Program Requirements

Graduate Program Requirements

The Institute offers both master of arts and doctoral degrees, and an additional master of arts in Austronesian Studies taught exclusively in English. The master's degree programs typically require about three years. Graduates must complete 28 credits, 4 to 6 months of field work or research, and write a thesis. Students in the doctoral program must complete 30 credits, pass the doctoral qualification exams, conduct field work for at least one year, and write a dissertation.

Master of Arts

Graduation Requirements:

Credits:
Complete at least 24 credits (7 credits compulsory, 3 credits of regional studies, 14 elective credits).

Master's fieldwork and thesis (0 credits):
The thesis research project is proposed under the guidance and supervision of an advisory professor. After passing the oral exam, the thesis fieldwork will be conducted for 4 to 6 months. When the thesis is completed and students successfully pass the oral examinations, all requirements for graduation are fulfilled.

Compulsory Courses (7 credits total):
Special Topics in Cultural Anthropology (3 credits), Anthropological Methods (3 credits + 1 credit of cultural field practice) or Archaeological Methods (3 credits + 1 credit of field practice in archaeology). The master’s thesis also constitutes as a required course (4 credits).

Required Regional Studies Course (3 credits):
These include: Han Society and Culture, Southeast Asian Societies and Cultures, Chinese Ethnic Minorities, Austronesian societies and cultures, regional archaeology (Southeast Asian Archaeology, Taiwan Archaeology, Chinese Archaeology, etc.).

Elective courses (14 credits total):
Extramural courses can be counted as elective credits, but no more than one-third of the credits required for graduation. Independent study with an institute faculty member can be used as elective course (2 credits).

Other Requirements:
Mandatory Seminar Attendance. All students are required to attend the institute’s seminar series.

Master's Qualification Examination:
Must be held within two weeks after the end of the second semester of the first academic year. The examination subjects include cultural anthropology topics and anthropological (or archaeological) methodology.

According to the "Key Points for the Implementation of the Academic Research Ethics Education Curriculum at National Tsinghua University," graduate students must also pass the academic research ethics education course (0 credit required).

Doctoral Program

Graduation Requirements:

Credits:
At least 30 credits must be completed (9 compulsory, 21 elective credits and dissertation).

Compulsory courses (9 credits):
Contemporary Anthropological Theory (3 credits), Contemporary Human Conditions (3 credits) and Contemporary Archaeological Theory (3 credits). Those who have studied for a master-level degree and obtained credits in domestic and foreign universities recognized by the Ministry of Education may submit transcripts and syllabi for similar courses at the same level for review by the faculty of the Institute of Anthropology. Upon successful review, such courses (6 credits) may be credited towards the requested requirement. Those who have not taken the required prerequisite courses for the doctoral program (Special Topics in Cultural Anthropology, Anthropological Methodology or Archaeological Methodology and Cultural Field Practicum/Internship or Archaeological Field Internship/Practicum, and regional specialization courses) in a master's program must make up for these deficiencies after enrollment. However, these courses will not be included in the 30 credits required by the doctoral program. If you have already taken the above courses or similar courses, you can submit a written application for exemption with a copy of courses transcripts, the name of the instructor, and a copy of the syllabus or course outline. After approval by the institute faculty, you will be exempted from the course.

Elective courses (21 credits):
Extramural courses taken outside of the university such as internships and courses outside the Institute can be counted as elective credits, but may not exceed more than one-third of the credits required for graduation. Independent study and directed reading (2-4 credits), can be one of the elective courses. At most 2-4 credits of directed reading are admitted, and at least one of these must be offered by the student’s advisor if more than one is included. Directed study courses must also be approved by the supervising professor and the director to take effect. Students must have the ability to communicate in their fieldwork language however relevant language courses may not be counted towards credit requirements.

English test:
Pass the TOEFL exam with a score of (80 points of the latest version) or 6.5 points on the IELTS Exam. Only those who pass can take the qualifying examination.

Qualifying Examination:
The required 30 credits must be completed and students must pass the English test before the exam can be taken. Before the end of the second semester of the fourth academic year, the doctoral qualification must be completed. Each doctoral student has two opportunities to pass the qualification test.

Doctoral Fieldwork and Dissertation:
The dissertation research proposal is to be prepared and proposed under the guidance of the advisory professor and provided to the examining committee for approval and discussion. When the oral exam defending the research proposal is passed, students will formally become doctoral candidates of the Institute. It is then necessary to conduct dissertation research that lasts for at least one year. Afterward the dissertation is written and successfully defended before approval for graduation.

According to the "Key Points for the Implementation of the Academic Research Ethics Education Curriculum at National Tsinghua University," PhD students must also pass the academic research ethics education course (0 credit required).

Master of Arts in Austronesian Studies

Graduation Requirements:

Credits: Complete at least 28 credits (6 credits compulsory, 18 credits elective and 4 credits thesis). Compulsory courses: Austronesian Taiwan (3 credits), Advanced Cultural Anthropology (3 credits).

Elective courses (18 credits total):
In addition to courses designed for this program, courses outside the Institute or the university can also be counted as credits of elective courses, but no more than one-third of the 24 credits required for graduation. Those who choose to take courses outside the institute must submit a written application requesting approval from the supervising professor and the director. Independent study and directed reading (2 credits) can be one of the elective courses. There is no limit to the number of directed reading electives, but the Institute only accepts two credits during the program.

While the elective course requirements remain open to student choice, the following courses will be taught and offered in English on a regular rotation to support this program:

Courses offered：

Advanced Cultural Anthropology
Austronesian Taiwan
Indigenous Peoples and the State
Multicultural Education and Curriculum Studies
Oceania Societies and Cultures
Gender and Sexuality in Southeast Asia
Gender Issues in Asia and the Pacific
Southeast Asia Societies and Cultures
Contemporary Anthropological Theory
Nature, Culture, & Power from Colonialism to 21st Century Capitalism
Austronesian Linguistics
Southeast Asia Ethnographies
Taiwan Archaeology

Master's thesis/research (4 credits):
Students have two options for the thesis/research requirement:

Write a thesis (50‐75 pages double‐spaced) based on original or library research.
In lieu of a thesis, students can submit two original publishable research papers (25 pages double‐spaced, approximately 8,000 words each)

Students are required to submit a research proposal by the end of second semester under the guidance of their supervising professor and committee.