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The International Master’s Program of Tourism and HospitalityRegulations on Academic Studies (2026)

Promulgated by Academic Meeting, January 21, 2026

1. The International Master’s Program of Tourism and Hospitality (IMTH) at National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism (NKUHT) sets the following regulation for master’s students in compliance with the NKUHT Regulations for Master’s Degrees Conferment and other relevant guidelines.
2. Entry requirements for full-time students and international students are described in the university’s Procedures Governing Student Admissions.
3. The study period is 1 to 4 years.
4. Credit Requirements
   1. This program consists of required courses and elective courses. The minimum course requirement for the IMTH degree is 36 credits, including a 6-credit thesis undertaken at NKUHT. Of these, 15 credits are required courses, and 21 credits are elective courses. (Applicable to Academic Year 2026)
   2. Students must enroll in no fewer than 6 credits and no more than 24 credits per semester during the first and second years of study. (This requirement does not apply to students in the five-year program or 1+1 programs.)
   3. Students can also take interdisciplinary graduate school courses with the approval of the director or thesis advisor and will be included in the calculation of graduation credits. Special cases may be deliberated in the IMTH regular meeting.
   4. IMTH students who hold a non–major-related bachelor’s degree or qualifications equivalent to our academic degree system must take the course “Theoretical Foundations of Tourism.” The credits earned from this course will be counted toward the graduate degree. (Applicable to Academic Year 2026)
5. Academic Activity Credits:
   1. To graduate, IMTH students should gain at least 6 points by performing the following academic activities during their study period:
      1. Publish research papers in English in academic journals which are included in the Web of Science (WOS): 6 points
      2. Publish research papers in English in peer-reviewed academic journals: 5 points
      3. Give an oral presentation in English at an international symposium or conference: 4 points
      4. Participate in a public sector cooperation project or industry–academia cooperation project and be proofed by the thesis advisor: 4 points
      5. Give a poster presentation in English at an international academic symposium or conference: 3 points
      6. Be awarded in an international academic symposium, conference, or competition related to hospitality and tourism: 3 points
      7. Provide an attendance certificate proving participation in an international academic symposium or conference: 2 points
      8. Obtain a relevant international certification related to hospitality and tourism: 2 points
      9. Equivalent to CEFR language proficiency level B2: 2 points.
   2. Explanation of academic activities principles:
      1. The published thesis and participation in competition must be relevant to the major of this program.
      2. If a student publishes a paper as a single author, the point weight will be 100%. However, if students plan to be co-authors, all co-authors are required apply jointly. In this case, the point weight will be 60% to the first or corresponding author, 30% to the second author, and 10% to the third author.
      3. If a thesis has many authors, then points other than those allocated by their thesis advisor are calculated in accordance with Article 5-2-2.
      4. Thesis publication, English certification, and professional certification of hospitality and tourism are adapted after admission.
   3. Regarding points for academic activities, special cases may be deliberated in the IMTH regular meeting.
6. The principles for the appointment of thesis supervisors shall be implemented in accordance with the University’s Guidelines for the Calculation of Teaching Hour Credits for Faculty and the Regulations Governing the Appointment of Graduate Thesis Supervisors. In special circumstances, however, the matter may be reviewed and decided upon by the program committee.
7. Students must submit an application for a thesis supervisor by the end of the second semester after enrollment. The confirmation of the thesis supervisor must be approved by the program director, and the completed application form shall be submitted to the IMTH office for record-keeping.
8. The change of thesis supervisor, the thesis proposal defense, and the degree examination shall not be conducted within the same semester. All applications for thesis-related examinations shall be subject to the approval of the thesis supervisor.
9. The master thesis will be supervised and reviewed by the advisor. If students wish to change their thesis advisor, then the relevant applicant form must be completed. The application must be approved by the original advisor, the prospective advisor, and the director.
10. Application for credit exemption must be applied for in the first semester of enrollment. The maximum number of exempt credits is 6. The application may only be submitted once.
11. When students of the Program undertake the thesis proposal defense, they shall submit the “Thesis Proposal Topic-Field Compliance Review Form” The thesis proposal shall be reviewed and approved by the defense committee for its professional content and by the Program Director, and submitted to the International College for record. Only after these approvals may the student apply for the degree examination in the following semester.
    If the thesis proposal defense is not passed, the student shall revise the proposal in accordance with the review comments and reapply for the defense in the following semester. Reapplication within the same semester is not permitted.
12. Graduate students’ coursework assignments, reports, and theses that are verified to involve plagiarism, academic misconduct, ghostwriting (including ghostwriting software and generative AI), or other forms of non-original work shall be subject to review through the Turnitin plagiarism detection system. The similarity index shall, in principle, be below 20%, and the final determination shall be made at the professional discretion of the course instructor or thesis advisor.
    If such conduct occurs in coursework assignments or reports, the course shall be graded as fail, and the student shall be subject to a major demerit.
    If such conduct occurs in a thesis and is verified to constitute an infringement of another person’s copyright, the thesis shall be graded as fail. If a degree has already been conferred, the degree shall be publicly revoked in accordance with relevant regulations, and the degree certificate shall be reclaimed.
13. Thesis Formats:
    The degree thesis of this Program may take one of the following three forms: an academic research thesis, a technical report, or a professional practice report. Graduate students may select the thesis format according to their study objectives, subject to the approval of the thesis supervisor and the Program Director.
14. Academic grade:
    1. The passing grade of all courses is 70%, and the full grade of all courses is 100%. Students who fail any course do not earn credit from it, and make-up examinations are not offered. Students must therefore retake the failed course.
    2. The final grade at graduation is the average of academic grades and the oral thesis examination.
15. Students should meet the following requirements before taking the oral thesis examination
    1. All required credits have been earned. The credits of courses taken in the current semester can be counted.
    2. The student has passed the thesis proposal defense in the semester preceding the application for the degree examination and has obtained the approval of the thesis supervisor.
    3. The academic ethics course has been completed in accordance with Chapter 5, Article 68 of the NKUHT Academic Regulations. The academic ethics course is completed in accordance with the university’s Guidelines Governing the Academic Ethics Course.
16. The committee must comprise of 3 to 5 professors (including the thesis supervisor) and must be present for the English oral defense to proceed. One-third (inclusive) shall be external committee members. The director will recommend committee members to the NKUHT president. One member shall be designated as the chair. The thesis supervisor shall not serve as the chair. The oral examination may be conducted only when all committee members are present in person. The final version of the thesis shall be revised in accordance with the resolutions of the Examination Committee, and the degree examination procedures shall be deemed complete only after the thesis has been approved by the thesis supervisor.
17. Students who fail the English oral defense examination can retake it if the study time has not exceeded the length of study in the next semester but can only do so once. Students who again fail the thesis oral defense will be suspended from the school.
18. Any matters regarding the IMTH degree not listed herein shall be implemented in accordance with relevant regulations of the Ministry of Education and relevant regulations of NKUHT.
19. The regulations will be implemented subject to approval at the meeting of academic affairs. Any further modifications agreed upon later will undergo the same approval process.

Revised and arranged by The International Master’s Program of Tourism and Hospitality