1. Required Courses: 6 credits

    A. Taiwan Literary Studies: Archives and Bibliography (3 credits)

    B. Topics in Taiwan Literature and Culture (3 credits)

    C. Dissertation (0 credits)

    D. Students who do not have training background in Taiwan Literature are required to take the M.A. required course “Topics in Taiwan Literary History” (I) and (II). In this case, the credits are not counted in the total 24 (6 required + 18 selective) credits for the PhD program.

2. Selective Courses: 18 credits
Students are required to take 18 credits of selective courses (around 6 to 8 courses). Up to 6 credits obtained from courses taken outside of the program can be counted in the 18 credits of selective courses under the consent of the program director or the course committee.

3. Language requirements
PhD students are required to have achieve language proficiency in two research languages beside Taiwanese Mandarin. In particular, students are required to achieve one one language at high level and another upper-intermediate level. For international students whose native language is not Taiwanese Mandarin, their native languages can be counted as one of the required research languages, while high-level proficieny in Taiwanese Mandarin is required for graduation. Some of the research languages and their corresponding qualifications are listed below:

    A. English

       i.   iBT 81 [High]/ iBT 70 [upper-intermediate]

       ii.  TOEIC 800 [H]/ 700 [UI]

       iii. Passing the course “Advanced English” (I) and (II) [UI]

       iv. Holding a degree [major/minor/double-major] in English or Foreign languages and literatures [UI]

       v. Holding a degree in Anglophone countries [UI]

   B.  Japanese:

       i.  JLPT: N2 [H]/ N4 [UI]

       ii. Holding a degree [major/minor/double-major] in Japanese studies [UI]

       iii. Holding a degree in Japan [UI]

  C. Experiences of exchange/visiting student in any university whose main research language is not Mandarin Chinese for more than 7 months can be seen as achieving high-level proficiency in the main research language of the university.

  D. Korean, German, French, Spanish: Please consult the program office for a complete list of language qualifications. Languages not listed above can be reported to the office for qualification.

4. Academic participations
   The program requires that student actively participate in academic activities, such as presenting in conferences, publishing journal articles, serving as conference discussants, etc.

  A. Students are required to earn at least 3 points in via presentations and publications:

     i.  Publishing in THCI or A&HCI journals: 3 points

     ii.  Publishing in second-rate journals: 2 points [for a list of the journals please consult the program office]

     iii.  Publishing in peer-reviewed journals or conferences: 1 point.

     iv. For co-authored essays: 100% point for first author and 50% for the rest author(s)

  B. Students are required to earn 3 points for participating in academic conventions in any of the two semesters of registration, at least 2 of which from the program:

     i. Seminars, speeches, workshops, fieldworks: 1 point

     ii. Serving as panel discussant or coordinator: 1 point

     iii. A list of academic participation (including the title of speechs/seminars/workshops, dates, and points earned) should be submitted to the program office at the end of each semester

5. Prospectus
   Students are required to propose their dissertation prospectus no later than the end of the fourth year of registration. The prospectus should include a research proposal (equivalent to the introduction of a dissertation), a tentative content, and a sample chapter. The committee should include at least three faculty, including the advisor. The faculty of the committee should hold a oral exam to review the prospectus.

6. Ascendence to candidacy:
   Those who have  (1) completed all required and selective courses (except dissertation); (2) fulfilled the academic presentation and publishing requirement; and (3) proposed a dissertation prospectus are qualified to apply for ascendence to PhD candidacy.

7. Dissertation Review
   After prospectus exam, students may start writing the dissertation. Before the formal defense, a dissertation review will be held as a preparatory oral exam. The dissertation review should be scheduled at least two semesters after the prospectus. For example, if you complete the prospectus in the fall semester of 2020, you can apply for the dissertation review in the spring semester of 2022, the earliest. Please plan accordingly. The committee of the dissertation review should include no less than three faculty, including the advisor. The Dissertation review should be held in the first two weeks of the semester, and should be held at least two months before the defense [that is, the review can be held in the same semester as the oral defense].

8. Dissertation Defense
After the prospectus and the review is finished, the final stage of the dissertation is the dissertation defense. The committee of the defense should include five to nine faculty, including the advisor. At least one of the faculty has to be affiliated with other departmnets of institutions).

1. All registered students are required to take 28 credits of graduate courses, including 12 credits of required courses and 16 credits of selective courses.
2. Required courses:

  A.  Topics in Taiwan Literary History, (I) and (II) (6 credits)

  B.  Introduction to Langages in Taiwan (3 credits)

  C.  Literary Theory and Research Methodology (3 credits)

  D.  Background courses: History of Taiwan (4 credits)
Students who have not taken any classes related to Taiwan history re required to take at least 4 credits of undergraduate courses of Taiwan history from the Department of History. Credits taken from the Department of History are not counted in the 28 credits of graduate courses.

3. Selective courses:
   All registered students are required to take 16 credits of selective graduate-level courses (around 5 to 7 courses). Up to 6 credits taken from other departments or institiutions can be counted in the 16 credits of selective courses.

4. Language requirements:
   MA students are required to achieve language proficiency in two research languages beside Taiwanese Mandarin. In particular, students are required to achieve one one language at at least upper-intermediate proficiency and another intermediate level. For international students whose native language is not Taiwanese Mandarin, their native languages can be counted as one of the required research languages, while high-level proficieny in Taiwanese Mandarin is required for graduation. For a detailed list for languages currently acknowledged as research languages in the program and the qualification for the upper-intermediate/intermediate level, please contact the program office.

5. Academic participations
   The program requires that student actively participate in academic activities, such as presenting in conferences, publishing journal articles, serving as conference discussants, etc.

  A. Students are required to earn at least 3 points in via presentations and publications:

     i. Publishing in peer-reviewed journals or conferences or presenting in a nation-wide conference: 2 point

     ii.  Presenting in any solicited, peer-reviewed conferences: 1 point

  B. Students are required to earn at least 3 points for participating in academic conventions in any of the two semesters of registration, at least 2 points of which from the program:

     i. Seminars, speeches, workshops, fieldworks: 1 point

     ii. Serving as panel discussant or coordinator: 1 point

     iii. A list of academic participation (including the title of speechs/seminars/workshops, dates, and points earned) should be submitted to the program office at the end of each semester

6. Thesis Prospectus
   Before starting their thesis, students are required to pass the oral examination for the thesis prospectus. The Exam should be held no earlier than the third semester of registration. The exam committee should include at least 2 members, including the advisor. The prospectus submitted to the committee should include a research proposal (equivalent to the introduction of the thesis) and a sample chapter.

7. Thesis defense

A thesis defense is required for graduation. . In the form of oral examination, the committee should include at least 3 members, including the advisor. The minimum grade for passing the defense is B-.