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Academic System
The program emphasizes research training and developing one¡¦s self-reliance and self-confidence for independent work. In the Nano Science and Technology Program, faculty members will take turns to serve as mentors for entering students until the students have chosen their thesis advisors, which should take place within the first two semesters after their admission into the graduate program. The program adopts a team-teaching system, where each faculty member teaches the subject according to his or her expertise. Courses offered include some traditional core courses, elective courses, and special topics, as listed in the Course Program section. In keeping up with the international stature of the program, all courses will be offered in English.
General requirements for the Ph. D. Degree
(for detailed requirements of the specific department/university, link here)The course requirements for the Ph.D. in all programs are similar. Basically, during the first one-and-a-half years, students are advised to complete the course requirements as suggested by the research advisor. It is the responsibility of the advisor to assist each student in formulating a program of study that will best satisfy his or her personal needs as well as fulfilling the graduate requirements. Students are also required to take a one-credit course on ¡§Seminar and Research Discussion¡¨ during each semester of the first two academic years.
(2) Selection of Research Advisor
Incoming students are expected to select a research or thesis advisor by the end of the first six months, but, in any case, no later than the first year, of graduate study in Taiwan. This advisor can only be the faculty members of our program. For the faculty members list, please refer to Faculty part of our program website. After deciding, students should notify both the program office and the respective department (here is the department that students are admitted) about their advisor by filling out and submitting the required forms. Note that according to the requirement of departments, if the advisor* is not the professor or joint professor of the respective department, students need to discuss with their advisor and select/invite a professor or joint professor from the respective department as their co-advisor.
* Some faculty members have positions both as a research fellow at Academia Sinica, and also as a professor or joint professor in the respective department.
A student seeking admission to the Ph.D. candidacy must take a qualifying oral examination according to the regulations of qualification examination of each program. The oral examination is based predominantly on a research proposition submitted by the student. However, before presenting the proposal to the examining committee, the student should be prepared to discuss with the committee members his or her research progress and plans for the thesis work, including relevant literature.
The criteria for advancement to candidacy vary from program to program, including the writing of an essay, a series of written examinations on the subject of the program, or the oral defense of a set of research propositions. Once a student has been advanced to candidacy, he or she will begin to devote full time to independent study and research on his or her thesis topic.
A Ph.D. candidate defends his or her thesis research before a thesis committee. This defense will take the form of a thesis seminar followed by an oral examination on the research. The examination committee shall consist of faculty members familiar with the candidate¡¦s area of research. Some of the thesis examining committee must come from another institution.