GSAM
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Completion Requirements
To graduate from GSAM, you must 1) be enrolled as a full-time student for 2 years (exceptions can be made for outstanding students), 2) complete 32 credits or more and 3) write a Master’s Thesis or a Research Report and pass the approval process. Please refer to the Graduate School website for details.
All students are required to earn at least 32 credits for program completion, including: 4 credits from Analytical Foundation Subjects, 4 credits from Core Subjects on the Asia Pacific Region, 4 credits from seminars, and 10 credits from Major Subjects within your affiliated Division. In addition, students must complete at least 10 credits from any subjects that align with your interests. Please refer to the Graduate School website for details.
Master’s students can register for up to 22 credits per semester.
Yes. Students will receive credits for all seminar subjects they pass.
Yes. Any credits earned from seminars will count towards the credits required for program completion.
Not necessarily. Students must acquire at least 10 of the required 14 credits from subjects within their affiliated Division.
Yes, students are allowed to change their Division (within the same major). However, as Divisions are directly linked to credits required for program completion, division transfer applications must be submitted by the end of the first semester of enrollment. Please refer to the Graduate School website for details.
Note: Usually, a Division change also requires a supervisor change, and students are required to submit the additional supervisor change application.
Yes. Students who wish to apply for a cross-major transfer (APS⇔ICP) must submit the designated application form by the end of their first semester. Their applications will be evaluated and screening results will be sent to students. However, transfer between GSA and GSM is not permitted. Please refer to the Graduate School website for details.
Seminars
Although Wednesdays are reserved for graduate seminars, the exact days and times of the seminar classes are decided individually between supervisors and students. Please contact your supervisor for details.
Students meet with relevant supervisors at the First Seminar Meeting. Every student is assigned an individual supervisor from their affiliated Division within one month of the start of classes. Please contact the Division Head for information about your supervisor.
Yes. All students are registered for seminars consecutively from the first semester through their last semester of enrollment. Attendance of all classes is mandatory.
Yes. Students must submit the designated application form by the end of Course Registration Period A. Students are required to find their own replacement supervisor and receive approval from both their current and new supervisors. Please refer to the Graduate School website for details.
Plan for Research Supervision
The Plan for Research Supervision is a yearly plan for research supervision, created based on a research plan written by the student and presented to their supervisor. The Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies requires that the supervisor prepares this plan for the student on a yearly basis.
The student is required to submit a soft copy of the Plan for Research Supervision to the Academic Office through Moodle. Students in the appropriate semester will be added to a Moodle course to submit the Plan for Research Supervision at the beginning of the semester.
Yes, please download it from the Graduate School website.
The deadline differs depending on the student’s semester. Please see the page on Seminars for more details.
If you are unable to get your supervisor’s signature, you can submit an email from them confirming their writing of the Plan for Research Supervision. Please consult with the Academic Office in advance.
Joint Research Presentations
Joint Research Presentations within the Division are held every quarter (mid-May and early July in the spring semester and mid-November and early January in the fall semester). The detailed schedule is announced on the Graduate School website and Campus Terminal at the beginning of each semester.
The presentation schedule is usually set by the Division at the beginning of each semester. If you are not available at your designated time due to unavoidable circumstances, please consult with your supervisor and the Division Head in advance, and notify the Academic Office.
Usually, presenters are decided by the Division at the beginning of every semester. Please consult with your supervisor and the Division Head to see if it is possible to present at this time.
As a rule, final semester students should give their presentations at least 2 weeks before the Master’s Thesis / Research Report submission deadline. However, presentation requirements including the timing and number of the presentations, differ for each Division and may depend on the student’s enrollment status (1st semester, final semester, accelerated completion program, etc.). Please consult with your supervisor and the Division Head for the presentation schedule.
Students are expected to present the progress of their research. Details may differ depending on the time of the presentation (1st semester, 2nd semester, final semester, etc.).
The suggested presentation length differs per Division. Usually, students in the final stages of their research are given more time for presentation and Q&A. Details are announced at the beginning of each semester.
Please consult with your supervisor about the detailed contents of your presentation in advance.
Research Proposal
The spring semester Research Proposal submission deadline is June 30. The fall semester deadline is January 10. Please refer to the Graduate school website for details.
Research Proposals are screened within the Division after submission. In the spring semester, feedback from examiners is provided to students on August 5. In the fall semester, feedback is provided on February 10. Please refer to the Graduate school website for details.
All students must submit a research proposal approved by their supervisor for examination. The proposal should include the theme of the study, the research background and research question, the significance of the study, methodology, and other specific information. Please refer to the Graduate School website for details.
The application form is available for download from the Graduate School website.
If you are unable to get your supervisor’s signature, you can submit an email from them confirming their approval instead. Please consult with the Academic Office in advance.
Yes. Students can change the research topic/type of paper after submitting their Research Proposal. However, please consult with your supervisor before changing your topic or type of paper.
Yes. However, different types of research (Master’s Thesis / Research Report) require different approaches. Please make sure that you carefully discuss this with your supervisor before making any changes to your research type (Master’s Thesis / Research Report).
Master’s Thesis/Research Report Examination
There are many differences between a Master’s Thesis and a Research Report. A Research Report only provides a summary or report of research done by others, while a Master’s Thesis contributes something to the body of literature independent of the research done by others. Students interested in pursuing further research in a doctoral program or as a professional researcher are recommended to write a Master’s Thesis because the process of will introduce you to skills and methodology for doing research. Students who plan to pursue professional or non-research-oriented careers might find the information gathering process of a Research Report more suitable. Students should read the characteristics of both types consult with their supervisor to decide which best suits their purpose. Please refer to the Graduate School website for details.
The submission deadlines for Master’s Theses / Research Reports are June 15 for spring semester examination and December 5 for fall semester examination. The exact examination schedule is uploaded to the Graduate School website at the beginning of the semester.
Fall and Spring semester schedules differ. Please refer to the Graduate School website for details.
Students must be registered for the Final Research Project. The details of the examination requirements and procedures are outlined in the Procedures for the Master’s Thesis and Research Report in the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies Master’s Program and on the Graduate School website.
Yes. The designated title page must be attached to the Master's Thesis / Research Report upon submission. Master's Theses / Research Reports without the attached title page will not be accepted under any circumstances. The form is available for download from the Graduate School website.
You must submit a soft copy of the Master's Thesis / Research Report to the Academic Office via Moodle.
No. Late submissions are not accepted under any circumstances.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide any information related to examiners’ identity if the examiner chose to remain anonymous.
Congratulations! There are still a number of things to do before graduation. Please refer to the results notification handout.
Students who did not pass the Master’s Thesis / Research Report examination may continue working on revising their Master’s Thesis / Research Report to submit it for examination again or may choose to leave the program. If you have any concerns please consult with the Academic Office.
Students who were not able to graduate due to insufficient credits can choose to stay enrolled in the program until they are able to do so (up to 8 semesters). Please note that scholarships do not apply for enrollment longer than 4 semesters and you will be billed tuition for every semester of extension.
All Master’s Theses and Research Reports should follow the APU style. Sample formatting guidelines can be found on the Graduate School website.
Writing a Master’s Thesis or a Research Report requires different research approaches so it is recommended to decide the type of research around the time you are writing your Research Proposal. However, changes can be made any time before the submission of the Master’s Thesis / Research Report for examination in your final semester. Please make sure that you consult with your supervisor in advance for any changes you want to make.
Students must inform the Academic Office of the type of research they are planning to submit when submitting their Research Proposal. However, the finalized type of the research – a Master’s Thesis or a Research Report – should be reported to the Academic Office when you submit the Notification of Intent to Submit a Master’s Thesis / Research Report.
Currently, GSA does not have an exact benchmark for the Turnitin similarity reports. Please make sure that you constantly consult with your supervisor and receive guidance on how to interpret the similarity reports.
Please understand that the similarity index does not necessarily mean that the Master’s Thesis / Research Report is plagiarized / contains no plagiarized material. Students should strive to avoid any kind of plagiarism.
