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英語 - 大学院案内

Ronpaku

(Decided by the Graduate School Faculty Assembly on March 4, 2005)

Procedures for application and review for conferment of the "Ronpaku" Degree
(degrees based on theses submitted by individuals not enrolled at the Graduate School)

  • Dates for conferment of the academic degree shall be the dates that the Graduate School Faculty Assembly finalizes for conferment of the academic degree to applicants, based on results of evaluation on applicants' academic achievement and determination of successful results on relevant thesis reviews. Academic degrees shall be conferred to successful applicants at a ceremony for conferment of academic degrees at the University, which are conducted twice a year (September or March.)
  • After conferment of the academic degrees for successful applicants is finalized, the applicants shall present their theses at doctoral thesis presentations, which are conducted for students enrolled in the University.
  • Individuals who withdraw from the Doctoral Program after fulfillment of the standard academic residence requirement may receive thesis reviews based on the same thesis review criteria as for students enrolled in the Doctoral Program, within three years after withdrawal from the Program.
  • Individuals who withdraw from the Doctoral Program after fulfillment of the standard academic residence requirement may be exempted from payment of the fee for review of the thesis for the academic degree within three years after withdrawal from the Program.
  • Individuals who withdraw from the Doctoral Program after fulfillment of the standard academic residence requirement may be exempted from evaluation of academic achievement within three years after withdrawal from the Program, by way of deliberation by the Graduate School Faculty Assembly.
  1. Application qualifications (Applicants must meet one of the following qualifications.)
    (1) Individuals who completed Master's Programs or obtained Master's degrees at least three years prior to application
    (2) Individuals who graduated from universities or obtained Bachelor's degrees at least five years prior to application
    (3) Individuals whose research background are recognized as equivalent to or greater than that of those listed above by the Graduate School Faculty Assembly
  2. Determination of the (expected) main referee
    • Individuals who intend to submit theses to be conferred a "Ronpaku" degree by the University must obtain informal consent from relevant University faculty members to become the (expected) main referees of relevant Thesis Review Committees, prior to application for conferment of the academic degree.
      (Expected) main referees must be "D-Marugo" faculty members.
  3. Preliminary review of theses for which application for conferment of academic degrees are planned
    • Faculty members who have informally given their consent to become applicants' (expected) main referees shall conduct preliminary reviews of theses for which applicants plan to apply for academic degrees, before applications for conferment of academic degrees are officially made. Relevant faculty members who recognize that modifications are necessary on theses shall instruct applicants to modify their theses.
    • Faculty members who have informally given their consent to become applicants' (expected) main referees shall request submission of necessary documents from applicants who request conferment of academic degrees, conduct preliminary reviews on the content of theses for which applicants plan to apply for conferment of academic degrees, applicants' qualifications, and their academic achievement, to confirm that applicants are qualified to apply for conferment of academic degrees. Also, main referees shall ask for opinions from (expected) co-referees, etc., if necessary.
    • It is preferable that applicants conduct cooperative research with relevant (expected) main referees to receive sufficient instruction from these referees.
  4. Recommendation of candidates as members of the Thesis Review Committee (co-referees)
    • Thesis Review Committees shall be organized of a main referee and three or more co-referees.
    • In cases that (expected) main referees recognize that applicants are qualified for application for conferment of the academic degree as the result of sufficient review of the content of relevant theses, main referees shall send a letter of acceptance to serve as (chief) referee and a letter of recommendation of (expected) co-referees to applicants who request conferment of a "Ronpaku" degree, upon obtaining informal consent from at least three individuals to become co-referees for the applicants.
    • Two or more referees must be "D-Marugo" faculty members.
    • One of the co-referees may be selected from faculty members of a graduate school or a research institute which conducts doctoral degree reviews other than the University of Aizu.
  5. Application for conferment of academic degrees
    • Individuals who have received a letter of acceptance to serve as (chief) referee from a qualified faculty member and a letter of recommendation regarding (expected) co-referees may apply for conferment of the academic degree. Such application should follow the "Procedures for application for conferment of the "Ronpaku" degree," which have been provided for separately.
    • Applicants may apply for academic degrees at any times, regardless of the dates scheduled for main thesis reviews for doctoral students enrolled in the University.

      Documents for review purposes (necessary documents)
      (1) Application from for an academic degree (predetermined form)
      (2) A copy of the letter of consent to serve as chief referee from a qualified faculty member and the letter of recommendation regarding (expected) co-referees
      Number of copies needed: One
      (3) Finalized doctoral thesis manuscript
      Number of copies needed: Number of the review committee members, plus one extra copy
      (4) Abstract of the thesis (predetermined form)
      Number of copies needed: Number of the review committee members, plus one extra copy
      (5) List of publications (predetermined form)
      Number of copies needed: Number of the review committee members, plus one extra copy
      (6) Curriculum vitae (predetermined form)
      Number of copies needed: One (with the applicant's photo)
      (7) Other documents (published or officially released publications, etc. other than the said thesis)
      (8) Fee for review of theses for academic degrees
      (9) Document certifying school education the applicant last completed
      (10) Abstract of the family register
      Number of copies needed: One
      Non-Japanese applicants are required to submit either of a "Certificate of direction on alien registration (a certified copy of the original alien registration application form)," a copy of their passport, or a copy of their alien registration certificate.)
      (11) Letter of consent from co-authors (The letter of consent from first authors must be attached, only if the applicant is not the first author of papers of which content is included in a main portion of the said thesis.)
  6. Establishment of Thesis Review Committee
    • The Graduate School Faculty Assembly shall deliberate and decide on establishment of the Thesis Review Committee, based on submitted academic degree applications, by way of deliberation within the Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee. The Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee and the Graduate School Faculty Assembly may request (expected) main referees to give an explanation regarding the content of relevant preliminary thesis reviews, etc.
  7. Evaluation of academic achievement
    (1) Schedule for evaluation of academic achievement
     
    • The Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee shall adjust the schedule of faculty members concerned and decide on the dates for evaluation of academic achievement.
    (2) Implementation of evaluation of academic achievement
     
    • The Thesis Review Committee shall evaluate applicants' academic achievement through oral or written examinations in fields related to applicants' academic theses as well as in foreign languages.
      Technical subjects ： Subjects in fields related to applicants' theses in the applications for academic degrees (At least three subjects specified by the Thesis Review Committee for which relevant courses are offered by the University Master's Program.) In principle, evaluation shall be conducted based on results of written examinations.
      Foreign languages ： In principle, evaluation shall be conducted in English.
    • The Thesis Review Committee can include faculty members other than referees concerned for implementation of evaluation of applicants' academic achievement, upon approval of the Graduate School Faculty Assembly.
    (3) Determination of results of evaluation of academic achievement
     
    • The Thesis Review Committee shall report to the Dean of the Graduate School the results of evaluation of applicants' academic achievement in writing.
    • The Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee shall deliberate on results of evaluation of applicants' academic achievement, and then officially notify main referees of the results of deliberations by the Committee.
    • In cases that there are any doubts concerning the evaluation results, the Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee may instruct the Thesis Review Committee to reexamine the results.
    • In cases that there are any doubts concerning the evaluation results, the Graduate School Faculty Assembly may instruct the Thesis Review Committee to reexamine the results.
    • The Graduate School Faculty Assembly, at a meeting with the presence of two-thirds or more of its constituents can finalize the evaluation result of "Pass" with the approval of two-thirds or more of the members in attendance at the meeting.
    • Deliberation and finalization at results of evaluation of applicants' academic achievement at the Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee and the Graduate School Faculty Assembly can be conducted concurrently with deliberation and finalization of the results of relevant thesis reviews.
    (4) Notification of results of evaluation of academic achievement
     
    • Main referees shall notify relevant applicants of results of evaluation of their academic achievement in writing.
  8. Review of theses for the academic degree
    (1) The schedule for the day of the review
     
    • The Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee shall adjust the schedule of faculty members concerned and decide on the dates for the thesis review.
    (2) Implementation of the thesis review
     
    • Oral presentation of about one hour, followed by an oral examination of about one hour per applicant shall be implemented by thesis review committees. Presentations must be made by applicants in English.
    • Faculty members in charge of lectures in the Graduate School Doctoral Program shall be able to participate in the oral thesis review and pose questions on the thesis.

      Items to be examined：
      ① Content of the "Ronpaku" theses
      ② Whether or not there are any academic papers which applicants have submitted to journals outside the University
        (At least three papers must have been accepted for publication by major academic journals prior to the thesis review.)
    (3) Judgment for the preliminary thesis review
    One of the following judgments shall be made for the review.
     
    • In order to pass a preliminary thesis review, two-thirds or more of the Thesis Review Committee members must approve passing of the thesis under review.
      ① Pass
      ② Conditional pass requiring revision: In cases where some modifications are required for applicants' theses, documents indicating items to be modified must be prepared.
      ③ Fail: The items pointed out by the review committee must be clearly shown to the applicants.
    (4) Determination of the review results
     
    • Thesis Review Committees shall submit a report on review results to the Dean of the Graduate School.
    • The Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee shall deliberate on the review results, and officially notify main referees concerned of the review results.
    • In cases that there is any doubt concerning the review results, the Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee may instruct the Thesis Review Committee to reexamine the results.
    • In cases that a thesis review results in a conditional pass requiring revision, the Thesis Review Committee shall reexamine revised theses, and submit a report on review results to the Dean of the Graduate School. The Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee shall re-deliberate on the review results, and officially notify relevant chief referees of the review results.
    • In case that there is any doubt concerning the review results, the Graduate School Faculty Assembly may instruct the Thesis Review Committee to reexamine the results.
    • The Graduate School Faculty Assembly, at a meeting with the presence of two-thirds or more of its constituents can finalize the review results of "Pass" with the approval of two-thirds or more of the members in attendance at the meeting.
    (5) Notification of results of the thesis review
     
    • Main referees shall notify applicants of relevant thesis review results in writing.
  9. Conferment of academic degrees
  10. Implementation of thesis presentations
  11. Individuals who withdraw from the University Doctoral Program after fulfillment of the standard academic residence requirement for the Program