The purpose of this research is to reveal the research competency and problems related to the research conduct among English language education graduates at IAI Darussalam. Six graduates were purposefully selected; three of them completed the theses in one semester and three others finalized the theses in two semesters. The research is qualitative study and using semi structured interviews. The finding revealed that graduates who completed writing the theses in one semester have stronger research competency than the other groups. The research competency was scaled based on the motivational component, methodology reflective component, and a higher operational activity component. Moreover, both groups have similarities in terms of problems with research conduct such as self-motivation, supervisors, managing schedule and the lack of references.