Graduation Requirements

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Regulations on Graduation Requirements

1. Graduation Requirements

Master’s Program Doctoral Program Combined Master's and Doctoral Program
Course Enrollment From 4 to 8 semesters From 4 to 12 semesters From 6 to 16 semesters
Required Credit(s) More than 24 credits More than 36 credits More than 60 credits
Minimum GPA All courses GPA 3.0 GPA in all courses of Doctoral program 3.0 GPA in all courses 3.0
Major courses GPA 3.0 GPA in major courses of Doctoral program 3.0 GPA in major courses 3.0
Reading and Research Up to 6 credits are accepted Up to 12 credits are accepted Up to 18 credits are accepted
Common factors Any course for which you previously obtained credit toward your Master’s degree cannot also be used as credit to satisfy Doctoral degree requirements.
  • Please be careful not to take same courses more than once, searching for alternative courses in course registration programs.
  • In case you earn 6 credits of undergraduate courses in the Master’s program, you may not earn credits of undergraduate courses for completion of the Doctoral program.
    - Example of repetitive course taking:
    i.e.) 3344.518 Cell biology (Cell biology 6) and 3344.518 Cell biology (Cell biology 8) are different courses.
    Therefore, if the subtitle (number) is identical, it is the same course (repetitive course taking), and if different, it is not a repetitive course.
  • Student in Master’s program needs to take at least 2 courses and in doctoral program 3 courses from Common Core Courses(Common Core Courses has been lifted since Student ID: 2019-), not including Graduation Dissertation Research. A substitute for qualification exam for dissertation submission.
    ※ Courses taken in Master’s program can be accepted as ones in Doctoral Program.
  • Students entering in 2014 afterwards must work as assistant for the courses of Liberal Arts Biology or Biology Lab for at least one semester.
  • Required Credits
    Half of your course credits should be earned in courses offered by the Dept. of Biological Sciences, not including credits of Graduate Thesis (Dissertation) Research.
    e.g.) Master’s 24 credits – 6 credits for Graduation thesis research = 18 credits of 1/2 = 9 credits
    Master’s/Ph.D combined 60 credits – 18 credits for Graduation thesis research = 42 credits of 1/2 = 21 credits
  • Graduate Students are advised to complete the required credits of courses in accordance with the above instructions if the credits shown in mysnu (my.snu.ac.kr) do not agree with these rules.

Dissertation proposal

(1) Qualification Exam for Dissertation Proposal Submission (Major)

  • Students entering prior to year 2011 are to take written exams as in the past, and students entering in year 2011 and thereafter should follow the new rules.
  • Under the new system,
    1. Grades on Common Core Courses (Masters 2, Ph.D 3)
    2. Written proposal on Research Plan
    3. Evaluation on Verbal Presentation
    are the factors of evaluation for passing.
  • On-line submission of application on the indicated date is required for official approval to be allowed to take the qualification exam.

(2) Minimum English Scores for Dissertation Proposal Submission

  • TEPS : 551point
  • TOEFL(CBT) : 203point

(3) Dissertation Advising Committee – Evaluation of Dissertation Proposal

  • Students must receive approval for their dissertation proposal from their examination committee before being eligible to take their thesis examination.
  • Advising committee meeting should be held at least 6 months before the evaluation of dissertation proposal for Doctoral Program
  • Documents including the ‘Evaluation Report’ (attached) by Dissertation Advising Committee and a printed copy of presentation should be submitted to the office of the Department after the Committee evaluation is completed.

Qualification Exam for Dissertation Proposal Submission (Foreign Language and Major)

(1) Eligibility

Prerequisites
Foreign Language Exam - Student with minimum 1 semester enrollment
- English
- 2nd foreign language: N/A
- Korean : foreign students
  • Qualification Exam for Dissertation Proposal Submission (regarding foreign language exam)
    • -Korean Students : Score of English exam in entering year can be a substitute for Qualification Exam
    • -Foreign students who speak English as mother tongue : Score of Korean exam at the time of Qualification Exam is required or; The substitute courses of Korean language (Korean and Korean Culture 1,2) is required
    • -Foreign students whose mother-longue is not English : English score (TEPS or TOEFL) or score of Korean exam at the time of Qualification Exam or the substitute courses of Korean language (Korean and Korean Culture 1,2) is required
  • SNU students who have obtained a sufficiently high TEPS/TOEFL score are exempted from English language course requirements, for students beginning after 2006. Evidence of TEPS/TOEFL scores should be submitted before submitting documents for qualification exam (early April/first semester, early October/2nd semester).
Eligibility for thesis examination Master - Students who have completed minimum 2 semesters with minimum 9 credits
Doctor - Students who have completed minimum 2 semesters with minimum 9 credits
- Students in combined Master’s and Doctoral program with completion of minimum 4 semesters and minimum 36 credits

Rules on Qualification Exam for Dissertation Proposal Submission (Regarding Major Evaluation)

1. Process

Online (required) submission of application ▶ Submission of grade table, research plan, and original transcript ▶ Announcement of passed applicants

2. Qualification Exam

Master Doctoral
Committee Members and Time of Evaluation
  • 2 people, a Dept. professor as chair and the advisor professor are chosen as members of the committee before the time of the qualification exam
  • Applicants are to submit a filled-out evaluation form at the time of submission of grade table (Mar. & Sep.)
  • 3 people, 2 Dept. professors including a chair, and the advisor professor are chosen as members of the committee before the time of the qualification exam
  • Applicants are to submit a filled-out evaluation form at the time of submission of grade table (Mar. & Sep.)
Evaluation Criteria
  • Grades of 2 courses taken in Common Core Courses are converted to points based on a 50-point full grade converting tables. (Refer to the form of grade table)
  • Grades will be given for Research plan based on the written evaluation criteria of a 50-point full grade (10 for validity of research plan, 10 for presentation and analysis of relevant literature, 20 for creativity, and 10 points for research contents)
  • The form of research plan will follow the form of individual research plan provided by the NRF (National Research Foundation)
  • Score will be determined as the average points of the two Committee.
  • The sum of the grades from the coursework and the research plan needs to exceed 60 points to pass.
  • Grades of 3 courses taken in Common Core Courses are converted to points based on a 20-point full grade converting tables. (Refer to the form of grade table)
  • If the average point of 3 common core courses is less than 12 points, the applicants cannot pass.
  • Evaluation for Research plan will be done by applicant’s verbal presentation (a 20 full point) and the written evaluation criteria of a 60-point full grade (10 for validity of research plan, 10 for presentation and analysis of relevant literature, 30 for creativity, and 10 points for importance of research contents)
  • Each course should give B0 & lower grades to more than 30% of students.
  • The sum of the grades from the coursework and the research plan needs to exceed 70 points to pass.

3. Applicable Students for the Rule

This rule is applied to graduate students entering 2011 (including students of entering year 2009 in master program who came to enter the combined master and doctor program afterwards.)

Qualification Exam (Regarding evaluation on major)

※ List of Common Core Courses

Course Criteria of Evaluation Pass Line
Master (Common Core Courses)
3344.603 Advanced Developmental Biology
3344.610 Advanced Ecology
3344.617 Molecular and Cellular Biology 1
3344.618 Molecular and Cellular Biology 2
3344.632 Advanced plant science
3344.633 Advanced microbiology
3344.634 Organismal biology
3344.770 Advanced Evolutionary Biology
50 full point scale on 2 Common Core Courses 50 full point scale on Research Plan 60/100
Doctoral (Common Core Courses)
3344.603 Advanced Developmental Biology
3344.610 Advanced Ecology
3344.617 Molecular and Cellular Biology 1
3344.618 Molecular and Cellular Biology 2
3344.632 Advanced plant science
3344.633 Advanced microbiology
3344.634 Organismal biology
3344.770 Advanced Evolutionary Biology
20 full point scale on 3 Common Core Courses 20 full point scale on verbal presentation of Research Plan 60 full point scale on written evaluation of Research Plan 70/100

Dissertation Evaluation

Master’s Dissertation

1. Students Applicable

Students completing the requirements of “Article 2”, Guideline on Dissertation Evaluation of Graduate School and Degree Conferral

2. Process of Dissertation Evaluation

  • Announcement of Dissertation Evaluation Plan: The department will announce the reschedule
  • Applicants’ online registration
    On-line registration in mysnu “academic administration” before deadline
  • Submission of documents and evaluation fee for dissertation evaluation
    • (a)Submission of Dissertation paper: 3 copies (submitted directly to committee evaluators)
    • (b)Fee : ₩100,000
    • (c)Payment method
      Paying at the designated bank in person or transferring to the designated virtual account specified in the bill (If required, you may submit a receipt issued by the designated bank to the College administrative office.)
      ※ Method of Receipt Printout
      Seoul National University Portal MySnu (http://my.snu.ac.kr/portal/site/snuep/) Login (Student ID) ⇒ Academic Affairs ⇒ Graduation ⇒Receipt for Thesis Examination Fee Payment ⇒ Printout
    • (d)Guideline on Dissertation Writing for Evaluation
      • -The dissertation may be written in Koean or English, but include both Korean AND English language abstracts.
      • -The keywords representing the subject of the paper should be indicated at the bottom of the abstract.
  • Appointment of Committee Member
    • (a)Qualification for judge < Article 7 >
      • -Professor, associate professor, assistant professor of SNU
      • -Experts with Ph.D degree, outside of SNU
    • (b)Appointment of Committee Member
      • -Chair of Dept. recommends more than 3 committee members to the Dean of the College.
      • -The Dean asks the Committee of Academic Affairs for Graduate School to choose 3 members (chair, vice chair and a member) of the Dissertation Evaluation Committee.
      • -Applicants should be fairly distributed among examiners to prevent any one faculty member from taking on responsibility for examining too many students.
      • -Neither the applicant’s advising professor nor outside experts (including emeritus professors) are allowed to chair the committee.
  • Presentation on paper abstract: Presentation will be held under the direction of the Chair of the Dept.
  • Dissertation Evaluation and Oral Exam
    • (a)Dissertation Evaluation
      • -(Organizer) Chair of the Evaluation Committee
      • -(Evaluation on Dissertation)
        ㈀ A : All members agree (Pass)
        ㈁ B : 2/3 of members agree (Pass)
        ㈂ C : 1/3 or less agree (Fail)
      • -Criteria for pass – 2/3 of more members agree( thesis grade: more B) Pass
    • (b)Oral Exam
      • -Oral exam will be done at the time of final review of the thesis. At least 60 points are required to pass.
    • (c)Submission of Evaluation Summary
      • -The judges' chairman shall fill out the evaluation summary and submit it to the corresponding administrative office of the university department with the approval seal mark from all judges. (If there is any opinion other than the unified opinions of all the judges, the respective opinions shall be submitted to the evaluation summary.)
  • Print of Dissertation paper and its submission for preservation
    For more information on submitting dissertation copies, please contact the Main Library
    • (a)How to submit
      • -Those who have passed the dissertation examination must submit the copies of the paper for official filing by stated due date, following instructions specified by the Dean (refer to the Instructions on Binding and Printing of Dissertation Papers)
        ※ Students who do not submit the copies will not be conferred their degree
    • (b)Where to submit
      • -A location designated by the Main Library
    • (c)Submission of PDF file
      • -Submission deadline : check with the Main Library after evaluation
      • -How to Submit
        Main Library Homepage (http://library.snu.ac.kr) ⇒ Using the Libraries ⇒ Thesis Submission
        ※ Submission of pdf original text file should be completed prior to submitting bound thesis.
    • (d) Confirmation on Dissertation Submission
      • -Confirmation document on Dissertation submission can be printed from “Online Dissertation Submission System”
      • -The copy of confirmation document should be submitted to the Dept. office.
        ※ In case that any “check-out” books are in your account, you may print the document out only after the books are returned.
    • (e)Questions
      • -Department of Biological Sciences and/or Main Library (☏ 880-5466)

Ph.D. Dissertation

1. Eligible Students

Students completing the requirements of “Article 2”, Guideline on Dissertation Evaluation of Graduate School and Degree Conferral

2. Process of Dissertation Evaluation

  • Announcement of Dissertation Evaluation Plan : The department will announce the evaluation schedule.
  • Applicants’ online registration and payment of evaluation fee
    • (a)Form is given at Dept. Office
    • (b)Registration and Payment of Fee
      • -Online registration in my snu “academic administration” before deadline
      • -Required Documents
        · Form of Request on Dissertation Evaluation
        · Recommendation Letter of Advising Professor
        · Curriculum Vitae
    • (c)Fee: ₩ 300,000
    • (d)Payment method
      • -Paying at the designated bank in person or transferring to the designated virtual account specified in the bill(If required, you may submit a receipt issued by the designated bank to the College administrative office.)
        ※ Method of Receipt Printout
        Seoul National University Portal MySnu (http://my.snu.ac.kr/portal/site/snuep/) Login (Student ID) ⇒ Academic Affairs ⇒ Graduation ⇒Receipt for Thesis Examination Fee Payment ⇒ Printout
  • Submission of Dissertation paper
    • (a)Where to submit : directly to the evaluation committee members before evaluation
    • (b)Paper copies for submission
      • -5 copies (not necessary to print)
      • -1 copy of dissertation abstract (written in Korean)
        ☞ Applicants can submit additional materials such as reference papers, auxiliary papers, translated materials, mock-ups, samples and others if these materials are necessary for the evaluation.
    • (c)Guideline on Dissertation Writing for Evaluation
      • -The dissertation may be written in English, but include both Korean AND English language abstracts.
        The keywords representing the subject of the paper should be indicated at the bottom of the abstract.
  • Recommendation of Evaluation Committee member < Rule on Conferral of Degree, Article 24 and Guideline on Dissertation Evaluation of Graduate School and Degree Conferral Article 7, 8, and 9>
    • (a)Qualifications of Committee Member
      • -Professor, associate professor, assistant professor of SNU
      • -Experts with Ph.D degree, outside of SNU
        ㈀ Non-SNU Faculty : Assistant professor and/or higher positioned faculty
        ㈁ Faculty in research institute: more than 2 years of research experience after receiving Ph.D. degree;
        ㈂ Others : Person considered having same experience as above ㈀, ㈁
    • (b)Recommendation and Appointment of Committee members
      • -Chair of Dept. recommends candidates who qualify the criteria above to the Dean of College.
      • -One or more experts from outside SNU should be included. ※ Emeritus professors are considered as inside-SNU members.
      • -The Dean reviews at the Committee of Academic Affairs for Graduate School, and chooses 3 members (chair, vice chair and a member) of the Dissertation Evaluation Committee.
      • -The Dean reports the review result to the Committee of Graduate School.
      • -The chair of the committee cannot be the applicant’s advising professor nor outside experts (including emeritus professors)
  • Presentation on paper abstract and pre-reviewing
    • (a)Presentation on paper abstract Presentation on paper abstract: ‘Presentation will be held under the direction of the Chair of the Dept.
    • (b)Pre-reviewing on paper : it will be held more than 2 under the direction of the Chair of the Dept.
    • (c)Result report of paper pre-reviewing
      • -Result period : under the direction of dept
      • -Result from : fixed form
      • -Place to submit: College of natural science Administrative Department
  • Dissertation Evaluation and Oral Exam
    • (a)Dissertation Evaluation
      • -Time and place will be set by the College
      • -Passing Criterion : at least 4 of 5 members agree.
    • (b)Oral Exam
      • -Oral exam will be conducted at the time of dissertation evaluation
      • -Passing Criterion : Average score more than 70 points
        At least 4 of 5 members should give more than 70 points.
  • Extension of Dissertation Evaluation
    • -One semester extension is allowed under extraordinary occasions with the approval from the Committee of Academic Affairs for Graduate School
      • *Unlikely to approve the extension if the reason of extension is to improve documents
      • *If the applicants could not meet the submission deadline, or the applicants have had their deadline extended, one semester extension may be granted in exceptional circumstances.
  • Printing of dissertation paper and its submission for preservation
    ☞ For more information on submitting dissertation copies, please contact the Main Library
    • (a)How to Submit
      • -Those who have passed the dissertation examination must submit the copies of the paper for preservation by the indicated due date to a place that the Dean indicates (refer to the Instructions on Binding and Printing of Dissertation Papers)
        ※ Students who do not submit the copies will be excluded from conferral of degree.
    • (b)Place to submit
      • -A place designated by the Main Library (☏ 880-5466) or biological sciences office
    • (c)Submission of PDF file
      • -Submission deadline : indicated by the Main Library after evaluation
      • -How to Submit
        "Main Library Homepage (http://library.snu.ac.kr) ⇒ Using the Libraries ⇒ Thesis Submission
        ※ Submission of pdf original text file should be done prior to submitting bound printed dissertation.
    • (d)Confirmation on Dissertation Submission
      • -Confirmation document showing evidence of dissertation submission can be printed from “Thesis Submission System”
      • -The copy of confirmation document should be submitted to the dept. office.
        ※ In case that any “check-out” books are in your account, you may print the document out only after the books are returned.
    • (e)Questions
      • -Department of Biological Sciences and/or Main Library (☏ 880-5466)
  • Publication of Dissertations
    • -Those who received a doctoral degree must publish the thesis within one year from the date of granting the degree. There are exceptions in case that the dissertation has already been published or when it is deemed inappropriate by the Dean of the college to publish the dissertation.
    • -Those who want to reserve publication of thesis by patent application, military confidentiality, invasion of privacy, or other unavoidable reasons should submit a non-disclosure application to the Dept. office
      ※ Dissertation publication method
      Publication can be as a book, in journals, in periodicals, in international journals, and also can be presented in academic seminars, etc.

Deadline of Dissertation Submission

Class School year Submission deadline
(after completion of courses)
Extension Students granted one-semester extension
(3 years in total)
Master's 2Years 4Years 4Years 2Years 3 consecutive years after March 1, 2012.
Doctoral 2Years 6Years 6Years 2Years
  • Deadline of Submission
    • (a)Master's : Within 4 years after course completion
    • (b)Doctoral : Within 6 years after course completion
  • Extension of Deadline on Dissertation Submission (2 years)
    • (a)Master, Doctoral 2years
    • Extension period is calculated, connected to the date of initial deadline of dissertation submission
  • Registration as research students granted extended deadline (3 years)
    • (a)An extension can be granted only once, and the dissertation paper should be submitted within 3 years from the approved semester.
    • (b)You must earn additional credits as shown below.
      • -Master’s program: 6 credits or more, Doctoral program: 9 or more credits
    • (c)Registration as student granted extension
      • -Master ‘s program: 1 semester or more, Doctoral program: 2 semesters or more
        • In the case of Ph.D. program, it is not possible to complete 9 credits in one semester. However, it is possible to complete more than one credit in the next semester.
        • You may not include the credits earned during the extension but they will be listed on your University transcript.
    • (d)Notice
      • -The term "Deadline extending research student” does not mean graduate research student (150,000 won for humanities, 200,000 won for science and engineering), but means students who need to pay tuitions based on credit hours and have exceeded the deadline for submitting a thesis.
      • -If you fail to pass the thesis examination for the semester you paid the tuition fee per credit and apply for the thesis examination in the next semester, you should register as "Graduate research student (Humanities department: 150,000 won, Science and Engineering: 200,000 won)".
      • -When you already passed some parts of qualification exams, you may take only failed parts again.

Rule on Conferral of Ph.D Degree

In order to enhance the competitiveness of the Department of Biological Sciences, the Rule on Conferral of Ph.D Degree students must meet the minimum accomplishments as follows:

(1) As a first author during the doctoral course, one or more papers should be published in the journal class “C” (or listed in the SCI within top 20% of the impact factor)
(2) As the first author during the doctoral course, two or more presentations should be published in the journal class “D” (or listed in the SCI within top 50% of the impact factor).
※ % of Impact fact is based on SCI rankings in the relevant research field and publishing year
Class
(Converted Score)
All fields except the field of Ecology and Systematics Ecology and Systematics
Excellence
(20 points)
Published in the journals of Cell, Science, and Nature in any fields
Top journals in the field
(9points)
Journal(Impact Factor) SNIP SJR
Mol. Cell(14.18) 3.216 7.592
EMBO J.(9.21) 2.322 4.025
Genes Dev(11.66) 3.29 7.147
Neuron(14.74) 3.862 4.695
Immunity(21.637) 4.17 9.208
J. Exp. Med.(13.853 ) 3.6 6.085
Plant Cell (8.987) 3.028 2.207
Nature sister journals, Cell sister journals etc.
Journal(Impact Factor) SNIP SJR
Mol Biol Evo(5.55) 2.17 1.68
J Mol Evol(2.271) 0.854 0.56 etc.
Class 가(A)
(Top 5%)
(6points)
Oncogene(6.373) 1.802 2.073
Neuroscience(7.115) 1.038 0.514
Development(6.596) 1.918 3.086
PNAS(9.681) 2.98 2.773
Brain(9.457) 2.976 1.344
Plant J(6.16) 2.152 1.532
Plant Physiol(6.535) 2.34 1.196
Cell Microbiol(5.458) 1.158 1.286
Structure(6.347) 1.494 1.956 etc.
Appl. Environ. Microbiol.(3.829) 1.844 0.457
Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.(3.609) 1.836 0.357
Microbial Ecol(2.912) 1.142 0.236 등
Class 나(B)
(Top 10%)
(5points)
Mol Cell Biol(5.527) 1.656 2.771
JI(5.788) 1.71 1.781
Mol Microbiol(5.01) 1.64 1.421
Plant Cell Envir(5.215) 1.974 0.505
J. Exp Bot(5.364) 1.628 0.549
Mycologia(2.031) 1.066 0.122
J. Chem. Ecol.(2.657) 1.054 0.213 등
Class 다(C)
(Top 20%)
(3points)
JBC(4.773) 1.74 1.606
Dev Biol(4.069) 1.262 1.611
Genes Cells(2.68) 0.768 1.211
Genetics(4.007) 1.252 1.296
Proteins(3.392) 1.122 0.706
Biochem J.(4.897) 1.184 1.091
Mech Dev(2.833) 0.924 1.099
J. Neurochem(4.061) 1.178 0.746
J. Neurophysiol(3.316) 1.392 0.782
J. Bacteriol.(3.825) 1.428 0.891
PMB(3.592) 1.244 0.684
Planta(3) 1.144 0.475
Plant Cell Physiol(4.702) 1.108 0.666
Mol. Cell. Neurosci.(3.663) 0.98 0.991
Eur. J. Neurosci(3.631) 1.116 0.66
Learn Memory(4.219) 1.268 0.955
Neuroscience (3.38) 1.038 0.514
J. Neurol.(3.473) 0.89 0.308
Phytochemistry(3.351) 1.302 0.278 etc.
Wetlands(1.338) 0.808 0.087
Zoological Science(0.952) 0.47 0.168 etc.
Class 라(D)
(Top 50%)
(1points)
J. Neurosci. Res.(2.738) 0.86 0.505
Am J Bot(2.664) 1.584 0.256
Protein Eng(2.937) 0.688 0.544
BBRC(2.484) 0.784 0.535
Brain Res.(2.728) 0.798 0.336
Neuroreport(1.656) 0.652 0.301
Neurosci. Lett.(2.105) 0.65 0.272
Brain Res. Bull(2.818) 0.62 0.253
Neurosci. Res.(2.25) 0.638 0.343
E. J. Cell Biol(2.806) 0.786 0.866
J. Biochem(2.371) 0.482 0.375
Int J Dev Biol(2.823) 0.762 0.769
J Antibiot (1.651) 0.392 0.166
J Plant Res (1.746) 0.616 0.19 etc.
Brittonia(0.475) 0.266 0.045
Nautilus(0.574) 0.268 0.043 etc.