Rules & Regulations
Institute of International Business
Rules & Regulations for Master
From May 22th, 2024
From June 19th, 2025
1. To clarify and standardize the regulations and course requirements for Masters students of Institute of International Business, National Cheng Kung University, and based on the university’s Academic Regulations and Master Student Bylaws, we hereby announce the “Institute of International Business Rules and Regulations for Master Students”.
2. Graduation Requirements
1) All students need to fulfill 42 credits requirement for graduation in order to apply for the final defense.
2) Students can graduate after passing the final defense and the English proficiency tests.
3. Courses Enrollment Regulations
1) Maximum of 15 credits can be taken in each semester.
2) Prerequisite courses in economics, accounting and statistics are not included in the graduation credits. Students may take 3 courses in other institutes during two years.
The selected courses should not have overlapped course names as the ones offered in the Institute.
3) The application for taking courses in other institutes should be submitted to the office before the second course selection stage in order to be accredited as credits for graduation.
4. Courses Requirement
1) Required Course: International Business Management, 1 course for 3 credits.
2) Required Elective Courses 1:International Marketing Management, International Financial Management, International Human Resource Management, 3 courses for 9 credits.
3) Required Elective Courses 2: Financial Management, Marketing Management, Human Resource Management
A. These 3 courses can be waived for students who have completed during undergraduate study in 1 semester (3 credits) and pass with a score of 60 or above. Students who would like to apply for credits waiving should submit the original transcript of their undergraduate to the Institute of International Business office for verification.
B. The credits waiving application should be completed 1 month before the first semester ends ( according to the school schedule). This is the only chance to apply. Late applications will not be accepted.
4) Compulsory Fundamental 3 Courses: Fundamental Statistics in Business, Fundamental Accounting in Business, Fundamental Economics in Business
A. Completion of these courses will not be counted as part of the credits required for graduation.
B. These 3 courses may be waived for students who have completed in undergraduate study in 1 semester (3 credits) and passed with a score of 60 or above, or in five years junior college study in 2 semesters (6 credits).
Students who would like to apply for credits waiving should submit the original transcript of their undergraduate to the Institute of International Business office for verification.
C. The credits waiving application should be completed 1 month before the first semester ends ( according to the school schedule). This is the only chance to apply. Late applications will not be accepted.
D. Students can also take these fundamental courses on online learning systems such as MOOCs, but they will not be counted as part of the credits required for graduation.
E. Students who take an online course have to take the exam at the end of the semester. If you pass the exam, you don’t have to take the courses.
5. Thesis Advisor
1) Students must decide their thesis advisor before the end of the first semester.
2) The thesis advisor must be a full-time faculty member of Institute of International Business. If the advisor is from other institutes or a part-time instructor, he/she will need to co-advise the student with a full-time faculty member from Institute of International Business.
3) To change advisor, students need to sign up the “Advisor Changing Application Form” and “Affidavit of advisor changing”.
4) A newly appointed thesis advisor must have supervised the student for at least 3 months before the student apply for the thesis proposal.
6. Postgraduates' Change of Departments
1) From other departments to IB: Students should confirm the advisor and get the permission from the director of the IB institute before the postgraduates’ change.
2) From IB to other departments: Students need to study in IB institute for one year before the application of postgraduates’ change of departments.
7. Thesis Proposal Regulations
1) Students require to pass the proposal to applying for Final Defense. The proposal presentation should be conducted in English. Students should submit the “Thesis Proposal Application Form” to the IB office 1 week before the date of thesis proposal.
2) Students must have the Final Defense at least 2 months after the proposal.
8. Master Degree Final Defense
1) Students should get the permission from your advisor and submit the final defense application to the IB office 2 weeks before the final defense.
2) The final defense must be conducted in English and a plagiarism detection report from a school-approved original thesis comparison software must be submitted.
9. Credits Waiver
Students who have been to the foreign university to study in the dual-degree system could apply for the credits waiver that courses have passed the examinations. Following the rules of “Cheng Kung University Dual-Degree system Regulation”. Student can waive up to 21 credits.
10. English Proficiency Requirement
1) Students must pass one of the English proficiency tests listed below:
A.TOEIC – 785 or above.
B. Pass the high-intermediate level second-round test of GEPT.
C. IELTS English Language Testing 5.5 or above.
D. TOEFL online version (iBT - Internet-based Test) 72 and above.
E. Select the course “Online English for Graduate Students” in the course enrollment system, and reach 70 in the final grade.
F. Students who come from English-speaking countries don’t need to provide a language proficiency certificate.
2) The English test taken within the period from five years prior to enrollment to before the application for the final defense may be accepted.
11. Any matters not covered in these Regulations shall be governed by the relevant provisions of the University Regulations and Graduate Regulations. These Regulations shall be promulgated and implemented upon approval by the Institute Council. The same shall apply to any amendments.
