Most students who are accepted into DOP’s graduate programs have a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in optics/photonics, physics, or electrical/electronic engineering. Applicants with degrees in other engineering disciplines, such as mechanical engineering and material sciences, are also encouraged to apply. Students who are accepted but have never taken undergraduate-level Optics, Electromagnetism, and Microelectronics courses should expect to take one undergraduate course in each of these disciplinary areas. However, these undergraduate courses are not designed as prerequisites before enrolling in DOP graduate courses. Students with non-engineering degrees must first earn a B.S. degree in the disciplines mentioned above before applying to DOP’s graduate programs.

While entrance to DOP’s graduate programs for domestic students are very competitive, international students’ entrance to DOP’s graduate program is highly encouraged and those who meet the minimum requirements outlined below are highly likely to be accepted.

Students who meet the minimum requirements listed below and wish to apply to the DOP must complete the application. Applications for admission are accepted by the corresponding deadlines for entrance at the beginning of Fall and Spring semesters. For Ph.D. students, applications for both Fall and Spring semester admissions are encouraged. For M.S. students, Fall semester admission is highly recommended for optimum course availability. There is no Sumer semester admission.

Students with a B.S. degree and with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 out of 4.0 from a recognized university are eligible to apply for admission.

Students with B.S. or M.S. degrees with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 out of 4.0 from a recognized university are eligible to apply for admission.

For applications to DOP’s master and Ph.D. programs, several factors, including student’s academic performance at prior institution(s) (GPAs and/or ranking), the statement of purpose, and letters of recommendation, are considered by the admission committee when making admission decisions.

Domestic applicants to either graduate program will take an on-site oral examination if they pass the first around of screening process. The on-site oral examination is usually held before mid November every year. No on-site oral examination will be given to the international applicants.

For those who pass the first around of screening, the application materials detailed below weigh 60 percent of the final grade for domestic applicants. The other 40 percent comes from the on-site oral examination. For the international applicants, no on-site oral examinations will be given and thus the applicant’s application materials sent directly to DOP weigh 100 percent of his/her final grade. Domestic and international applicants will be sorted separately by the final grade. The admission committee will make admission decisions based on the final list.

The following instructions apply to the international applicants ONLY. Domestic applicants please go to https://www.exam.ncu.edu.tw/ to start the online application process.

The required documents include

1. Proof of proficiency of English. If submitting the TOFEL: a minimum score of 213 (computer-based) or 550 (paper-based) or overall score of 80 with at least 20 on speaking and writing (internet-based).
2. Copy (Copies) of Degree diploma(s) from all schools after high school.
3. Official transcripts from all schools attended after high school. Transcripts must be in envelopes sealed by the issuing office and your class ranking must be given along with the total number of students in your class. If your class ranking is not available in the official transcript, an official document describing your class ranking, also sealed by the issuing office, must be submitted as a separate document.
4. Two letter of recommendations. Please read Step 2 for more detailed information.
5. Resume describing your personal contact information, academic qualifications, professional skills, research interests, publications (if any), and extra curriculum activities.
   Note: It is critical that you provide correct personal contact information, in particular the email address that must be active during the entire application review process. Your email address is the primary means that the DOP staff office will be using to contact you.
6. Your statement of purpose
   Before writing the statement of purpose, applicants are encouraged to review each sub-areas under the research section for complete descriptions. The statement of purpose should be written in a concise manner and the use of technically-accepted key words is highly recommended. In addition, please outline clearly a plan for your graduate study with an emphasis on your technical interest area information and if applicable, faculty with similar research interests who may be a potential research advisor.
7. Master thesis or thesis abstract, if any.
8. Proof of financial support (optional).
9. Other supporting documents that may be of any help for your admission.

Two letters of recommendation are required, and it is recommended that at least one of your recommendation letters comes from the faculty in prior institution(s) who knows your academic performance well.

Documents listed in Step 1 should be sent to:

• Department of Optics and Photonics
• National Central University
• Chung-Li, 32001, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Currently no online Application Status Checking is available. However, because some of the documents must be processed by more than one committee, it may take a few weeks before the applicant receives an acceptance or rejection notification.

Only until DOP’s admission committee receives all the required documents from the applicant will the reviewing process for that applicant start. An admission decision will not be made on an incomplete application.

A Note to International Applicants: The deadline dates listed below are the latest that the international applications will be accepted. However, it is strongly recommended that international students submit their applications as early as possible.

International applicants, including those residing in R.O.C. (Taiwan) – Mar.1

International applicants, including those residing in R.O.C. (Taiwan) – October 1