Study Regulations of International Master Program in Marine Biotechnology and Environmental Ecology Sustainability, College of Life Sciences, National Taiwan Ocean University

Established by the Program Meeting on September 28, 2023

Approved by the College Affairs Meeting on October 2, 2023

Approved by the Academic Affairs Meeting on October 25, 2023

Issued MEE No. 1120012071 on March 26, 2024

Chapter 1 Enrollment

Article 1 The International Master Program in Marine Biotechnology and Environmental Ecology Sustainability (hereinafter referred to as the Program) of National Taiwan Ocean University (hereinafter referred to as the University) formulates these rules in accordance with relevant regulations of the University.

Article 2 Students enroll in the Program after their acceptance by the University through the University’s international student application and admission system.

Article 3 The qualifications of application, admission conditions and admission quota of the Program will be announced on the University’s international student enrollment website after approval by the Ministry of Education.

Chapter II Taking Courses

Article 4 Enrollment, registration, retention of admission qualifications, years of study, suspension, withdrawal, re-entry, change of name, age, and violation of school regulations for graduate students of the Program shall be handled in accordance with the school's academic rules and relevant regulations.

Article 5 The regulations on compulsory and elective courses for students in the Program are as follows:

1. The minimum credits for graduation are 30 credits, including 10 credits of compulsory courses, 6 credits of thesis, and 14 credits of elective credits (including the general education courses). At the same time, it is necessary to take 6 credits of Chinese Language Course which are not included in the credits for graduation. Students must take the zero-credit academic research ethics course before their graduation.

2. The credits of the compulsory subjects cannot be transferred by courses from other institutions or other departments of the University.

3. Elective courses are limited to full English courses and must be approved by the advisor. Electives for off-campus all-English courses should be handled in accordance with the "Inter-University Course Selection Regulations" of the University.

Chapter III Dissertation Guidance

Article 6 Students of the Program should submit the letter of consent from the advisor before October 31 of the enrollment year and send it to the Program office for future reference.

The advisors of the Program are limited to full-time faculty members in both College of Life Sciences and College of Marine Science and Resources. If experts and scholars other than the above are required to act as co-advisors, the consent of the advisor should be obtained.

Article 7 Students of the Program may change their advisors after the agreement of the original and new advisors and the approval of the Program meeting. A letter of consent to change advisor should be sent to the Program office for future reference.

Article 8 Students can change advisors only once during their study at the University. A second change of advisors can be considered only under special conditions not attributable to students and students should submit their reasons and relevant materials to the program meeting for review.  

Article 9 Students who have reached the last semester of their study period and have met the qualifications for thesis oral examination, but still cannot obtain the permissions of the advisors to conduct an oral examination, may appeal to the Program. A Program meeting will be held to deal with this situation, and a decision in writing format will be given to the appealing student within one month.

Chapter IV Degree Examination

Article 10 Graduate students should complete the application and review procedures for the thesis proposal application one semester before the master's degree examination. The application period for the "Dissertation Project Application Form" is the same as the degree examination.
If the "Application for Dissertation Project" is returned by the Program, the School or the school because the content does not meet the major of the Program, it must be revised before re-applying.

Article 11 After completing the required courses and credits stipulated in the Program and obtaining the approval of the advisor, postgraduate students may apply for the master's degree examination, which shall be handled in accordance with the following regulations:

1. Application deadline:

The first semester: From the completion of registration procedures to November 30th.

Second Semester: From the completion of registration procedures to May 31st.

It is not limited to those who have been approved by the advisor for special reasons and signed and approved by the project.

2. To apply, an application form should be filled in, and the following documents must be checked:

(1) A list of committee members for the master's degree examination.

(2) A copy of previous year's transcripts.

(3) An abstract and outline of the thesis.

Article 12 The composition and qualifications of the master's degree examination committee members shall be handled in accordance with the detailed regulations of the university's doctoral and master's degree examinations.

Article 13 The application for the master's degree examination must be reviewed and approved by the master's degree examination qualification review committee of the Program, and signed by the principal for approval before the dissertation examination.

Article 14 The degree examination for the Program is an oral test and shall be held on campus. Candidates should attach the following forms before the degree examination:

1. Scoring table for the degree examination.

2. Calculation of degree examination results.

3. A certificate of passing the degree examination.

4. Review opinions of degree examination committee members.

5. The convener of degree examination committee thesis review confirmation sign-off form.

Article 15 The first semester of the degree examination period of the Program should be completed before January 10, and the oral examination should be completed before July 10 in the second semester. It is not limited to those who have obtained the written consent of the advisor.

If it cannot be held as scheduled for some reason, an application for the cancellation of the degree examination should be submitted before the end of the semester. If it is not cancelled, it will be regarded as a failure of the examination.

Article 16 The writing of a master's degree thesis must meet the following requirements:

1. In principle, the content of the paper should be written in English.

2. The format of the dissertation must conform to the format specification of the doctoral and master thesis of the school

3. If there is plagiarism, violation of academic ethics or fraud in the thesis, if it is verified to be true, it will be regarded as a failure.

Chapter V School Leaving Procedures

Article 17 After passing the degree examination, graduate students of master’s degree programs should revise their thesis according to the requirements and suggestions of the advisor and the examination committee. After the revision is approved by the convener of the examination committee and the advisor, the graduate students can conduct the thesis and the leaving school procedures. The procedure for leaving school is as follows:

1. Upload the electronic file of the approved thesis in accordance with the regulations of the school.

2. Submit the postgraduate dissertation originality comparison checklist signed by the advisor (similarity shall not be higher than 30%).

3. Submit the paper copy of the dissertation with the original certificate of passing the degree examination and other relevant documents.

Article 18 Those who fail to complete the thesis revision and leave the school within the stipulated date of the school will be allowed to retain their degree examination results, except that they should still register for the next semester. If they cannot finish the related items at the semester, they would be ordered to withdraw from school.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 19 Matters not covered in these rules shall be handled in accordance with the relevant regulations of the school, the regulations of the school's Ph.D.

Article 20 These rules are promulgated and implemented after being approved by the Program Meeting, the College Academic Affairs Meeting and the Academic Affairs Meeting.

(In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese language version shall prevail.)