Ronpaku
Undergraduate School and Graduate School
学部・大学院
Procedures for application and review for conferment of the "Ronpaku" Degree
(Decided by the Graduate School Faculty Assembly on March 4, 2005)
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 dissertations 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 Dissertation Review Committees, prior to application for conferment of the academic degree. (Expected) main referees must be "D-Marugo" faculty members. |
３．Preliminary review of dissertations 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 dissertations 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 dissertations shall instruct applicants to modify their dissertations. |
| - | 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 dissertations 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 Dissertation Review Committee (co-referees)
| - | Dissertation 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 dissertations , 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. | |
| - | Applicants may apply for academic degrees at any times, regardless of the dates scheduled for main dissertation 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 dissertation manuscript Number of copies needed: Number of the review committee members, plus one extra copy |
| (4) | Abstract of the dissertation (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 dissertation) |
| (8) | Fee for review of dissertations 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 dissertation.) |
６．Establishment of Dissertation Review Committee
| - | The Graduate School Faculty Assembly shall deliberate and decide on establishment of the Dissertation 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 dissertation 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 Dissertation Review Committee shall evaluate applicants' academic achievement through oral or written examinations in fields related to applicants' academic dissertations as well as in foreign languages. |
| - | Technical subjects：Subjects in fields related to applicants' dissertations in the applications for academic degrees (At least three subjects specified by the Dissertation 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 Dissertation 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 Dissertation 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 Dissertation 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 Dissertation 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 dissertation 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 dissertations 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 dissertation review. |
| (2) | Implementation of the dissertation review |
| - | Oral presentation of about one hour, followed by an oral examination of about one hour per applicant shall be implemented by dissertation 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 dissertation review and pose questions on the dissertation. |
| Items to be examined | |
| ① Content of the "Ronpaku" dissertations | |
| 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 dissertation review.) | |
| (3) | Judgment for the preliminary dissertation review |
| One of the following judgments shall be made for the review. In order to pass a preliminary dissertation review, two-thirds or more of the Dissertation Review Committee members must approve passing of the dissertation under review. |
|
| ①Pass | |
| ②Conditional pass requiring revision: In cases where some modifications are required for applicants' dissertations , documents indicating items to be modified must be prepared. | |
| ③Fail: The items pointed out by the review committee must be clearly shown to the applicants. | |
| (4) | Determination of the review results |
| - | Dissertation 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 Dissertation Review Committee to reexamine the results. |
| - | In cases that a dissertation review results in a conditional pass requiring revision, the Dissertation Review Committee shall reexamine revised dissertations , 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 Dissertation 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 dissertation review |
| - | Main referees shall notify applicants of relevant dissertation review results in writing. |
９．Conferment of academic degrees
| - | 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 dissertation 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.) |
１０．Implementation of dissertation presentations
| - | After conferment of the academic degrees for successful applicants is finalized, the applicants shall present their dissertations at doctoral dissertation presentations, which are conducted for students enrolled in the University. |
１１．Individuals who withdraw from the University Doctoral Program after fulfillment of the standard academic residence requirement for the Program（Internal Information）
| - | Individuals who withdraw from the Doctoral Program after fulfillment of the standard academic residence requirement may receive dissertation reviews based on the same dissertation 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 dissertation 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. |