Graduating around the globe
CHUN-YEN CHANG & CHIA-LI DEBRA CHEN
Taiwan
To complete a PhD program in Taiwan may take about 3-10 years. As an example, the average completion time for a doctoral program at the Graduate Institute of Science Education (GISE) in National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) may take about 3-5 years on average. Students’ admission to the PhD program is based on an entrance exam set up by five exam committee members from various specializations of the graduate school. The exam committee members evaluate students’ qualifications based on their written documents (including publications,
research proposals, autobiography, recommendation letters, transcripts, and the like) and personal interviews. The students who receive the highest scores from the committee members are admitted to the program. Once NTNU’s PhD program admits students, they need to form an official academic advisory committee during their first academic year, through which their course-related matters can be advised. The academic advisory committee is responsible for the evaluation of the students’ academic course plans. If students wish to change their original
130
