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I. Minimum Graduation Credit Requirements for the Ph.D. Program

Minimum Credit Requirements by Academic Background for Ph.D. Students
Category / Admission Background Minimum Total Graduation Credits Remarks / Description
Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering 18 credits In accordance with NCKU's graduation requirements for Ph.D. students.
Master's degree in a field other than Biomedical Engineering (without credit transfer) 44 credits (18 + 26 credits) 18 credits are required under NCKU regulations; an additional 26 credits are required by the Department for Ph.D. students without a Biomedical Engineering background.
Master's degree in a field other than Biomedical Engineering (with credit transfer) 18 + 26 − transferred credits With the approval of the advisor, Ph.D. students without a Biomedical Engineering background may apply to transfer graduate-level credits related to Biomedical Engineering. The application must be submitted to the Department Affairs Council for review.

II. Group Selection and Prerequisite Course Requirements

Students should select the appropriate group based on their undergraduate or master's academic background. If you are uncertain which group to select, please consult the Department Office before making your selection.

Group A

  • Biomechanics
  • Materials and Tissue Engineering
  • Biochemistry
  • Cell Mechanics
  • Mechanical and Chemical Engineering
  • Biomedical Engineering

Group B

  • Information and Electronics
  • Medical Imaging
  • Biomedical Sensing
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Medical Measurement
  • Medical Devices

Group C

  • Medicine
  • Life Sciences
  • Healthcare
  • Physical Education and Recreation
  • Biotechnology

Group D

  • Business Administration
  • Arts and Design
  • Law and Regulations
  • Medical Patent
  • Medical Device Commercialization

Prerequisite / Make-up Course Requirements

Prerequisite and Make-up Course Requirements by Group
Group Course Name English Course Name Minimum Credit Requirement
Groups A and B
  1. Physiology
  2. Anatomy
  3. Or other life science-related courses offered by the College of Medicine (up to 3 credits, subject to approval by the Department Affairs Council)
  1. Physiology
  2. Anatomy
  3. Other life science-related courses offered by the NCKU College of Medicine (up to 3 credits may be counted, subject to approval by the BME Department Affairs Council)
 At least 6 credits
(at least 6 credits)
Group C Engineering Mathematics, Engineering Mathematics in Medicine, or Biostatistics (undergraduate level) College-level Engineering Mathematics, Engineering Mathematics in Medicine, or Biostatistics At least 6 credits
(at least 6 credits)
Group D

Biodesign (I) and Biodesign (II)

* Those who have not taken Physiology or Anatomy must take 3 credits in Physiology or Anatomy.

* Those who have not taken Engineering Mathematics must take 3 credits in Engineering Mathematics in Medicine or Biostatistics.

Biodesign (I) & Biodesign (II)

* Those who don't have a background in Physiology or Human Anatomy are required to take 3 credits in Physiology or Human Anatomy.

* Those who don't have credits in Engineering Mathematics must take 3 credits in Engineering Mathematics in Medicine or Biostatistics (Biostatistics and Clinical Trials for Medical Devices).

 At least 6 credits
(at least 6 credits)

Notes and Additional Regulations:

  • Flexible Requirements for International Students: If international students have difficulty taking Anatomy because the course is taught in Chinese, they may take 3 credits of English-taught Cell Biology or related courses offered by departments in the NCKU College of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering-related fields.
  • Additional Requirements for Group D:
    • Students without a background in Physiology or Anatomy must take 3 credits in Physiology or Anatomy.
    • Students without a background in Engineering Mathematics must take 3 credits in Engineering Mathematics in Medicine or Biostatistics (such as Biostatistics and Clinical Trials for Medical Devices).
  • Credit Recognition:
    • Graduate-level courses listed above offered by the Department may be recognized and counted toward graduation credits if the student receives a passing grade of 70 or above.
    • Undergraduate-level exemption/prerequisite courses may be recognized as completed if the student receives a passing grade of 60 or above; however, these credits will not be counted toward graduation credits.
  • Review Mechanism: The Department Office will review and confirm whether the completed credits meet the requirements during the first semester of the third year of the Ph.D. program.

III. Qualifying Examination Requirements

After deciding on an advisor, newly admitted Ph.D. students must complete the "Confirmation Form for Ph.D. Course and Qualifying Examination Group Selection." After the selection is confirmed, students must take the qualifying examination according to the selected group.

  • Frequency: The qualifying examination is held once every semester.
  • Examination Period: The examination is held within the first month after the beginning of each semester.
  • Application Period: From the end of the preceding semester through the beginning of the new semester. Please follow the schedule announced on the Department website.
  • Subject Selection and Passing Requirements: Each student must select 4 subjects. The examination may be taken a maximum of 3 times, and students must pass the examination within 4 years of admission. All selected examination subjects must be completed within 4 years. If the instructor responsible for an examination requires students to have completed a particular course before taking the examination, the instructor's requirement shall apply.
  • Substitution of Qualifying Examination Subjects with Publications: Up to 3 qualifying examination subjects may be substituted with publications, subject to review and approval by the Department Affairs Council. However, publications used for this substitution may not also be counted toward the graduation publication points.
    • Journal ranking within the Top 5% (Ranking ≤ 5%): may substitute for 3 subjects.
    • Journal ranking from 5% to 25% (5% < Ranking ≤ 25%): may substitute for 2 subjects.
    • Journal ranking from 25% to 50% (25% < Ranking ≤ 50%): may substitute for 1 subject.
    • The higher ranking from the year of submission or the year of publication shall be used for evaluation.

IV. Publication Requirements for Graduation

  • Point Requirement: At least 5 points are required, of which 3 points must be from SCI-indexed papers. Please refer to the academic regulations applicable to the student's year of admission for the corresponding point system.
  • Authorship Requirements:
    • The Ph.D. student must be the first author. If there are co-first authors, the points will be divided equally among the co-first authors.
    • The advisor must be the corresponding author.
    • The Department of Biomedical Engineering must be listed as the first affiliation.
  • Point Calculation:
    • Points are calculated based on the journal's Impact Factor (I.F.) and Category Ranking.
    • Students may choose either JIF Rank or IF Percentile for calculation; the two methods may not be combined.
    • If the journal's point value at the time of submission is higher than its latest ranking, the more favorable value may be used.

V. Ph.D. Preliminary Examination (Proposal)

  • Financial Subsidy: The Department Office provides a subsidy of NT$6,000.
  • Important Information: For relevant regulations and instructions, please refer to the "Graduation Requirements / Degree Examination / Ph.D. Preliminary Examination" section of the Department website.
  • Reimbursement and Record Keeping: Supporting documents must be submitted in accordance with reimbursement regulations, and one copy of the qualified certificate must be submitted to the Department Office for record keeping.
  • Time Requirement: Students may apply for the doctoral oral examination only at least three months after passing the preliminary examination.

VI. Graduation Review

Application Deadline: The application must be submitted at least two months before the oral examination.

Required Documents for Preliminary Graduation Review: Please bind the documents into three complete sets, including the following:

  1. Academic Regulations applicable to the student's year of admission
  2. Ph.D. Program Graduation Checklist
  3. Official transcripts of academic records
  4. Course credit transfer records
  5. Certificate of Ph.D. Candidacy
  6. Certificate of approval for the doctoral dissertation proposal
  7. Full-text copies of published journal papers
  8. Journal publication point report
  9. Draft of the doctoral dissertation
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