Upon enrollment at ICRS, students are required to take courses in the first two semesters, during which period students need to be in residence in Yogyakarta. Students come to ICRS from many different disciplinary, religious, and national backgrounds; the courses are expected to provide a common academic ground and are designed to prepare students to write a dissertation proposal, undertake research, and write the dissertation.
The doctoral program (or S3 in the Indonesian system) is designed to be completed in eight semesters (four years). The shortest possible duration is six semesters, while the longest is 10 semesters (after two one-semester extensions for those who are eligible). It comprises 48 credit hours in total, with 18 credits for courses, and 30 credits for dissertation writing. The main elements of the program are:
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Coursework (18 credits) (Chapter 3)
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Dissertation research and writing (30 credits) (Chapter 4)
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A publication which is based on the dissertation research
There are three stages of the Ph.D. program
Stage 1 : Students spend the first two semesters taking required and elective courses.
Stage 2 : The third semester is for completing the dissertation proposal and comprehensive examination. Upon completion of this stage, the student becomes a Ph.D. Candidate.
Stage 3: In the remaining semesters, students undertake their research, present the interim results of the research (Seminar Hasil/dissertation promotion club) twice, publish a journal article based on the dissertation together with the promotors, complete the dissertation writing, and defend the dissertation in a final exam. If the students do not finish all requirements by the end of the eighth semester, they may get an extension of two semesters.