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.

Thesis Defense Step-by-step

Run Thesis Through the Turnitin Plagiarism Check
Confirm Thesis Defense Committee Members
Apply for Thesis Defense
Tying Up the Loose Ends Before Your 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.

Once you pass the Turnitin plagiarism check, obtain the following three items before your defense:

The actual Turnitin plagiarism report of your thesis (論文原創性比對報告書)
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)
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 three-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 targeting 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

Thesis committee members and thesis proposal committee members should specialize in the student’s thesis topics and fit one of the following qualification types:

Past or current full professor or associate professor
Academician of Academia Sinica; or past or current researcher or assistant research of Academia Sinica
PhD holder with distinguished achievements
People with distinguished achievements in rare and special topics

The qualification of Type 3 and Type 4 should be reviewed in a department faculty meeting. Relatives of the student may not serve as committee members.

Regulation Sources

On thesis defense committee composition - Article VI.B, Department of English Master’s Degree Thesis Evening Program Policy & Thesis Procedures
On appointing thesis defense committee members - Article VI.C, Department of English Master’s Degree Thesis Evening Program Policy & Thesis Procedures
On thesis defense committee member qualification - Article IX, Taipei Tech Master’s Degree Thesis Defense Policy

3. Apply for Thesis Defense

Prerequisites

Having confirmed your thesis defense committee members
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.

For the first semester of an academic year: November 30
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.

Student’s Tasks

With the Department Office...

You should submit the followings to the department office...

Coursework Transcript - Printed copy
Thesis Abstract in English - Printed copy
Thesis Abstract in Chinese - Printed copy
Thesis Defense Application - Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
Thesis Defense Committee Member List - Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
Thesis Defense Committee Member Contact Information (.doc, .odt) - Electronic copy

You should also schedule with the department office the venue in which you will defend your thesis.

With the Thesis 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.

Department Office Tasks

After receiving the defense application packets from the students and confirming all the necessary documents and information are in place, the department office should prepare the consolidated list of MA thesis defense of the semester, and submit it to the Office of Continuing Education, together with the items listed below.

All the transcripts submitted by applying MA students
All the English thesis abstracts submitted by applying MA students
All the Chinese thesis abstracts submitted by applying MA students
All the thesis defense committee member lists submitted by applying EMA students (need to be stamped by the department chair; will be returned after review by the Office of Continuing Education)

Deadline

The abovementioned documents need to be submitted to the Graduate Student Section of the Office of Academic Affairs by these deadlines:

For the first semester of an academic year: November 30
For the second semester of an academic year: May 31

Regulation Sources

On thesis defense application time - Article VI.A, Department of English Master’s Degree Thesis Evening Program Policy & Thesis Procedures

4. Tying Up the Loose Ends Before Your Defense

Deliver Thesis to Thesis Defense Committee Members

Provide Proof of Presenting in a Conference

As a partial requirement for graduation, you need to present a paper in a conference before your thesis defense. You should provide proof of having done so to the department office at least one week before your defense. Read Article V.D.1 of the department thesis policy for details.

Department Office Tasks

Student’s Conference Presentation Documents

Upon receiving the conference presentation documents from the student, the department office should confirm all necessary documents are in place and check the validity of the documents. File the documents once the validity is confirmed.

Regulation Sources

On presenting in a conference - Article V.D.1, Department of English Master’s Degree Thesis Evening Program Policy & Thesis Procedures

5. 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.

Required Documents

To change your committee members, complete the Thesis Defense Committee Change Form for Master’s Programs 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 and submit a printed copy to the department office. This is a standard university form.

Department Office Tasks

(If applicable) Consolidate the information of all students who apply to cancel their thesis defense using the standard Thesis Defense Cancellation Form and submit the form to the Office of Continuing Education.

6. Checklist Before Defense

Official Documents

Complete the following forms according to instructions and bring them to the venue on the day of your thesis defense.

Thesis Score Sheet
Complete the form and make enough copies so that each of your thesis committee member receives one copy on the day of defense. You can make extra copies in case of any unexpected thing. This is a standard university form.
Thesis Score Overview
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.
Thesis Acceptance Confirmation (.doc, .odt)
Refer to the sample for detailed instructions. One copy with signatures from all thesis committee members is required. This is the confirmation that goes into the final binded thesis.
Thesis Plagiarism Check Documents
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.
Thesis Committee Honorarium & Reimbursement Form
There are three different sheets in this Excel file, namely “Master’s 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.

Final Confirmations

Confirm the attendance of your thesis defense committee members. You need to have at least three committee members present at the defense.
Confirm the availability of the venue with the department office
Confirm technology works as expected in the venue

7. Defend Your Thesis

Prerequisites

Having applied for thesis defense at least three months ago
Having delivered printed copy of the final draft of thesis to each of the thesis committee member one month ago
Having presented a paper in a conference

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.

Student’s Tasks

Bring the required official documents and give them to the thesis committee for scoring purpose.

If your thesis is accepted after the thesis defense, make sure the official forms—Thesis Score Sheets, Thesis Score Overview, Thesis Acceptance Confirmation, and Thesis Committee Honorarium & Reimbursement Form—are properly completed and follow the instructions detailed in the After Passing the Thesis Defense section.

Read more about applying for thesis defense again if your thesis is rejected.

Department Office Tasks

Make a poster that has the student’s name, thesis title, abstract, and time and venue of thesis defense. Post the poster on the door of the venue before the defense starts.

Regulation Sources

On time required between passing the proposal and defending the thesis - Article V.H, Department of English Master’s Degree Thesis Evening Program Policy & Thesis Procedures

8. 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 two documents in addition to the aforementioned official documents.

Thesis Title Change Request Form - Printed copy. This is a standard university form.
Thesis Defense Application - Printed copy. This is a standard university form. This is the same form that you submit when you apply for thesis defense.

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.

Department Office Tasks

Confirm all the necessary documents are properly completed and submitted. The documents are:

Thesis Score Sheets
Thesis Score Overview
Thesis Acceptance Confirmation
Thesis Committee Honorarium & Reimbursement Form
Thesis Title Change Request Form - if applicable
Thesis Defense Application - applicable only if change of thesis title is requested

After confirming all documents are in place, make a copy of all the submitted documents. Return the Thesis Acceptance Confirmation to the student, and submit the rest of the documents to the Office of Continung Education. If there is any change of thesis title request, update the consolidated list of MA thesis defense of the semester and submit a printed copy along with the rest of the documents.

The last possible time to submit the documents to the Office of Continung Education is January 31 for a first semester and July 31 for a second semester.

9. 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.

Regulation Sources

Program expel policy - Article VI.G, VI.I.3, Department of English Master’s Degree Thesis Evening Program Policy & Thesis Procedures
Maximum years of study policy - Article II, Taipei Tech Master’s Degree Thesis Defense Policy
Earliest time to apply for thesis defense again - Article XIII, Taipei Tech Master’s Degree Thesis Defense Policy