Graduate Study Programs

1. Graduate Diploma

A comprehensive program of study with an emphasis on academic and professional development; Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university. The program consists of at least 24 credits of study.

2. Higher Graduate Diploma

A comprehensive program of study with an emphasis on academic and professional development; Applicants must have completed 6 years of study at bachelor’s degree, a master’s level degree or equivalent qualifications from an accredited college or university. The program consists of at least 24 credits of study.

3. Master's Degree

A program of study with the emphasis on academic and research development in various areas at a level higher than a bachelor’s degree or a graduate diploma, the program consists of at least 36 credits of study with 2 study plans to choose from:

-  Plan A: Academic focused

       Plan A1 - A minimum of Thesis with 36 credits. Students may be assigned additional audit coursework.
       Plan A2 - Combined coursework and thesis at least 12 credits and at least 12 coursework credits. Please contact the programs for more information.

-  Plan B: Professional focused

      Combined coursework and students have to conduct a minor thesis (independent study) of at least 3 credits but no longer than 6 credits.

4. Doctor of Philosophy

A program of study with the emphasis on academic and research development in various areas at a level higher than a master’s degree or a higher graduate diploma. The program consists of at least 48 credits of study for applicants with a master’s degree or equivalent and at least 72 credits of study for applicants with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent with an excellent academic record. There are 2 study plans to choose from:

- Plan 1: Thesis only plan, where research of exceptional quality leading to novel studies is emphasized. Students may be assigned additional audit coursework or activities.

      Plan 1.1 - Applicants with a master’s degree or equivalent must take at least 48 thesis credits.
      Plan 1.2 - Applicants with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent must take at least 72 thesis credits.

- Plan 2 : Combined coursework and thesis plan, where research of high quality leading to academic and professional development is emphasized.

      Plan 2.1 - Applicants with a master’s degree or equivalent must take at least 36 thesis credits and at least 12 coursework credits.
      Plan 2.2 - Applicants with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent must take at least 48 thesis credits and at least 24 coursework credits.

Duration of Study

1. Graduate Diploma and Higer Graduate Diploma

depending on the program of study, but not more than 3 academic years.

2. Master's Degree

depending on the program of study, but not more than 5 academic years.

3. Doctor of Philosophy

depending on the program of study, but not more than 8 academic years for students with a bachelor’s degree and not more than 6 academic years for students with a master’s degree.

Registration Procedure

Both online and advance registration are available to students. The Graduate School website at  www.grad.psu.ac.th/en or the Registrar’s Division website provide the relevant information about registration period, deadline and procedures for each campus at:  

• Hat Yai Campus 
• Pattani Campus 
  
• Phuket Campus 
  
• Suratthain Campus 
• Trang Campus 
  

SIS Student Registration Manual (4 Campus ** Hatyai, Phuket, Trang and Surat Thani**)

Number of Credit Per Semester

Students may not register for more than 15 credits (credit and audit combined) per semester, and registration must be with the consent of the academic or thesis advisor.

Thesis Advisor / Co-advisor

Students under a master’s degree Plan A program and Ph.D. students must file the Request for Advisor and Co-advisor (if any) Appointment (GS 1) before registering for thesis credits. The form should be filed at the student’s respective school or faculty. A thesis advisor is required to be a faculty staff in the program.

Qualifying Examination

All Ph.D. students are required to pass a qualifying examination, set up by their respective school/ faculty, within 4 semesters of study commencement. The qualifying examination assesses a student’s basic knowledge and readiness to conduct research at doctoral level.

Committees consist of at least 3 members:

    a.    The Program director as chairperson
    b.    Thesis advisor
    c.    Faculty staff in the program

Upon completion of the qualifying examination and its approval, the faculty staff must submit the result to the Graduate School.

Thesis Proposal Examination Committee

Committees consist of 3 to 5 members:

    a.    Thesis advisor
    b.    Thesis co-advisor (if any)
    c.    Faculty staff in the program and/or recongnized expert in the related filated field of research

Upon completion of the proposal examination and its approval, students must submit the Request for Thesis Proposal Approval (GS 2) and the Letter of Consent to the Graduate School.

Thesis Examination Committee

At the end of a student’s research work, a thesis examination committee must be appointed by submission of the Request for Appointment of Thesis Examination Committee (GS 3) prior to defense a thesis at least 2 weeks.

A minimum of committee members consist of 3 Master's program, and 5 for Ph.D. program :

    a.    At least 1 external expert in the related field of research who is not the current thesis co-advisor. For Ph.D. program, an external examiner is requierd to be chairman only.
    b.   At least 1 faculty in the program who is not the current thesis co-advisor, a recognized expert in the related area, and be a faculty staff in the program
    c.   Thesis advisor who is faculty staff in the program
    d.   Thesis co-advisor, external examiner, faculty staff in the program (if requested)
Note: 1. The thesis advisor/ co-advisor may not act as the Chairperson of the committee. For Ph.D. level, the external expert chairs the examination committee, and the external expert must hold a Ph.D. degree (or master’s degree and at least Associate Professor position) and/or at least Associate Professor position.

2. Other details, please refer to the Announcement of Ministry of Education, Re: Standard Criteria of Graduate Study Programs B.E 2558, B.E 2563, and B.E. 2565.

3. In case of using innovations or creative works from thesis, directly contact faculty and the Graduate School in order to set a committee each case

Comprehensive Examination

Master’s degree Plan B and Ph.D. students in some programs are required to take a comprehensive examination set up by the program/department/faculty. The comprehensive examination assesses a student’s ability to apply the knowledge and principles acquired through study or research to their thesis research project.

Thesis Examination

A student is required to do the following:

    a.    Agree upon the date and time of the examination with all thesis examination committee members;
    b.    Fill out and submit the Request for Thesis Examination (GS 4) with the approval of the thesis advisor to the Graduate School at least 2 weeks prior to the examination date;
    c.    Provide a copy of the thesis to all thesis examination committee members at least 2 weeks prior to the examination date;
    d.    Prepare the forms Report on Thesis Examination (by Rubric) (GS 5) and Details of Comments from Examination Committee (GS 5/1) for committee members to complete and sign on the day of the examination. The completed forms will then be forwarded to the Graduate School by the faculty
    e.    If the thesis title needs to be revised after examination, the student needs to inform the faculty and complete the Request for Change of Thesis Title (GS 5/2)

    f.    In case of using innovations or creative works from thesis for fulfilling graduation requirements, please the Form for Evaluating Quality of Thesis Involving Innovations or Creative Works (GS 5/3) together with a Report on Thesis Examination (by Rubric) (GS 5) and Details of Comments from Examination Committee (GS 5/1)

Report The Information of Publication of Thesis

Students are required to report publication in journal related to thesis or Publication in the academic conference related to thesis to the Graduate School according to  Announcement of Ministry of Education, Re: Standard Criteria of Graduate Study Programs B.E 2558, B.E. 2563, and B.E. 2565 including a criteria for quality assurance by Form for The Information of Publication of Thesis (GS4/1). Please check academic journals at  https://grad.psu.ac.th/en/current-student/journal-information.html

Report on Progress of Thesis

Students in Master’s Degree Plan A 1 and students in Doctoral Degree Plan 1 must file a Report on Progress of Thesis for Master's Degree Plan A1 and Doctoral Degree Plan 1 (GS 9) to the Graduate School every semester.

Thesis Format Inspection

The layout and format of the following 6 thesis pages will be inspected by the Graduate School.

    a.    Front cover
    b.    Inside cover (i)
    c.    Approval (committee signatures) page (ii)
    d.    2 certification pages (iii & iv)
    e.    CV page (last page of thesis)
Note: Thesis in English language version is used by Roman Number and thesis in Thai language version is used by Arabic Number.Students can submit these pages for inspection at the One Stop Service, Graduate School, together with Thesis Format Correction Form (GS6) They will be given immediate feedback on whether the format is correct or changes are needed. For more information, please go to the thesis manual at https://grad.psu.ac.th/en/current-student/thesis/thesis-template.html

Submission of the Completed Thesis

After completion of the thesis, students should submit the following items to the Graduate School.

    a.    PSU-KB : Submit a completed thesis file to PSU-KB before submitting Thesis book at Graduate School as link https://kb.psu.ac.th/psukb/ (PDF: Full Thesis (single file) including the Navigation Pane)

    b.    Request for Thesis Submission Form (GS 8)
    c.    5 Approval pages of the committees’ signatures (page ii of the thesis)    
    d.    Thesis Format Inspection Report (Yellow Sheet) issued by the Graduate School upon submission of form Thesis Format Correction Form (GS 6)
    e.    A printed and bound completed thesis  (black/blue book)
    f.    A single file of the Originality Report (GS 14)(Submit at faculty)
    g.   The information of Publication of Thesis (GS 4/1) (Submit at faculty)

Minor Thesis Examination and Submission

Examination must comply with the school’s /faculty’s minor thesis regulation. The complete minor thesis book with files of the complete minor thesis work through  PSU-KB https://kb.psu.ac.th/psukb/ must be submitted to the respective faculty.

Completion of Study

1. Requirement for graduation (degree award):

• Completion of all courses as required by the program of study with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00
• Pass the minimum English proficiency test set by the Graduate School for each program of study.
• Pass the required examinations:
  (i)    For master’s degree Plan B students: Pass the comprehensive examination and minor thesis examination with a grade of S or X;
  (ii)   For master’s degree Plan A students: Pass the thesis proposal examination and thesis examination with a grade of S or X;
  (iii)  For Ph.D. students: Pass the qualifying examination, thesis proposal examination and thesis examination with a grade of S or X
• Publication Requirements:
  (i)    Master's degree
  • Plan A1: student must publish his/her thesis work in a peer reviewed journal, is required to publish their thesis work in a peer reviewed journal indexed in the accepted databases (please see journal databases for publication). Your program may have additional requirements for research dissemination, please contact the director of graduate studies in your program for more information.
  • Plan A2: student must present his/her work in an academic conference with a full article published in the proceedings accompanying the conference, or published in a peer reviewed journal indexed in the accepted databases (please see e. journal databases for publication). Your program may have additional requirements for research dissemination, please contact the director of graduate studies in your program for more information.
(ii)   Doctoral degree - Ph.D. student's research work must be published or accepted for  publications in a peer reviewed journal. However, the following requirement applies to those in a Ph.D. program revised in 2016 or after.
• Plan 1.1 and 1.2: students must publish at least two articles from their thesis work in peer reviewed journals indexed in the accepted databases (please see e. journal databases for publication). Your program may have additional requirements for research dissemination, please contact the director of graduate studies in your program for more information.
• Plan 2.1 and 2.2: students must publish at least one article from their thesis work in peer reviewed journals indexed in the accepted databases (please see e. journal databases for publication). Your program may have additional requirements for research dissemination, please contact the director of graduate studies in your program for more information.

For more information on journal database for publication, please go to https://grad.psu.ac.th/images/files/Thesis_Journal/journal05.pdf

For students whose programs are under the Announcement of Ministry of Education, Re: Standard Criteria of Graduate Study Programs B.E 2558, kindly check your program with faculty/program referring the Announcement of Ministry of Education, Re: Standard Criteria of Graduate Study Programs B.E 2558, and B.E 2565.

2. Upon completion of all requirements set by the program and the Graduate Study Regulation B.E. 2556, students may file a request for graduation to the Registrar’s Division via an online system at Registrar's Division

The Registrar’s Division will then check all the graduation criteria before forwarding the request to the Graduate School for verification of graduation and submitting it to the President of the University Council for approval.

Detection of Plagiarism

The Graduate School has to ensure that every thesis and publication meets the expected quality and reliability standards. Students must maintain proper ethical standards in their research and must not copy work from other people as well as their own work without proper citation.

In order to prevent plagiarism, all students must submit formOriginality Report (GS 14) or Originality Report for Minor Thesis (Plan B) (GS14/1) together with a Copyleaks™ Originality Report to the advisor and examination committee prior to the thesis examination. When the thesis is completed, students must submit the printed GS 14 or GS14/1  Copyleaks™ Originality Report

More detail at https://grad.psu.ac.th/en/current-student/thesis/copyleaks.html

Change of Study Plan

A request for changing a student’s plan of study must be filed and approved by the respective school / faculty. The request can be made after having studied for at least 1 semester.

Change of Study Program

In order to request a change in the program of study. Request for a Change of Study Program (GS 12) may be filed through the respective school / faculty to the Graduate School for approval.

Change of the Level of Study

Students who wish to switch the level of study from a master’s degree to a doctoral degree in the same area of study, or vice versa, may file a Request for a Change of Study Level (GS 13) through their respective school / faculty to the Graduate School for approval.

The requirements for changing the level of study are as follows:

1. To change from master’s degree to doctoral degree in the same area of study, a student must pass the qualifying examination. Plan A1 students need to have a thesis project of doctoral degree potential, and Plan A2 students need to have obtained at least 12 coursework credits.
2. A student who has not passed the qualifying examination may change from the level of Master’s Degree.
3. A student may change the level of study only once.
4. The equivalence of course credits will be determined by the Graduate School.

Transfer of Credit/Coursework Credit(s)

Students may request a credit/coursework transfer by filing a Request for Credit/Coursework Transfer (GS 10) to their respective school/faculty for approval. The transferred credits must be from courses or a thesis at graduate level, taken within the previous 3 years with a grade of P, S or at least B.

Suspension of Study

The suspension of study may not be longer than 2 semesters. Upon approval, students must maintain their student status by submitting a student status maintenance request at the Registrar’s Division and pay the status maintenance fee at the Finance Office.

Retirement / Termination of Study

Students who wish to terminate their study may file a request using the form assigned by the Registrar’s Division through their respective program committee to the Graduate School. The request will be approved by the president of the university.

Dismissal from Study

Reasons for student dismissal:

    a.    Not registering within 30 days after commencement of a semester without having obtained the approval for suspension of study;
    b.    Obtaining a cumulative GPA less than 2.50 in any single semester;
    c.    Completing 2/3 of the required coursework credits, not including thesis credits, and receiving a cumulative GPA less than 2.75;
    d.    Exceeding the maximum permissible duration of study with a cumulative GPA of less than 3.00;
    e.    Thesis proposal not having been approved within these times;
        1    Master's degree Plan A1
                 - within 4 semesters for full time students
                 - within 5 semesters for part time students
        2    Master's degree Plan A2
                 - within 5 semesters for full time students
                 - within 6 semesters for part time students
        3    Ph.D. Plan 1
                 - within 6 semesters for full time students
                 - within 7 semesters for part time students
        4    Ph.D. Plan 2
                 - within 7 semesters for full time students
                 - within 8 semesters for part time students
    f.   Not passing the thesis examination or comprehensive examination at the 2^nd attempt;
    g.  Not submitting the complete thesis within 6 months of the thesis examination date;
    h.  Not submitting the complete minor thesis work within 3 months of the examination date;
    i.  The Graduate School finds a student to be guilty of serious misconduct.

English Language Proficiency

Graduate students must pass the English proficiency test for graduation requirements as determined the minimum score of each test by the Graduate School.

Test results need to have been obtained within 2 years before commencing studies at PSU or studying. Students who wish to use test results from TOEFL, IELTS, or other testing institutes must submit a Submission of English Language Proficiency for Graduation (RF 5) for English language equivalent with the valid test result through the academic/thesis advisor to the Graduate School for approval.

In cases where exam scores were obtained from other sources or where a student has graduated from an educational institution where the language of tuition was English, and where there is evidence of sufficient English language proficiency, the Graduate School will use its discretion in considering each case.

For master students who are unable to pass the English proficiency test, students may register for class 890-901 English for Graduate Study (3 credits) offered by the Faculty of Liberal Arts or 935-561, 417-501/417-502, 811-501, 936-501 offered by faculties of each campus. Once students have obtained “Satisfactory Level” the English proficiency is automatically passed without having to make a request to the Graduate School.

NOTE: The applicant must have a New PSU-TEP score to apply for this class.

Students in international programs or Ph.D. programs who are unable to pass the English proficiency test according to the requirement by the Graduate School may register for class 890-902 Academic English for Doctoral Students offered by the Faculty of Liberal Arts (Hat Yai Campus) or 417-601 Academic English for Doctoral Students offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science (Pattani Campus) including 936-501 available in Suratthani Campus in order to improve their English skills.

NOTE: 890-902 and 417-601 are not a substitution of a proficiency test (New PSU-TEP, TOEFL, IELTS, etc.). However, the test results of both academic English courses can be partially used together with a New PSU-TEP and CU-TEP score for English proficiency approval when students are approaching the final semester according to their study program.

Further information on English proficiency testing (New PSU-TEP) may be obtained at the Education Unit, 2^nd Floor, Faculty of Liberal Arts (Tel. 0-7428-6665)

Foreign Language Assessment of Master and Doctoral Students as a Requirement for Graduation

• Attachment of Announcement 

http://www.psu-tep.libarts.psu.ac.th/psu-tep

Procedure of Submitting Evidence of English Language Proficiency for Graduation

Sample of Request Form

Requesting for a Certificate

Students who wish to obtain a certificate could file a Request for Certificate (RF 2) to the Graduate School. Please see more details at the announcement of Graduate School,        Re: Rate of fees on expenses of the Graduate School, and category of certificates as specified in the announcement.

Requesting a Letter of Recommendation

1. Letter verifying student status, completion of study, or a student transcript may be obtained from the Registrar’s Division.
2. Students who are civil servants or government employees may request a letter verifying their study status by submitting an Application for Certification Letters (RF 3) through their academic / thesis advisor to the Graduate School.

Requesting a Letter to Report Back to Work

Students who are civil servants or government employees may obtain a letter to request the return to work by submitting a Request for Letter to Return to Work (RF 4) through their academic/ thesis advisor to the Graduate School.

Code of Practices

Code of Practices

Plagiarism Detection

Program Manual (Handouts) COPYLEAKS

Documents & Download