Master's Degree Requirements

Master's Degree Courses/Credits Requirements

1. The Period of Study of IPCS Master’s Degree is 1 to 4 years.
2. Principle of finding advisors:
   1. Graduate students may select their thesis advisor from among the faculty members of the program based on their research interests and direction. If they choose an/a affiliated/ affiliated-adjunct/ project faculty member as their thesis advisor, they must co-supervise with a tenure or joint faculty member, who will also serve as the student's mentor. Formal approval shall be granted by the program director upon official approval.
   2. If graduate students wish to select a faculty member who is not a member of the program committee or program faculty as their thesis advisor, they must submit a separate application and obtain approval from the program director.
   3. After confirming the thesis advisor, students must submit a "Thesis Advisor Consent Form" with the advisor's signature before the end of the first semester of their first year of study. Failure to submit will result in the program director and the program curriculum committee assigning an advisor after consultation.
   4. The number of program faculty members supervising master's students in the program is limited. Tenure faculty can supervise up to six students in total over two consecutive years, joint faculty up to eight students, and affiliated/ affiliated-adjunct/ project faculty up to four students. Co-supervision counts as 0.5 person.
3. IPCS students need to complete at least 30 credits during the period of study (including 6 credits of M.S. thesis).
4. Students should only register in the course “M.S. Thesis” (6 credits) in the same semester of taking Master’s Degree Examination. For more information regarding thesis composition, please visit: NTU Academic Writing Education Center. Students may also refer to courses such as “Scientific English and Basic Writing” or “Advanced Research Writing” offered by interrelated departments or graduate institutes.
5. Important Reminder: students who enrolled in and from 2018 Fall semester should take 6hrs Academic Ethics Course in the first academic year. (link)
6. Master’s degree students enrolled in and after the 2019/20 academic year need to comply with the following course registration requirements:
   I. Required Courses: 20 Credits

   Course Title	Credits	Remark
   Climate Change: Issues and Solutions	3	• Start from the first semester.
   Workshop on Climate Change and Human Settlements	3	• Start from the second semester.  • Students who have taken this workshop during their bachelor’s degree studies cannot be exempted.
   Analysis and Application of Climate Data	2
   *Seminars (I)-(IV)	4	• Seminar (I) (1credit): Interdisciplinary workshop  • Seminar (II) (1 credit): Academic speech participation • Seminar (III) (1 credit): Progress report (literature review, proposal writing and etc.) • Seminar (IV) (1 credit): Thesis draft presentation
   Frontier Research Topics (I)-(IV)	2	• Frontier Research Topic (I) & (II) (1 credit): Climate Service and Environmental Sustainability • Frontier Research Topic (III) & (IV) (1 credit): Micro Environmental Monitoring and Disaster Management
   M.S. Thesis	6	select this course when the semester holding the degree examination

   * Seminar (I) should be taken during the first (Fall enrollment) or second (Spring enrollment) semester of entrance year. Under extraordinary circumstances, and upon approval by the IPCS academic committee, may the student take Seminar (III) before Seminar (I) has been taken. Seminar (II) requires students to participate certain hours of on or off campus academic seminars. A list of seminar (II) related presentations is released before the beginning of each academic year and could be added during the semester. Seminar (III) should be taken after a pre-proposal is finished and approved by the student’s thesis adviser. Seminar (IV) should be taken in the semester that the student plans to graduate. A long abstract summarizing their research results should be prepared as a final report of the seminar IV class.
   
   II.Elective Courses (4 Credits)
   In addition to core courses, students need to register in at least 2 required elective courses instructed by IPCS faculty and on subjects related to IPCS (Please refer to the "Online Course Information").
   III. Supplementary Courses (6 Credits)
   All NTU courses which contain letters U or M in “Curriculum Identity Number” are considered elective courses (including courses instructed by IPCS faculty).
   
   For students who take the seminar (III) in advance :
   Review of application qualifications: Excellent students are approved by the advisor and apply for advanced seminar courses with credits before January 31 or July 31 each year. Applicants must submit complete written materials [thesis proposal, and the advisor's letter of recommendation (clearly evaluate the performance and potential of the student's coursework, research, and reasons)], and need the approval of the academic committee before the class with credits.
    
7. IPCS master’s degree student who has taken courses in either NTU graduate schools or any graduate study institutions, that were similar in title, content, and level of difficulty to those offered by IPCS within the past 5 years, may file course exemption applications for 6 credits in total utmost. Students must have attained a grade of B- or better (in NTU grading system), or grade points of 70 (out of 100) or above in a course, in order to enter the course exemption and credit transfer review procedure.
8. The IPCS grade of pass is B- (in NTU grading system) for all courses.
9. Students need to register in at least 1 IPCS course each semester. For those who fail to meet this standard, the program office retains the right to withdraw matriculation in the following semester.
10. Students should only register in the course “M.S. Thesis” (6 credits) in the same semester of taking Master’s Degree Examination. For more information regarding thesis composition, please visit: NTU Academic Writing Education Center. Students may also refer to courses such as “Scientific English and Basic Writing” or “Advanced Research Writing” offered by interrelated departments or graduate institutes.
11. Master’s degree students seeking to register in IPCS doctoral level courses need to acquire course instructor’s endorsement beforehand.
12. In principle, IPCS master’s degree students should register in courses offered by the program; the validity of credits from courses offered by non-IPCS departments or graduate institutes would require Curriculum Committee approval. 
13. IPCS master’s students need to satisfy one of the following English Graduation Requirements in order to graduate:
    1. GEPT High- intermediate
    2. IELTS 5.5 (overall score)
    3. TOEFL iBT 72
    4. TOEFL ITP 543
    5. TOEIC 785
    6. FLPT 195
    7. FCE Grade B (score 160)
    8. Or:
       1. Acquired a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an institution located in English speaking countries, which is included in the Ministry of Education: “the Reference List of Foreign Universities”
       2. Had taken and passed the “NTU Graduate Student On-line English Program (III)”

Master's Degree Examination (Documents)

1. Graduate students who have completed the specified subjects and credits within the prescribed time limit may submit an application to the program for the master’s degree examination in the final semester with the consent of their advisor. The application deadline for the first term (fall semester)  is November 30, and April 30 for the second term (winter semester). Those who fail the degree examination may retake it in the next semester or the following academic year. Students are limited to one retake of the examination, and those who fail a second time may be ordered to withdraw from the University.
2. The master’s examination committee is composed of three to five advising professors; at least one of them should be a professor from within the program and in a different field from the advisor. The master’s examination committee members are proposed by the advisor and appointed with the approval of the Academic Committee and the program director.
3. If a graduate student who has already applied for the degree examination cannot, for some reason, complete the exam within the semester, they must apply to withdraw their application for the degree examination before the end of semester date as specified in the school calendar. Those who fail to either cancel or proceed with the examination within the specified time limit shall be considered to have failed the exam once.
4. Graduate students may complete the degree examination in the following ways:
   (1)Academic Track: Complete the master’s thesis oral examination and submit the master’s thesis 
   (2)Practical Track: Participate in specialized internships, complete the master’s thesis oral examination, and submit the master’s thesis
5. Rules for Internships:
   (1)Graduate students who wish to participate in professional internships must complete a designated course before submitting the application form for the internship program, which will be reviewed in writing by the Internship Committee. Only those who pass the application may take Internship I and Internship II, and participate in professional internships. Those who do not pass the application may apply again at the beginning of the next semester.
   (2)Graduate students will have completed 8 credits (inclusive) of professional courses before graduation. The list of professional courses and designated courses for each academic year will be announced at the beginning of the school year. 
   (3)Graduate students who have completed or are currently taking Internship II can apply for the master’s thesis oral examination with the consent of their advisor.
6. Any other unlisted regulations shall be handled in accordance with the academic regulations of the University.

Designated Courses for Practical Track

Fall Semester

1. Climate Change: Issues and Solutions
Komatsu, Hikaru    Thur. 8,9,10 (GCRC G202)

Spring Semester

2. Workshop on Climate Change and Human Settlements
Hsieh, Yi-Huan    Wed. 8,9,10 (GCRC G202)

Professional Courses for Practical Track

Fall Semester

1. Sustainable Development Goals
Hsieh, Yi-Huan

2. Pathways towards Net-Zero: Scenario Exploration and Policy Design
Chao, Chia-Wei

Spring Semester

3. Environmental Systems Analysis
Tung, Ching-Pin

4. Computer Intensive Statistics in Ecology
Hsieh, Chih-hao

5. Climate Change and GIS Spatial-Temporal Analysis
Chung, Ming-Kuang

Regulations for practical track

Article 1 Purpose
This regulation aims to encourage graduate students to engage in cases related to climate change and sustainable development, cultivate their ability to find and solve problems, and complete a masters program in the practical track.

Article 2 Professional Internship Committee
This committee is designed to help IPCS students complete a masters degree on the practical track. The committee members are the same as the academic committee members. The professional internship committee is in will:
1. Address student needs
2. Accept and assess institutions for internships
3. Determine if students are eligible for the practical track
4. Review and assess professional course requirements
5. Assist in the establishment of two courses: Internship I and Internship II
6. Help students find advisors
7. Any other related matters

Article 3 Qualifications and rules
1. Master students must first complete the required course(s) before applying for a professional internship. Required courses for each academic year would be announced at the beginning of the academic year after being reviewed by the committee. 
2. After completing the required course(s) for the professional internship, students should complete the application and submit it to the committee (Attachment 1). The application will be evaluated and the student will receive written notice.
3. If the application is approved, the student can enroll in Internship I and Internship II; if it is rejected, the student will not be permitted to apply again until the beginning of the next semester.

Article 4 Required courses for the practical track
In addition to the course requirements of the IPCS program, graduate students must complete at least 8 credits of professional courses, and Internship I and Internship II (both are 0 credit). The list of professional courses and designated courses for each academic year will be announced at the beginning of the school year.

Article 5 Internship agency
While enrolled in Internship I and Internship II, graduate students should intern at an organization or agency that is recognized by the committee. The standards of qualification are as follows:
1. An agency or organization which is engaging in climate change and sustainable development business and is approved by the committee.
2. An agency or organization that has sufficient manpower to supervise the internship.
 
The list of agencies and organizations recognized by the committee will be announced at the beginning of each academic year. Application to the committee for a new organization or agency is permitted (See attachment 2 for application). The internship will be available after approval from the committee.

Article 6 Practical track master's degree assessment process
Graduate student should take M.S. thesis at the final semester. 
1. Graduate students who are currently enrolled in or have completed Internship II are able to apply for master’s thesis oral examination after receiving advisor’s permission. 
2. Graduate students should submit the master’s practice thesis after the oral examination. The required format of the thesis can be found in Attachment 3. 
3. The procedural processes of the master's practical track thesis are identical to those of the master's academic thesis.

Article 7 Attachments
These regulations will officially be implemented after committee approval at the program meeting.