Regulations for Students Enrolling in the Master's Program of the
Department of Computer Science at NCCU

Revised on February 22, 2001 at the 70th Department Affairs Meeting
Revised on March 22, 2001 at the 71st Department Affairs Meeting
Revised on April 12, 2001 at the 72nd Department Affairs Meeting
Revised on September 27, 2001 at the 78th Provisional Department Affairs Meeting
Revised on October 25, 2001 at the 79th Department Affairs Meeting
Revised on March 7, 2002 at the 85th Department Affairs Meeting
Approved on December 25, 2003 at the 107th Department Affairs Meeting
Approved on October 14, 2004 at the 116th Department Affairs Meeting
Approved on May 19, 2005 at the 123rd Department Affairs Meeting
Approved on September 14, 2006 at the 139th Department Affairs Meeting
Approved on September 3, 2008 at the 163rd Department Affairs Meeting
Approved on October 16, 2008 at the 164th Department Affairs Meeting
Approved on March 19, 2009 at the 169th Department Affairs Meeting
Approved on October 22, 2009 at the 175th Department Affairs Meeting

Article 1: Legal basis

The Regulations are drawn up pursuant to the Guidelines for Graduate Degree Examinations of National Chengchi University's (hereinafter, NCCU) Department of Computer Science (hereinafter, the Department).

Article 2: Admission qualifications

Persons who have passed a master's program entrance examination held by NCCU or the Department and have been granted admission. Applications submitted by foreign students for admission shall be handled pursuant to the relevant regulations.

Article 3: Credits

1. Prerequisites: New students who have graduated from an undergraduate information engineering department or a undergraduate computer science department are considered to have completed the prerequisites. Students other than the above who have not taken the courses as indicated in (2) below shall take them at the Department's undergraduate or graduate division before enrolling in this graduate institute. However, those who take the courses at the Department's undergraduate division may not have the credits of these courses counted toward the credits of those stipulated in (4) below. Exceptions are subject to the approval of the department head. Students desiring to apply for prerequisite waivers shall do so by the end of the first week of the first academic year. Only courses having the same names may be waived. Decisions concerning other courses shall be made by the instructor offering the course in question in the current year.
2. Must take two of following four courses as graduate institute prerequisites: Data Structure, Algorithms, Operating Systems, Computer Organization and Architecture
3. Credit waivers: Students may apply to have a maximum of nine credits waived. The maximum number of credits earned from non-specialized courses taken at a different graduate institute that may be waived is three for students enrolled in division A and six for those enrolled in division B. Students enrolling in a five-year combined bachelor's and master's degree program may apply to have a maximum of 1/2 of the number of credits required for graduation waived.
4. Credits: Students must earn 24 credits, excluding seminars and thesis reading and writing. A maximum of 9 credits earned from courses taken at a different graduate institute may be waived for students enrolling in division A and a maximum of 12 credits earned from courses taken at a different graduate institute may be waived for students enrolling in division B. Courses taken each semester shall be approved by the advisor or counselor by the deadline for adding/dropping courses. Courses offered to persons enrolled in an program are equivalent to non-specialized courses offered by different graduate institutes.
5. Required courses (7 credits)
   1. Thesis Reading and Writing (Required course for first-year enrollees, 3 credits)
   2. Seminars (1)-(4)

Article 4: Advisor

1. Graduate students shall select an advisor and thesis topic by the end of their first academic year and provide the information to NCCU at the designated time.
2. If a student changes advisors, approval shall be obtained from the new advisor and the original advisor or from a department affairs meeting.

Article 5: Incoming transfer students

1. Number of transfers allowed: Not to exceed the maximum set by NCCU for the current year
2. Application timeframe: December and June of each year
3. Students applying to transfer to the Department shall meet the following criteria: Students enrolled in a different department (graduate institute) may apply to transfer to the Department by the beginning of the second academic year after obtaining the approval of the heads of both departments. Each student is permitted to apply to transfer to the Department only once.
4. Students applying to transfer to the Department shall prepare the following:
   
   1. Approval documents from the head of the department (graduate institute) from which they are transferring
   2. Undergraduate and graduate transcripts
   3. Study plan -- including the motivation for the transfer and other information that will be helpful for the application review
5. Review of applications: A transfer committee shall be formed by the Department to handle this matter. The written examination, documentation review, and oral examination shall be weighted at 20%, 40%, and 40%, respectively.

Article 6: Procedure and time frame for submitting the thesis proposal

1. A progress report shall be submitted at least three months after a simplified thesis proposal is submitted, reviewed, and approved. Students shall apply for an oral examination at least two months after a progress report is submitted. Exceptions shall be discussed at department affairs meetings.
2. Changes to the thesis proposal shall be approved by the advisor and a revised proposal shall be submitted.
   1. If the student changes advisors, a revised proposal shall be submitted after obtaining the approval of the new advisor and the original advisor or from a department affairs meeting.

Article 7: Oral examinations

1. Students shall submit a thesis after obtaining the advisor's approval. A sufficient number of copies of the thesis shall be submitted to the Department and the examination committee members one week prior to the examination.
2. Oral examinations shall be administered by oral examination committees, which are formed by three to five qualified persons from within and outside of NCCU. External members shall account for 1/3 or more of all members. All members shall be determined by the advisor after consulting with the department head.
3. Students taking an oral examination shall pass the examination only if more than half of all committee members vote in favor and give an average score of at least 70. Students failing an examination may apply to re-take the examination in the following semester or academic year, provided that they are permitted to remain enrolled. All students are permitted to re-take an oral examination only once, provided that they remain enrolled when re-taking the examination. Only those given a score of at least 70 may pass the re-take examination.
4. After being notified to take an oral examination, students shall submit a hardbound copy of their thesis to the Department. The format of the thesis shall be determined by the Department.

Article 8: Supplementary Provisions

Matters stipulated in the Regulations shall be handled pursuant to the relevant NCCU regulations. The Regulations shall take effect after being approved at a department affairs meeting and submitted to NCCU's Office of Academic Affairs. The same procedure shall apply upon their revision.