A while ago I said my goal was to study and GTFOff this island. Well, it’s time to apply. My question then: Does anyone know what a research plan or proposal looks like and how long it’s supposed to be? Has anyone done one because a department required it to apply to NTU to begin with?
Trying to get this done in the first round to have the highest chances here. I already know what it is that I want to do, and I also know that it’s original and there are no citations for this in the field I’m interested. Should give me an advantage. I have called as well but the answers were all over the place from professors.
Follow the length requirements for the document(s). Tell them clearly how you’ve been trained so far and then tell them clearly what you want to accomplish in their program—which courses you hope to take, which faculty you hope to meet, who do you want to work with, which field(s) you hope to work in, what kind of thesis project you hope to do. Be specific, do your homework about their unit, and be polite. Good luck!
Thanks for the fast response. I did ask, but unfortunately all they gave me was what sections it needed. When asked about length, I was not given any requirement. I know for PhD’s there are templates at universities here on their sites. But for a master’s? I don’t see anything like that. Anyway, when asked, everyone gave a different answer… now I’m trying to narrow this down.
Perhaps someone else can chime in if they have gone through this and got in? It’s a science program if that helps.
It must be department specific. Seems some have upper limits, some have lower limits, some have their own forms, some say nothing. You may check other departments’ or other universities’ requirements.
You already have your answer. It’s academia, there’s usually no correct answer. Just find the strict requirements, format, pages whatever if anything they care about. The rest is up to you.
I concur. Finding an advisor (or potential advisor) in advance is always a huge advantage. There should be examples of study plans onIine if your Google skills are sufficiently advanced. Honestly, as one of the evaluators (in terms of the interview and review of documents) for a PhD program, I can say most of the universities (highly ranked schools) are hungry and eager to accept applicants. In fact, I was strongly against our one and only PhD applicant last semester, but was opposed by professors who had been working at the school for over 20 years. All things being said, if you’re an international student you are probably seen to them as a bar of gold. As long as your study plan is reasonable, and offer some unique/original contribution to the field, you should be safe.
You might be surprised at how many unis (yes, even highly ranked) are falling short of quotas, or are sacrificing entrance requirements/standards. The main point is that international students are still highly valued.
Because they said they don’t have anyone in the department that does what I want to do. They will have to find a scientist outside of the department, potentially from a foreign company to guide me through this. And they said that shouldn’t be a problem for them. No joke.
If only they existed for my case.
Yeah, maybe I need to go look for that then… I will do more searching. I only see lengthy guides and explanations on what a research proposal should look like, but no actual templates.
Why’s that?
Same question as above. Why’s that? They’re a prestigious enough school. Everyone should want to get in, no? There’s no reason to go for another uni when NTU, a school worshipped by many Taiwanese students, has slots.
That’s unusual, but it speaks to the high likelihood of your acceptance
I googled the news story
Why? Probably something like those specific programs aren’t in demand enough, and/or their requirements are too high. Whatever the reason, it won’t be one simple thing
Many of the best students don’t go to NTU, they go overseas
Yep, they told me if I get accepted, they’ll assign me someone.
It’s a broad discipline, but then what isn’t? I guess it’s because there are a lot of theoretical methods that are being tested. I got ChatGPT’s help on seeing what techniques exist because I have very little knowledge of what advancements are happening, and how I can use their research to my own advantage.
Honestly, if I knew your posting history here, I would never have recommend you for a postgraduate program in Taiwan. With your (stated) experience and attitude, you and our schools are better off with you looking at other countries. I turn down over 90% of applicants based on their credentials and references. If you don’t stand out from the crowd of applicants, maybe you need to reconsider. Taiwan has no need for “reluctant applicants.” Despite highly ranked schools lowering their standards, I do not believe that your attitude reflects the kind of students that we are looking for. Others may differ in their advice…
You have to know the names of the things to research them first. Think of it like medical school. You can come from whatever major you want, even from a pre-med one, but you still know nothing about oncology if that’s your interest. All I know is that what I’m interested in doing is futuristic, which is why there are no citations. There are citations for similar but hypothetical applications, but they’re very far away from this particular department. Call it an “interdisciplinary adventure.”
Good for you. GPA average is close to that here (mine was 4.0, but who cares). Attitude is what we mostly assess. I’m done with this. Most unis would decide likewise. Good luck, but better luck in another country.
