Study and Course

• Credit Requirements
• The Study Plan
• Course Opening Schedule
• Lab Rotations
• Thesis Research
• Qualifying Examination (QE)
• Requirement for Graduation
• Termination of Studentship

Credit Requirments

The Ph.D. in the MCB program requires successful completion of a minimum of 30-credit hour courses, a qualifying exam and thesis research. The maximal length of study in this Ph.D. program is seven years.

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The Study Plan

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Course Opening Schedule

We have three required courses: Molecular and Cell Biology,Seminar, and Thesis Research and many elective courses for you to choose. In addition, students can take any courses offered by other programs in TIGP and by NDMC. more about courses

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Lab Rotation

Students may rotate through several labs with the goal of finding a lab to conduct thesis research. The length of each lab rotation is upon mutual agreement between the student and the advisor, but shall not exceed four months. A maximum of 2 credits will be granted; even if students take more than two lab rotations. Students are highly encouraged to decide on the thesis research lab by the end of the first summer. Studentship will be terminated if a student cannot find a thesis research lab by the time of applying for qualifying exam. See the guideline

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Thesis Research

A minimum of two-year thesis research is required. Twelve credits will be granted to the student upon completion of the thesis defense.

Thesis Committee
The advisor will organize the thesis committee within one month after the student chooses their lab. Each committee shall consist of at least three members, including the advisor. The thesis committee shall meet at least once a year for the progress report from the student. The committee evaluates the progress and advises on current research problems and the future direction of the project.

Progress Report
Students must give an annual progress report to the thesis committee. The first report is a thesis proposal and should be given by the end of the third semester. Thereafter, the progress report should be given once a year by the end of each Fall semester. Students should prepare a written proposal or progress report according to the format given by the MCB office, and submit it to the thesis committee and MCB office one week before the committee meeting.

Progress report consists of two parts:

The 2nd year students should coordinate the schedule for progress report and notify the thesis committee members to attend his/her progress report.

• Progress Report Process
  1. Presentation in public
  2. Question and discussion
  3. Thesis committee session only
• Written proposal
• Format: total page do not exceed 15 pages (single space)
1. title page
2. introduction(2-5 pages)
3. results and discussion
4. future work
5. reference
• Hand in the proposal to thesis committee and MCB Office one week before presentation.

The following annual progress reports

• Progress Report should be given by the end of each Fall semester.
• A written progress report of the same format as proposal is required, and should be submitted to the thesis committee and MCB Office one week before presentation.

Starting from 2008, students are required to complete the annual progress report in a timely manner in order to graduate.

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Qualifying Exam

Qualifying exam (QE) will be held from June to August every year. Students should take the QE before the start of the third academic year. Students who pass the Molecular and Cell Biology course are eligible to apply for taking QE. Student shall submit an application form and a one-page non-thesis research proposal that contains Abstract and Specific Aims to the Curriculum and Degree Committee during April 15^th - 30^th. The application deadline is April 30th.

The Curriculum and Degree Committee will appoint a non-thesis proposal evaluation committee to evaluate each proposal and appoint QE committee for each student according to the subject of the proposal. The QE committee consists of 5 members, excluding the student’s thesis advisor.

The date of QE exam will be announced before June 1st. Student shall turn in the complete non-thesis proposal to the MCB office no less than two weeks before the exam date. Qualifying Exam Form

The format of non-thesis proposal:

• Abstract or Summary
• Specific Aims
• Backgrounds and Significance
• Experimental Design and Methods
• Perspective Results
• Discussion
  （The item 5, 6 can be presented separately or combined together.）
  The format of reference should follow that in the journal “Cell” or “Nature”.

Students will conduct an oral presentation and defend their proposal in front of the QE committee. It requires at least four QE committee members’ approval to pass the exam. In case of failing the exam, students can retake the exam after 3 to 6 months.

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Requirement for graduation

In order to earn a Ph.D. in TIGP-MCB, the candidate must successfully complete/meet the following criteria within seven(7) years.

• Publication: The student should publish, or have the manuscript accepted, at least one first-author paper on the thesis research. The affiliation of TIGP students in their published work should be listed as "Taiwan International Graduate Program, Graduate Institute of Life Science, National Defense Medical Center and Academia Sinica", followed by the primary affiliation of the advisor.
• Written thesis in English
• Completion of credit requirement
• Records of annual progress reports
• Consent of the thesis committee to proceed with the thesis defense
• Thesis Defense

Thesis Defense
Upon the consent of the thesis committee on the completion of thesis research, a committee of thesis defense shall be formed. The thesis defense committee consists of 5-7 members. Students shall present the thesis work in an open seminar followed by a defense of the thesis in front of the thesis defense committee.

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Termination of Studentship

Studentship will be terminated under any of the following conditions:

• Student who does not pass the course” Molecular and Cell Biology” the second time.
• Student who fails to find a thesis research lab before applying for Qualifying Exam.
• Student who does not meet the criteria to apply for Qualifying Exam in time.
• Student who fails the Qualifying Exam the second time.
• Student who does not fulfill the requirements for Ph.D. degree after seven school years.

Contact the TIGP-MCB Office if the resources above do not address your questions.

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