Do I have to provide evidence of my English language skills before I can graduate from PSU?

Answer:
Yes, The PSU Graduate Studies Regulations requires all students graduating to prove their level of English language proficiency. Details of which tests and which minimal scores are accepted by the Prince of Songkla Graduate School can be found at: English Language Proficiency

I already submitted evidence of my English language proficiency when I applied to PSU. Do I have to submit it again?

Answer:
Unfortunately, yes. Documents submitted in the process of applying to study at PSU are not automatically considered as fulfillment of the English language requirement. If you have a recent certificate that meets the Graduate School's requirements, submit it to the Graduate School or your faculty asap following the procedure described in English Language Proficiency and the PDF file linked to that page. The important point is that the certificate must not be older than two years on the date before commencement your study. While being hold student status and having English proficiency examination, you can submit before graduation.

What is the cheapest way to obtain an English language proficiency certificate?

Answer:

• The cheapest test available locally in Hat Yai is the PSU-TEP exam, which is administered by the Liberal Arts faculty and held 4 times a year. The registration fee is 900 Baht for the three modules (reading, listening, writing) required for Masters & Ph.D. students on international programs.
• The online registration pages are written mainly in Thai, but as of October 2017 there are now English terms provided for most fields, so non-Thai speakers should be able to register too.
• Another option is to take the CU-TEP exam from Chulalongkorn University. It is held locally at PSU Hat Yai campus twice a year and the registration fee is 900 Baht.
• The registration fee for TOEFL-ITP at PSU Liberal Arts faculty is 1,800 Baht.
• The cost for taking an IELTS test (offered by IDP in Hat Yai or the British Council in Phuket) is about 6,500+ Baht.

When is the next test date I can apply for?

Answer:

• The PSU-TEP test is held 4 times a year at PSU Hat Yai. Test dates for 2018 can be found in this document: http://fs.libarts.psu.ac.th/webcontent/psu-tep2561/PSU_TEP_Eng61.pdf
• CU-TEP is held at PSU Hat Yai twice a year, usually in April and October. Details of upcoming test dates are announced at: http://www.atc.chula.ac.th/en_html/en_tep.html
• TOEFL-ITP exams are held 3 times a year at PSU - the schedule can be viewed at: http://www.libarts.psu.ac.th/index.php/toefl-itp/toefl-itp/toefl-itp-2560

Are there any exemptions from this requirement?

Answer:
Yes. Students who have graduated from an educational institution where the language of instruction was English can apply to the Graduate School to be exempted from submitting an English proficiency test score. The Graduate School will examine each such case on its merit.

 

Am I insured as a student at PSU?

Answer:
As part of their tuition fees, international students at PSU are covered by a basic personal accident insurance (up to 25,000 baht/accident) and a very basic medical insurance (up to 3,000 baht/academic year). The university requires all international students to have additional health insurance while studying at PSU. Students can purchase health insurancce coverage from any provider of their choice, but Siam City Insurance plc provides health insurance plans for PSU students at very attractive rates, ranging from 2,000 to 6,000 baht per year. More information about the basic coverage and additional insurance plans provided can be found on the International Affairs Office (IAO) website.

How do I register for a PSU hospital card?

Answer:
Students should take their student ID and their passport to the PSU hosital - the counter for registration is at the first aisle to the right of the front entrance.

Where can I go if I need medical attention?

Answer:
During normal working hours, students should present themselves at the relevant hospital department.
Outside normal working hours and at weekends, the A&E unit (building facing the main road, opposite Tesco Lotus) provides a 24-hour emergency service.

How do I apply for a TEH-AC Scholarship?

Answer:
Applications for a TEH-AC scholarship can be made online at: https://gradmis.psu.ac.th/admission/
Please check the TEH-AC Scholarship web page for further details about application requirements and deadlines.

When and how will the monthly stipend be paid?

Answer:
The monthly stipend will be paid into your Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) savings account at the end of each month (the last working day of the month). The Graduate School is bound to use only SCB bank accounts and cannot transfer the allowance to any other bank account.

I have enrolled and started my studies, but don't have my bank account number yet. How do I get my monthly allowance for the first month of study, i.e. August or January?

Answer:
Unfortunately, SCB bank has in previous years taken longer than the promised 4 weeks to get the Student ID cards and bank accounts issued to new graduate students. Therefore, the Graduate School may pay the August allowance to new TEH-AC scholars in cash at the end of that month. For further details please look out for an announcement on facebook and by e-mail.

What are the conditions for travel cost reimbursement for TEH-AC scholars?

Answer:
A PDF document with information on what kind of evidence is needed for the ticket reimbursement can be found here: Click

In addition to the above-mentioned document, students should keep the following points in mind when purchasing their ticket:

Proper receipts are needed. Flight tickets bought through online travel agents or other applications such as Traveloka, Skyscanner, etc. which don't issue invoices cannot be accepted for reimbursement.
Travel costs within the scholar's country cannot be reimbursed, but a change of planes in a third country is allowed. Kuala Lumpur and Singapore have a daily direct flight to Hat Yai, so these may be an alternative to travelling via Bangkok (Hat Yai Airport info: http://hatyaiairportthai.com/en/landings/flightinfo).
Scholars from South Asian countries may find that flights from their home country to Bangkok are cheaper when flying via a hub airport such as Dubai or Doha rather than flying direct, and the Graduate School tries to accommodate such cases. Please check with the Graduate School before purchasing your ticket.

Please note: Due to a change in the funding structure, TEH-AC scholarships for international students will no longer cover travel costs from academic year 2018 onwards.

How do I submit my 6-monthly progress report?

Answer:
Download the form (Click) and fill in the information using a word processor.
You can find your study results on the PSU Student Information System (SIS), a printed copy of which you should also attach to your report.
Pass the form to your supervisor to complete and sign, then submit the completed form to the Graduate School at your campus. If your faculty requires you to submit the report to them first, then make sure that they forward it to the Graduate School before the respective deadlines.

When do I have to submit my progress report?

Answer:
As a TEH-AC scholarship recipient you have to submit a progress report to the Graduate School every 6 months, after the end of terms 1 and 2:

• Progress report for term 1: due by January 15th
• Progress report for term 2: due by August 15th

If you do not submit your report on time, your maintenance grant payments will be stopped until you have submitted your report.

I have already submitted a progress report to my faculty, have you received it?

Answer:
Please check with your faculty whether they have forwarded your progress report to the Graduate School. Also, make sure that you have submitted the correct form (TEH-AC 001, linked to on this page), because some faculties require students to submit a separate progress report which they use for internal purposes.

I don't know my scholarship contract number

Answer:
You can find your scholarship number on your copy of the scholarship contract. But if you cannot find it, submit your progress report without it - just make sure you have written your name and student ID clearly.

Where can I download the progress report form?

Answer:
You can download the form in MS-Word (DOC) format here: Click

The fund is called "Graduate School Financial Support for Thesis," so can I use it to pay for printing my thesis?

Answer:
No, it cannot be used to pay for the cost of printing or binding the thesis, despite the fund being called "Financial Support for Thesis." The fund's purpose is to support research work for the dissertation, but not the production of the thesis itself.
For details of what kinds of expenses can be claimed from the fund, please see the documentation accompanying the funding announcement at: Click

What do I have to do to be eligible for the higher amount of funding?

Answer:
To be eligible for the higher amount of funding labelled "Approved thesis proposal," a student needs to have completed the thesis proposal defence process by the date the support grant application is submitted to the Graduate School.
(The process is completed not on the day of the thesis proposal defence, but on the day the paperwork is completed and the outcome is reported by the faculty to the Graduate School.)

Why do natural sciences get more money than the social sciences?

Answer:
The rationale behind the different levels of funding is that scientific experiments are more cost-intensive, requiring more costly equipment and materials than social science experiments. Also, it should be remembered that the sums stated in the application document are the maximum amounts available and not the actual grant being paid.

For my research I have to travel abroad - will the fund cover my travel costs?

Answer:
The research support grants are funded by Thai tax-payers, and the regulations only allow travel costs within the Kingdom of Thailand to be reimbursed.

I have not yet passed my thesis proposal defence exam. Should I wait until next year to apply for the higher amount?

Answer:
Yes, that is a possibility. If a student has not yet passed the thesis proposal examination by the time of the application deadline in their first year of study, they can apply in their second year (but not any later) in order to be eligible for the higher amount of funding after they have defended their thesis proposal. There is no guarantee that funding will be available the following year, but it is highly likely.

The terms of the scholarship mention a duration of "two fiscal years" - what does that mean?

Answer:
Three things need to be distinguished here: the calendar year, the academic year, and the fiscal (or financial) year:

• Calendar Year 2560: from January 2017 to December 2017
• Academic Year 2560: from August 2017 to August 2018
• Financial Year 2560: from October 2016 to September 2017

The fiscal year actually starts three months before the calendar year, and almost a year before the academic year. When claiming research expenses, the dates of the invoices need to fall within the same or the following fiscal year in which the grant was awarded.

Example: an application is made in October 2017, and the research support grant awarded in January 2018. Under that grant, expenses made between October 2017 and September 2019 (= fiscal years 2561 and 2562) can be claimed. This means that expenses incurred before the grant was awarded can be claimed, as long as they occurred in the same fiscal year. The funding duration is the same for Master's & Ph.D. students.
calendar comparison

I am not sure if I can finish the thesis defence process before the submission deadline. What should I do?

Answer:
If you think you may be able to complete the thesis proposal defence process before the deadline (in 2017 this is November 30th), complete the online application first, and develop the application together with your thesis adviser. In case you cannot complete your defence on time, you can ask the administrator at your faculty to cancel your application by not submitting the compiled application forms to the Graduate School (in 2017 that happens by December 12th). If you are currently in your first year of study, you will then be eligible to apply for the next round of funding when you hopefully will have passed the proposal defence.

I have not completed my thesis proposal defence yet. Can I apply for the normal amount of funding this year and for the additional 50% next year, when I will have defended my thesis proposal?

Answer:
No. That is not possible. You may apply for the support grant only once during your time of study at PSU. So if you want to apply for a higher amount than the normal rate and are currently in your first year of study, you can wait with your application until the following year (by which time you should have passed your thesis proposal defence). But keep in mind that there is no guarantee for the amount of funding available in future years, since this depends on the overall amount provided by the Thai government and the number of students applying for the grant.