4. Defend Thesis
Once both you and your adviser are satisfied with your thesis, you should start the thesis defense procedures. At this stage, you are required to turn in a printed final draft of your thesis to your adviser and thesis committee members (at least one month before the defense), to make a presentation of your thesis to the thesis committee, and to answer their questions or concerns about the thesis. Members of the thesis committee will decide whether to accept your thesis based on the final draft of your thesis, your presentation, and your ability to answer their questions to their satisfaction. Your thesis will be given a numeric score that determines whether it is accepted or rejected.
After your thesis is accepted, you will still need to do final revisions to incorporate the comments given by the thesis committee members. After you have completed revisions to your adviser and committee members' satisfaction, you can submit the thesis to the school for the graduation procedures.
You may apply to defend your thesis again if it is rejected by the thesis committee. Pay close attention to the time frame, however, as defending too late may make it impossible to graduate.
Note that, starting from this stage, the school administration is involved in the process. It is therefore crucial that you allow everyone involved enough time to process documents.
Rules
Department of English Master's Degree Thesis Policy #6
J5 National Taipei University of Technology Policy of Master's Degree Examination (OAA)
J8 National Taipei University of Technology Implementation Guidelines for Academic Research Ethics Education of Graduate Students (OAA)
Thesis Defense Step-by-step
- Run Thesis Through the Turnitin Plagiarism Check
- Confirm Thesis Defense Committee Members
- Apply for Thesis Defense
- Change Your Committee Members or Cancel Your Thesis Defense
- Checklist Before Defense
- Defend Your Thesis
- After Passing the Thesis Defense
- Apply for Thesis Defenses Again (if thesis is rejected)
1. Run Thesis Through the Turnitin Plagiarism Check
Per Taipei Tech Library recommendation, students are advised to have applied for a Turnitin Plagiarism Checker Account one to two months before the defense. Visit the Taipei Tech library website (Chinese, English) for application instructions.
Once your thesis is in a satisfactory state, run it through the Turnitin Plagiarism Checker system to obtain a report. If the report shows plagiarism concerns, talk to your adviser on fixing the problems. You need to repeat this process until the report shows no plagiarism concerns. Do it early, and do it often.
Documents
Once you pass the Turnitin plagiarism check, obtain the following three items before your defense:
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The actual Turnitin plagiarism report of your thesis (論文原創性比對報告書)
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Taipei Tech Library's review of Turnitin plagiarism report (論文原創性比對複核結果回函, see note below)
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Dissertation Originality Comparison Checklist (學位論文原創性比對檢核表. Please find the form on the OAA Chinese and English form website. It is typically labelled J16.)
The three documents should be reviewed by your adviser. Your adviser needs to sign the Dissertation Originality Comparison Checklist (學位論文原創性比對檢核表).
Note on Taipei Tech Library's review of Turnitin plagiarism report (論文原創性比對複核結果回函). You need to apply for this document on the Taipei Tech Library website at least two weeks before your defense. This process takes at least one week, and the library does not take any expedited case.
2. Confirm Thesis Defense Committee Members
Finding Thesis Committee Members
A thesis committee is composed of three to five members, including the student's adviser and co-adviser (if applicable), and it should also include at least one outside reader. Refer to the department thesis policy & procedures for detailed information.
You should discuss potential thesis committee members with your thesis adviser. You should then politely request an appointment with these potential committee members to see if they are available and feel they would be able to give useful feedback on the thesis topic. You also need to find at least one outside committee member. There are honorarium and transportation reimbursement (applicable only to rail travel) available for thesis committee members.
Schedule the Thesis Defense Date
You should also arrange a time that is convenient to all of your thesis committee members for the thesis defense. According to university regulations, the last possible time to have a thesis defense is January 31 for a first semester and July 31 for a second semester. This is also the last day that you may submit your accepted and bound thesis in order to complete graduation procedures. As you may need time after your defense to complete the revisions that your committee requires, you should not hold your defense so late. Keep in mind, also, that your committee members may not be able to meet close to the end of a semester or after a semester ends. Make sure, therefore, that you schedule your proposal early enough that you will have time to defend and revise your thesis as needed. According to department regulations, a two-month gap is required between the day you pass your thesis proposal and the day you defend your thesis.
The thesis defense normally takes place in one of the department rooms. You should check the availability of your desired room on the arranged thesis defense day and schedule to use it with the department office when you apply for your defense.
Time
There is no specific deadline as to when you should confirm your thesis committee members. However, keep in mind the time frame of the thesis defense application, especially if you're hoping to graduate in the same semester in which you defend your thesis. Committee members should be given at least one full month to read your thesis before the defense.
Member Qualifications
Department of English follows the “Taipei Tech Master's Degree Thesis Defense Policy” (#9) on the qualification of thesis proposal committee members. The policy states that the thesis committee members should specialize in the student’s thesis topics, works of art, exhibition, or technical reports. They should also fit in one of the following qualification types:
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Past or current full professor, associate professor, or assistant professor
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Academician of Academia Sinica; or past or current researcher, associate research, or assistant research
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PhD holder with distinguished achievements
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People with distinguished achievements in rare and special topics or professional practices
The qualification of Type 3 and Type 4 should be reviewed in a department faculty meeting. Relatives may not serve as committee members.
Deliver Thesis to Thesis Defense Committee Members
Each of your thesis committee members should receive a printed copy of your thesis and have at least one full month to read your thesis before the actual thesis defense. You should therefore take into consideration the time required to deliver your thesis to your thesis committee members.
Prerequisites
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Having confirmed your thesis defense committee members
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Having passed the thesis proposal
Time
You can apply for your thesis defense any time during a semester. The last day to apply for the thesis defense is different for each semester.
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For the first semester of an academic year: November 30
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For the second semester of an academic year: May 31
Note that your thesis defense application needs to be filed with the university by the department office, and the aforementioned dates are also the last days that the department office can do so. It is therefore not recommended that you wait until November 30 and May 31.
★ Documents
You should submit the followings to the department office...
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Coursework Transcript - Printed copy
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Thesis Abstract in English - Printed copy
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Thesis Abstract in Chinese - Printed copy
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Academic Research Ethics Education Courses for Graduate Students - Printed copy
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J1 Application for Oral Defense (Chinese, English) - Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
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J5 National Taipei University of Technology Sheet of Degree Examination Committee (Chinese, English)- Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
You should also schedule with the department office the venue in which you will defend your thesis.
4. Change Your Committee Members or Cancel Your Thesis Defense
To either change your thesis committee members or cancel your thesis defense, you need to send in the application to the department office latest one week before the original scheduled day of thesis defense.
According to the Taipei Tech Master's Degree Thesis Defense Policy, failing to attend your thesis defense automatically fails the thesis defense, and failing thesis defense twice means expulsion.
Documents
To change your committee members, complete the Thesis Defense Committee Change Form for Master's Programs (Chinese, English) and submit a printed copy to the department office. This is a standard university form.
To cancel your thesis defense, complete the Thesis Defense Cancellation Form (Chinese, English) and submit a printed copy to the department office. This is a standard university form.
Documents
Complete the following forms according to instructions and bring them to the venue on the day of your thesis defense.
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Thesis Acceptance Confirmation (.doc, .odt, .pdf) - Printed copy.
One copy with signatures from all thesis committee members is required. This is the confirmation that goes into the final binded thesis. -
J4 National Taipei University of Technology Evaluation Form for Degree Examination (Chinese, English) - Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
Complete the form and make enough copies so that each of your thesis committee member receives one copy on the day of defense. -
J11 Thesis Committee Honorarium & Reimbursement Form (Chinese, English) - Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
There are four different sheets in this Excel file, namely “Master's Program,” “PhD Program,” “Transportation Fee,” and “Committee Member List.” You need to fill in the information for the “Master's Program” sheet and print it out for the committee members to sign. You also need to fill in the information of the “Committee Member List” and print it out and later submit it to the department office. The “Transportation Fee” sheet contains information of transportation reimbursement that you may find useful to let your committee members know. -
J15 National Taipei University of Technology Score Sheet for Degree Examination (Chinese, English) - Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
Complete the form and bring at least one copy on the day of defense. You can make extra copies in case of any unexpected thing. This is a standard university form. -
J16 National Taipei University of Technology Degree Dissertation Originality Comparison Checklist (Chinese, English) - Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
Bring the completed and signed thesis plagiarism check documents to the defense as a reference for your committee members. Read aforementioned Turnitin originality check for more information.
Prerequisites
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Having applied for thesis defense at least two months ago
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Having delivered printed copy of the final draft of thesis to each of the thesis committee member one month ago
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Bring the required official documents and give them to the thesis committee for scoring purpose.
Time
Your thesis defense can take place any time during a semester as long as the prerequisites are met. Note, however, the last possible time to have a thesis defense is January 31 for a first semester and July 31 for a second semester. You should also take into consideration that some of of your thesis committee members may not be able to meet that late.
If your thesis is accepted after the thesis defense, make sure the official forms are properly completed and follow the instructions detailed in the After Passing the Thesis Defense section.
7. After Passing the Thesis Defense
After passing the thesis defense, you should bring the completed official documents—Thesis Score Sheets, Thesis Score Overview, Thesis Acceptance Confirmation, and Thesis Committee Honorarium & Reimbursement Form—to the department office.
If your thesis committee suggested that you should change your thesis title, and both you and your thesis adviser agree with the suggestion, you need to submit the following document in addition to the aforementioned official documents.
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J17 Application Form for New Thesis Topic (Chinese, English) - Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
You should submit the documents to the department office ideally right after your thesis defense. If you're asked to change your thesis title, you can make the required documents by utilizing university computer center resources. Keep in mind that these signed forms are the proof of your passing the thesis defense and your score. Submit them as soon as possible.
After passing the thesis defense and submitting the necessary documents, you should revise your thesis based on the feedback of the thesis defense committee and prepare to submit your final thesis for graduation.
8. Apply for Thesis Defense Again
This does not apply if the thesis defense committee accepts your thesis.
If the thesis defense committee rejects your thesis, you need revise your thesis based on the feedback provided by the thesis defense committee members. After both your adviser and you are satisifed with the revised thesis, you need to start from confirming your thesis defense committee members and go through the entire thesis defense process.
According to the Taipei Tech Master's Degree Thesis Defense Policy, the earliest you can apply to defend your thesis again is the next semester. In addition, if the thesis is rejected in the second thesis defense, you will face expulsion.
Pay close attention to your years of study and the thesis defense application deadline and the last possible day to defend your thesis. If you do not pass your thesis defense by the last possible day of thesis defense in your fourth year of study, you'll be directly expelled from the program.