College and Department of Buddhist Studies, FGU

MA Program

Flexible M.A. Thesis Options Tailored to Your Interests

Students pursuing their M.A. in Buddhist Studies have the flexibility to choose the focus of their thesis:

• Academic Research: Conduct in-depth scholarly research on various aspects of Buddhism.
• Translation Projects: Undertake classic Buddhist texts translation and annotation as your thesis.

For more details, refer to the Guidelines for the Composition of Classic Translations and Annotations as an M.A. Thesis (pdf).

Need a Helping Hand with Your M.A. Thesis?

If you'd like to use A.I. tools to assist with your thesis writing, be sure to check out the guidelines for proper use and support.
Guidelines for Using A.I. as Auxillary Writing Tool (pdf)
 

Related information for the research students of the Department of Buddhist Studies

Fo Guang University Department of Buddhist Studies Study Regulations for Master Degree Program 

Please read the following before applying for the thesis defense:
Details of the Fo Guang University Master’s and PhD’s program 

Thesis  Defense Application Requirements

1. Required academic credits and courses for graduation: Compulsory courses (10 credits); Selective courses (14 credits); Graduation threshold courses  
2. Pass the “Academic Research Ethics Education Course” (Students admitted from Academic Year 106 onwards)
    “Academic Research Ethics Education Course” Implementation Rules 
    “Academic Research Ethics Education Course” Student’s Manual 
3. Pass the “Thesis Plagiarism Verification System (Kuai Dao)”

Thesis Plagiarism Verification System
1. Kuai Dao Chinese Plagiarism Verification System  (For Chinese thesis)

For the English version of the verification system, please apply Turnitin. 
 

• Verification system link: https://lib.ppvs.org/fgu.html

• User Manual link: https://reurl.cc/AkKV9j
   (★Please pay attention: the file name of the thesis must be exactly the same as the title of the thesis, and should not be adjusted arbitrarily, otherwise the Academic Affairs Office will ask for re-uploading)
  
         Important Notes:

1. When uploading your thesis file, please ensure that the file name is exactly identical to the thesis title; otherwise, the submission will be rejected.
2. If the file size is excessively large and the upload process takes too long, you may:
3. (1) create a duplicate copy of the file and remove all images before uploading; or
4. (2) divide the document into two or three separate files and upload them individually. In this case, you may add suffixes such as “-1,” “-2,” and so forth to the file names.
5. After the similarity check has been completed, the system will generate a similarity report. Please download the report and print only the first page of the “Quick Blade Chinese Similarity Report” (the page containing the pie chart). Attach this page to the application documents; there is no need to print the entire report.
6. As a general principle, the similarity index should not exceed 30%. If the similarity index exceeds 30%, a thesis review committee consisting of at least three faculty members—including the dean or department chair and the thesis advisor—must conduct a review to confirm that no violation of academic ethics has occurred before the oral defense may proceed. The similarity report must also be provided to the thesis examination committee for reference.

     2. Turnitin Teaching Manual  (For English thesis)

• Verification system link: http://turnitin.com/
• Apply for Turnitin paper comparison system account and password https://forms.gle/ain2avgZKrQxce4N7
•  
• To register and create a user profile, you must have been provided with a class ID and enrollment password by your instructor or institute.【Turnitin Student Tutorial】【Student User Guide(Official)】
•  
• User Manual link: User Guide(ppt)、Training Video

This system is used to compare the percentage of similar texts of individual articles and other materials.

It provides the author with the possibility to reconfirm the quality of the content of a document before publication, and checks whether the cited documents have been omitted, which will help improve the output of the school papers quality.
 

If the thesis title is revised on the day of the oral defense, please notify the departmental office to withdraw the original submission. After the revised title is entered into the student system, reprint the following documents for renewed signatures from the committee members:

1. On the “② Application Form,” manually revise the thesis title to the new title and request the thesis advisor to sign next to the correction.
2. On the “③ Advisor Recommendation Form,” after revising the thesis title, the advisor must sign the form again. However, the date must remain identical to that on the original document. (Do not change the date to the oral defense date without authorization. If an incorrect date is entered, the form must be reprinted and signed again.)
3. “Examination Committee Evaluation Form”: Enter the revised thesis title in the designated field for the new thesis title.
4. “Grade Report Form”: Enter the revised thesis title in the designated field for the new thesis title, and the thesis advisor must sign in the corresponding section.
5. “Thesis Oral Defense Approval Form”: Reprint the form and obtain signatures from all committee members again.
6. On the “⑥ Similarity Check Verification Form,” update the thesis title and obtain the advisor’s signature again. In addition, the thesis file name must also be updated to reflect the revised title, after which the file must be re-uploaded for a new similarity check. The updated similarity report should then be submitted to the departmental office.
    

Application for section transfer: Master Program Section Transfer Application Form