Regulations and Degree Requirements for the Master Program in Waldorf Education

Approved at the 1st College Affairs Meeting of the  1^st semester  of 2018 academic year on September 26,2018
Amended and approved at the 1st College Affairs Meeting of the  2^nd semester  of 2024 academic year on March 24,2025

1. These Regulations are established in accordance with the “National Tsing Hua University Academic Regulations”

2. The period in which a master’s degree program must be completed is between one year and four years, but graduate students admitted as in-service practitioners may apply for an extension of no longer than one year.

3. Course Requirements:

1. This program follows the semester system, but offers flexible course scheduling during winter and summer vacations and semesters in order to adjust to the calendar of international faculty members.

2. In addition to attending the lectures, students are required to complete the assignments and seminars assigned before the end of the semester. Only upon passing the assessment will they earn credits for the course.

3. This program adopts an experimental curriculum structure. All courses are required, and four credits of thesis must be completed. Other regulations shall follow “National Tsing Hua University’s Master’s Degree Examination Measures”.

4. Graduate students shall take at least one course per semester (including thesis), or shall be compelled to take a leave of absence. Those who have reached the maximum period of leave of absence shall be required to withdraw from the university, except for the extension of the period of leave approved in accordance with Article 38, Paragraph 2 of the “National Tsing Hua University Academic Regulations”.

4. Tuition and Refund

   1. According to the regulations on tuition and miscellaneous fees for the in-service  master's degree class of the University, $120,000 per academic year is charged before the start of the first semester of each academic year for a total of 3 academic years per student. Students who have completed three years of required courses but have not yet finished their thesis will no longer be charged tuition and fees until graduation.

   2. No refund will be made when a student applies for a leave of absence. The percentage of refunds depends on the effective date of the withdrawal as below：

      1. Students who apply to withdraw before the actual start date of the academic year will be refunded 90% of the tuition and fees paid for that year.

      2. Students who apply to withdraw within the first one-third of the academic year, counting from the actual start date of the academic year, 50% of the tuition and miscellaneous fees paid for that year will be refunded.

      3. No refund will be made if a student applies to withdraw after one-third of the academic year, counting from the actual start date of the academic year.

5. Thesis Instruction

   1. Graduate students should complete the “Consent Form for Thesis Instruction” and the form should be submitted to the college office for confirmation after obtaining the advisor's consent and signature. If a student wishes to change their advisor, they must complete the “Application Form for Changing Thesis Advisor” and state the reasons. The form must be signed by the original and new advisor before being submitted to the college office for approval. The change is limited to one time only.

   2. Priority will be given to full-time faculty members at our university when selecting thesis advisors. If a part-time, foreign or external faculty member is selected as an advisor, a full-time faculty member from our university must also be selected to co- supervise.

6. Master’s Degree Examination

   1. The graduation thesis shall be conducted through either a one-stage degree examination (which can only be arranged in the semester when all required graduation credits are completed) or a two-stage process consisting of a thesis proposal presentation and a degree examination, as determined by the thesis advisor.

   2. Graduate students applying for the master's degree examination shall comply with the following regulations：

      1. The date of application and oral examination shall be arranged in accordance with the regulations of the Master's Degree Examination Measures of the University.

      2. Students should complete the form of “Checking List of Oral Defense” and submit it to the college office for confirmation after obtaining the advisor's consent and signature.

      3. A report of the thesis originality check should be submitted, with a similarity score of less than 30% (excluding the list of references) and approved by the supervising advisor before applying for the Master’s Degree Examination.

   3. Degree Examination

      1. The degree examination may only be conducted in the semester in which all required graduation credits have been completed with the approval of the supervising advisor.
         The application should be submitted to the college office with the documents at least two weeks before the oral examination.

      2. For the relevant regulations of the degree examination, please refer to the “Regulations for the Degree Examination - the College of Education ,National Tsing Hua University”

7. Graduate students who accrue all necessary credits, and pass the degree examination and final thesis review shall be issued a master’s degree diploma by the University and complete the procedures for leaving in accordance with the related regulations.

8. These Regulations shall come into force under the resolution of the College Affairs Meeting of the College of Education.