Thesis Proposal Examination/Defense

An examination of a thesis proposal is aimed at testing a student's knowledge and understanding of the research topics, methodologies, approaches, and techniques in solving possible problems in their research.

The thesis proposal examination committee, for master level, must comprise no less than three members, and for doctoral level, must comprise five members, and may or may not include a qualified examiner from outside the University. There are two types of the committee, i.e.:

(1) The Thesis Proposal Examination Committee, formed by the Program Committee.

(2) The Thesis Proposal Examination Committee for a particular thesis proposal, appointed by the Program Committee.

The Thesis Proposal Examination Committee has the following responsibilities:

(1) Examining a student's knowledge and under- standing by considering the scope of the study, its duration and benefits gained from the study;

(2) Report the result of the examination to the Program Committee and the Faculty Board, respectively, for consideration.

Students must submit their thesis proposal to the Program Examination Committee for approval along with the names of their advisors and members of the thesis examination/defense committee.

The following are procedures and timelines as announced by the Faculty Board: Students must gain approval of their thesis/ dissertation proposals within the following periods of time:

(1) For a master's degree program: within two academic years, starting from the first semester they enroll in the program.

(2) For the Master - Doctoral continuing program: any semester, no less than 60 days before the day of the examination.

The Program Committee, with consent from the Faculty Board, may require the students in the program to take an examination and gain approval of their thesis proposals before the above mentioned periods of time. This must be announced before admission of students to the program.

Failure to gain approval of their thesis proposals within the aforementioned period of time shall result in the termination of the student's status as graduate student. Exceptions may be granted in extreme cases where the Faculty Board will grant an extension of another semester following the last semester when the proposal was due for submission.

After the thesis proposal has been approved, the Faculty must make an announcement of the topics and the names of persons writing the thesis as well as the names of the thesis advisors for submission to the Graduate School to publicize.

Changes of thesis/ dissertation supervisors or the thesis/dissertation examination committee can be made only for extreme cases. The change must be approved by the Program Committee and the Faculty Board, respectively, before it is submitted to the Graduate School for information.

- Students whose thesis proposals have not been approved within the time limit lose their student status, unless they have a good reason for which the Faculty Board may extend the deadline by one semester.