective courses related to his/her major research area.
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 Final 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 opened by the Institute as prerequisite courses following approval by the Institute. However, the credits of such courses will not be taken into account for the graduation requirement (36 credits). Please refer to the list of Course System for the Ph.D. Program.
7. Ph.D. students are required to provide the Doctoral Plan of Work within the first semester after enrollment. The Doctoral Plan of Work must be approved by the Institute.
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 Council.
9. The Ph.D. student shall select an advisor within six months after passing the Qualifying Examinations. He/she shall decide the advisor selection and form a Doctoral Committee no later than the Dissertation Proposal Defense. If the student fails to complete the above mentioned in due time, the Institute Council may discuss and decide an advisor for the student. The advisor must be selected in accordance with the following rules:
(1) The advisor must be a full-time (or joint appointment) professor, associate professor or assistant professor in the Institute. A retired teacher who has published in journals within the past three years or any full-time assistant (or above) professor in the University System of Taiwan may serve as a co-advisor.
(2) The Doctoral Committee must include at least three full-time (or joint appointment) professors, associate professors or assistant professors in the Institute, or a retired teacher who has published in journals within the past three years, or any full-time assistant (or above) professor in the University System of Taiwan. The advisor shall be the Chairperson of the Doctoral Committee.
(3) The Doctoral Committee is responsible for advising the student and monitoring his/her progress toward obtaining the degree.
(4) During the period of study, a Ph.D. student may terminate the advisory relationship or change his/her dissertation advisor by applying to the Institute in written form. Such change becomes effective after notifying the original advisor and the completion of hand-over matters; the consent of the original advisor is not required. The change of Doctoral Committee members shall follow the same regulations.
(5) A dissertation advisor who wishes to terminate the advisory relationship shall apply to the Institute in written form. The Institute will notify the Ph.D. student about the result of the review. The Institute may help the Ph.D. student find another advisor after the termination of the advisory relationship. A Doctoral Committee member who wishes to terminate an advisory relationship shall follow the same regulations.
(6) A Ph.D. student who applies for the termination of the advisory relationship or change of advisor (or any Doctoral Committee member(s)) according to the Guidelines for the Interaction between Thesis Advisor and Graduate Students may use the ideas, concepts or research results of the original advisor (or the Doctoral Committee member(s)) following approval by the original advisor (or the Doctoral Committee member(s)).
(7) Every procedure mentioned above must be reported to the Institute and approved by the College of Management Executive Committee.
10. Each advisor can advise no more than two students per class, and no more than five students (including students on a leave of absence) in each academic year. Teachers who have received a research award from NCTU in the past three years may advise at most seven Ph.D. students.
11. A Ph.D. student may apply for the doctoral candidacy with the recommendation of his/her advisor within school regulations once the student has studied for more than two years, passed the Qualifying Examinations, completed all required courses, and acquired 36 credits (78 credits for students admitted for the Direct Pursuit of Ph.D. Degree), including waived credits, but not including the credits from prerequisite or seminar courses. No more than six course credits from institutions outside of the Institute will be taken into account for graduation, no more than six credits from institutions outside of NCTU for foreign students, and no more than 12 credits for students admitted for the Direct Pursuit of Ph.D. Degree.
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 NCTU.
13. The Ph.D. student, after passing the Dissertation Proposal Defense and before taking the Doctoral Final 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.
14. The Ph.D. student must meet all of the following requirements before applying for the Doctoral Final Examination:
(1) Be qualified as a doctoral candidate.
(2) Pass the Dissertation Proposal Defense.
(3) Acquire a grade of 550 or above in paper-based TOEFL, or the equivalent grades in other forms of TOFEL, high-intermediate or above in GEPT, or 750 or above in TOEIC. Alternatively, the student may complete two doctoral English courses offered by the NCTU Language Teaching and Research Center.
(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 joint appointment) 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 turn in the acceptance letter of the paper.
(5) Complete an originality check on the dissertation, and provide the report for the Final Examination Committee members’ reference. The similarity score must not exceed 20%.
15. The Doctoral Final Examination is conducted as an oral defense, and in accordance with the following rules:
(1) The Final Examination Committee is composed of five to nine members, including Doctoral Committee members and other professors specializing in the area of research or study of the applicant. At least one-third of the Final Examination Committee members must be from outside of NCTU. The Final Examination Committee members may be recommended by the Doctoral Committee. Apart from the advisor, the Final Examination Committee should include at least one full-time (or joint appointment) professor in the Institute. If there is no suitable candidate from the faculty of the Institute, the Final Examination Committee should include full-time professors from other departments of the College of Management. After approval by the Director of the Institute, the organization of the Final Examination Committee will be proposed to the President of NCTU for the final decision.
(2) The Oral Defense will be arranged by the Institute in an open manner. The date, time, location and subject of the dissertation will be made public prior to the Oral Defense.
(3) All Final Examination Committee members should attend the Final Examination in person. Representatives or replacements are not allowed. The Final Examination requires the attendance of at least five of the committee members.
(4) The minimum passing score for the Final Examination is 70, and the maximum score is 100. The final score is the average of the scores given by the attending Final Examination Committee members. However, if one-third or more of the attending Committee members award the student a failing score, the Final Examination will be regarded as failed.
(5) An applicant will be regarded as failed if the Final Examination Committee has found any fraud, alteration, plagiarism, ghostwriting, or other unethical conduct regarding the applicant’s dissertation.
(6) An applicant who fails to pass the Doctoral Final Examination may apply for a re-examination after revising his/her dissertation. However, the re-examination can only be applied for once.
16. According to regulations, students who pass the Doctoral Final Examination will be awarded a Ph.D. degree. Students who cannot pass the Doctoral Final Examination within the regulated year of study will be expelled.
17. The Ph.D. dissertation (and their abstracts) should be written in Chinese or English and comply with the NCTU Thesis and Dissertation Formats. A student is required to post an electronic version of the abstract and dissertation on the university website within one month from passing the Doctoral Final Examination. (See NCTU Library Abstract, Thesis and Dissertation Electronic Specification for details.) A student must also submit three copies of her/his dissertation (one displayed in the library of Taipei Campus, one displayed in the library of Guangfu Campus, and one submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs for collection by other units as specified by the MOE).
18. Regulations for international students shall be referred to the Regulations for International Graduate Students, College of Management, NCTU.
19. NCTU will cancel the doctoral degree that has been conferred to a student, and announce the cancellation of the conferred diploma certificate in any of the following situations:
(1) Any admission qualification fraud, or any misrepresentation or dishonesty during the study period.
(2) Any fraud, alteration, plagiarism, ghostwriting, or other unethical conduct regarding the
dissertation.
After the degree has been cancelled pursuant to the foregoing paragraph, NCTU will request the return of the student’s diploma certificate(s).
20. Matters not mentioned herein these regulations will be referred to the NCTU Regulations for Master and Doctoral Degrees Conferment.
21. The modification of these regulations will be effective to students enrolled in the next academic year.
22. These regulations shall be implemented following approval by the Institute Council, the College of Management Curriculum Committee, the University Curriculum Committee, and the Academic Affairs Council. The same shall apply to all amendments made hereafter.
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