台大心理系

Department Programs:

The Graduate Institute offers two programs: General Psychology and Clinical Psychology. Students in each of the programs must select a field of psychology for research, and must also undertake cross-field research.

Selection and Responsibilities of Thesis Adviser:

1. Graduate students should select their Thesis Adviser at the time of enrollment
2. Graduate students should have the consent of their proposed Thesis Adviser before making the selection. If necessary, the Chair of the Graduate Institute may temporarily stand in as Thesis Adviser for the first semester.
3. The Thesis Adviser for Ph.D. students must be approved by the Chair of the Graduate Institute.
4. The Thesis Adviser should establish a course and research schedule according to the student’s background and interests as well as the regulations of the University and Graduate Institute. Graduate students may apply to the Graduate Institute to change their Thesis Adviser. After the Thesis Adviser is changed, the student’s course and research schedule should be revised immediately.
6. The Thesis Adviser should stipulate supplementary courses according to the student’s actual study progress. Supplementary courses are compulsory for the student.
7. After the course and research schedule have been approved by the Thesis Adviser, they should be submitted to the Department for filing and future reference.

Course Credits:

For students enrolled in the General Psychology program, Masters students must complete 24 credits, not including the Master’s Thesis, while Ph.D. students must complete 30 credits, not including the Ph.D. Thesis. For students enrolled in the Clinical Psychology program, Masters students must complete 41credits, not including the Master’s Thesis, while Ph.D. students must complete 31 credits, not including the Ph.D. Thesis. Students may apply for credit transfers in the same academic year that they enroll in the program in accordance with the University’s Credit Transfer Regulations and the appropriate regulations of the Graduate Institute.

Course Regulations:

The Graduate Institute courses consist of Required Courses and Elective Courses. Required Courses include basic knowledge, lecture series, and research methods. Elective courses are recommended by the Thesis Adviser.

1. Basic knowledge courses: There are six courses to choose from (see Table below). With the agreement of their thesis advisers, Masters students should choose at least one of these courses (3 credits); with the agreement of their thesis advisers, Ph.D. students should choose at least three of these courses (9 credits). However, if a program has more stringent requirements, these should prevail instead.

2. Lecture Series course: This course requires attendance at the Department Seminar, one credit each semester. Before graduation, Master’s students must take this course at least twice (total of two credits); before graduation, Ph.D. students must take this course at least four times (total of four credits). Credit transfer is not permitted for this course.

3. Research Methods course: Masters and Ph.D. Program students must take the course “Experimental Design” (three credits).
4. Courses recommended by Thesis Adviser: Thesis Advisers should recommend courses that are appropriate for their Ph.D. students. When recommending courses, the Thesis Adviser may select: (1) A single field in psychology; (2) A single field in psychology as a major, and another single field in psychology as minor; (3) A combination of courses from a number of fields in psychology. However, it is recommended that Masters students focus on a single field.
5. Supplementary courses: Students are required to have taken courses in Statistics, Methods of Psychological Experiments, and Psychological Testing at the undergraduate level. Where students have not taken these courses, they should be taken as Supplementary Courses. However, students may be exempted from this requirement following review by the class teacher or their Thesis Adviser.

Thesis:

Masters students must complete the Master’s Thesis, and Ph.D. students must complete the Ph.D. Thesis.

Ph.D. Qualification Examination:

Ph.D. students must also complete a Ph.D. Thesis. On enrollment, Ph.D. students should immediately consult with their Thesis Adviser on their thesis topic and engage in research. Two years following enrollment, students should: (1) Complete an independent empirical research project; (2) Report the results of the research project in a departmental seminar; and (3) Submit the findings to a TSSCI, SSCI, SCI, or other journal approved by the department, and have them accepted for publication.

Independent research papers and shall conform to the following requirements:

1. A published or unpublished Master’s thesis may not be used as a replacement for the independent Ph.D. research paper;
2. The paper must be an empirical research paper;
3. Ph.D. students must submit their papers for publication in an academic journal;
4. The paper must be submitted no earlier than nine months following enrollment;
5. The Ph.D. student must be the first author of the paper and the Thesis Adviser must be the corresponding author;
6. Ph.D. students are responsible for providing proof of the journal’s peer review process;
7. A letter from the editor stating that the paper has been accepted can be used as proof of “forthcoming” publication;

If Ph.D. students have already submitted their research outcomes to an academic journal, but have yet to receive the outcome of the peer review, they may use proof of submission to delay the dates of the qualification examination. However, before applying for the Thesis Examination, students must provide the Graduate Institute with proof of acceptance for publication in order to satisfy the requirements of the Qualification Examination. This proof of acceptance is not limited to the academic journal to which the paper was originally submitted.

If Ph.D. students are unable to provide proof of journal submission within the required time period, they should write up the results in the format of a journal article, and submit the article for review by the Academic Committee to determine whether the standard for publication in the above journals has been reached. If the standard is reached, the paper shall be regarded as “forthcoming,” and the requirements for the qualification examination are reached. However, proof of the acceptance of the paper should be submitted to the Graduate Institute before application for the Thesis Examination.

Qualification Examination for Ph.D. Candidates. Ph.D. students should take the Qualification Examination within two years following enrollment. The Qualification Examination is divided into two parts: courses and research. (1) For courses, the semester grades for “Experimental Design” is the grade for examination purposes; (2) For research, the grade is determined by the whether the independent research paper requirements are met. Ph.D. students pass the qualification examination if they receive passing scores for each of the two parts.

If the Qualification Examination is not passed within two years following enrollment, students should be re-examined in the third year on the parts that did not receive passing scores. Students who fail to pass before the end of the third year should be dismissed from the Ph.D. Program.

Ph.D. Candidates:

After Ph.D. students have passed the Qualification Examination and completed the required courses, the Graduate Institute should report the student’s status as a Ph.D. Candidate to the Office of Academic Affairs.

Ph.D. Thesis Oral Examination:

Ph.D. Candidates should formulate their thesis topic and proposal in conjunction with their Thesis Adviser, and form a “Thesis Proposal Guidance and Evaluation Committee” for the thesis proposal oral examination. After the thesis proposal oral examination, Ph.D. candidates should amend their research proposal in accordance with the suggestions of the feedback given by the Thesis Proposal Guidance and Evaluation Committee.

Thesis Examination:

When Masters students and Ph.D. Candidates have completed their thesis, and their Thesis Adviser is satisfied that the necessary quality level has been obtained, they may submit an application for the Thesis Examination.

Ph.D. Candidates must also meet the following requirements in order to apply for a Thesis Examination:

1. Outcomes of independent research have been accepted for publication in a journal that satisfies the requirements of the program;
2. At least six months have elapsed since the Ph.D. Thesis Oral Examination was passed;
3. Thesis research outcomes have been presented at a department seminar;
4. Course requirements have been satisfied.