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National Taiwan University

Coordinates: 25°01′N 121°32′E / 25.017°N 121.533°E / 25.017; 121.533
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with National Taipei University, Nanyang Technological University, or National Taiwan Normal University.
National Taiwan University
國立臺灣大學
Seal
Former names
Taihoku Imperial University (1928–1945)
Motto敦品勵學，愛國愛人[a]
Motto in English
Integrity, Diligence, Fidelity, Compassion[1]
TypePublic national research university
EstablishedMarch 16, 1928; 97 years ago (1928-03-16)
Endowment$38.6 billion NTD (2024)[2]
$1.1 billion USD (2024)
PresidentChen Wen-chang
Academic staff
2,029 (2020–21)[3]
Administrative staff
6,765 (2020–21)
Students32,974 (2020–21)
Undergraduates16,773 (2020–21)
Postgraduates12,533 (2020–21)
3,668 (2020–21)
Location
Taipei
,
 Taiwan

25°00′58″N 121°32′10″E / 25.016°N 121.536°E / 25.016; 121.536 25°01′N 121°32′E / 25.017°N 121.533°E / 25.017; 121.533
CampusUrban,
1.6 km2 (0.62 sq mi) (Greater Taipei combined);
344 km2 (133 sq mi) (Nantou County combined)
Colors Maroon  and  Gold [4]
Affiliations
Websitentu.edu.tw
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese国立台湾大学
Traditional Chinese國立臺灣大學
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGuólì Táiwān Dàxué
Bopomofoㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄌㄧˋ ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ ㄉㄚˋ ㄒㄩㄝˊ
Gwoyeu RomatzyhGwolih Tair'uan Dahshyue
Wade–GilesKuo²-li⁴ T'ai²-wan¹ Ta⁴-hsüeh²
Tongyong PinyinGuólì Táiwan Dàsyué
MPS2Guólì Táiwān Dàshiué
Hakka
RomanizationKoet-li̍p Thòi-vân Thai-ho̍k
Southern Min
Hokkien POJKok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k
Tâi-lôKok-li̍p Tâi-uân Tāi-ha̍k
Taihoku Imperial University
Simplified Chinese台北帝国大学
Traditional Chinese臺北帝國大學
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinTáipěi Dìguó Dàxué
Bopomofoㄊㄞˊ ㄅㄟˇ ㄉㄧˋ ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄉㄚˋ ㄒㄩㄝˊ
Gwoyeu RomatzyhTairbeei Dihgwo Dahshyue
Wade–GilesT'ai²-pei³ Ti⁴-kuo² Ta⁴-hsüeh²
Tongyong PinyinTáipěi Dìguó Dàsyué
MPS2Táipěi Dìguó Dàshiué
Hakka
RomanizationThòi-pet Ti-koet Thai-ho̍k
Southern Min
Hokkien POJTâi-pak Tè-kok Tāi-ha̍k
Tâi-lôTâi-pak Tè-kok Tāi-ha̍k
Alternative Japanese name
Kanji台北帝国大学
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnTaihoku Teikoku Daigaku

National Taiwan University (NTU; Chinese: 國立臺灣大學; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k) is a national public research university in Taipei, Taiwan.[5] Founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as Taihoku Imperial University (臺北帝國大學), the seventh of the Imperial Universities of the Empire of Japan, it is the oldest university in Taiwan and is supervised by the Ministry of Education.

The university has three major campuses in Taipei and hosts satellite campuses across the country, enrolling more than 16,000 undergraduates, 12,000 postgraduates, and 3,000 doctoral students. It offers over 200 degree programs and consists of 16 colleges which are divided into 56 departments,[6] 111 research institutes,[7] and more than 50 other national research centers, including National Taiwan University Hospital.[8] In 2015, NTU formed a university system with the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and National Taiwan Normal University.

National Taiwan University has institutional affiliations with the Harvard–Yenching Institute,[9] Washington University in St. Louis, and produces the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities. Notable graduates of the university include five presidents of the Republic of China, six vice-presidents of the Republic of China, 20 members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and more than 120 members of Academia Sinica,[10] in addition to Nobel Prize,[b] Turing Award,[c] and Wolf Prize laureates.[d]

History

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Imperial University (1928–1945)

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View of the entrance of Taihoku Imperial University (TIU), pictured during Japanese colonial rule (1895–1945)

During the Japanese rule of Taiwan (1895–1945), the Empire of Japan established the modern Taiwanese education system by installing educational institutions that used Western-style academic systems.[11] Den Kenjirō, the Governor-General of Taiwan, proposed the establishment of a university in Taiwan in 1922 and Japanese prime minister Tanaka Giichi presented a bill titled "Establishment of the Taiwan Imperial University" to the Cabinet of Japan on February 25, 1928.[12] It was planned to be located on the grounds of the Taihoku Senior School of Agriculture and Forestry in Taihoku Prefecture.[13]

On March 16, 1928, National Taiwan University was founded as "Taihoku Imperial University" (Japanese: 台北帝国大学, romanized: Taihoku Teikoku Daigaku; Chinese: 臺北帝國大學; pinyin: Táiběi dìguó dàxué), the seventh of the Japanese Empire's Imperial Universities.[14] It was Taiwan's first and only university and primarily served to promote Japanese culture, assimilate the local population, and direct students to professions useful to colonial expansion.[15] The first freshman class was inaugurated on April 30, 1928, with classes beginning on May 5. Of the 1931 graduating class, 41 were Japanese and only five students were Taiwanese.[13][e]

The first faculties founded at Taihoku Imperial University were the Faculty of Literature and Politics and the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, totalling 59 students. Subsequently, the Faculty of Medicine was established in 1935 and the Faculty of Engineering was established in 1943.[16] The Faculty of Science and Agriculture was divided in 1943 as two separate colleges: the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Agriculture.[6] Because the university was considered a part of expanding the Japanese colonial empire in the Pacific Ocean, it was supported by multiple Japanese scholars and received government research grants for funding policy programs.[16] Taiwanese students could not compete with Japanese students since the university prioritized Japanese enrollment.[16]

Aerial view of the university during the 1930s

Taihoku college classes consisted of "lectures" taught by professors, assistant professors, and other faculty. By 1945, it had five colleges with a total of 114 lectures.[6] The university's first president was Japanese historian Taira Shidehara [ja] (1928–1937), a graduate of Tokyo Imperial University who was appointed to the presidency on March 16, 1928.[17] Japanese scholar Toyohachi Fujita (1869–1929) was appointed as the first dean of the Faculty of Literature and Politics while Kintaro Oshima was named the inaugural dean of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture.[13] Enrollment years were shorted during World War II and university functions were limited following the American bombing of Taipei.[18]

National University (1945–present)

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The Old Main Library building (pictured) was repurposed as a gallery dedicated to NTU's history.[19]

After the Surrender of Japan in September 1945, the government of the Republic of China (ROC) assumed control of the university and initiated sinicization reforms. On August 15, 1945, the Kuomintang government appointed Lo Tsung-lo, a Japanese-educated academic, to oversee the transition of Taihoku's curriculum, teaching system, and faculties from its Japanese administration. At the time, the university had 1,614 faculty and staff members to teach 1,767 students, 351 of whom were Taiwanese. All Japanese students were later transferred back to Japan.[20]

Under the Kuomintang, the ROC government initiated a program of reforming all universities and colleges in accordance with Chinese models that incorporated American academics, administration, and organization, in addition to installing American curriculum and degree requirements.[21] Reforms also had the goal of reversing the Japanization that had influenced Taiwan during Japanese rule.[15] Universities and colleges were opened to Taiwanese students without restrictions; Taihoku Imperial University was renamed "National Taiwan University" and it was reorganized and expanded to six faculties: Liberal Arts, Law, Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture.[22] Up to 500 students could enroll in each faculty and the enrollment period was standardized to four years as opposed to the Japanese system of three to six years.[22]

In the following decades, National Taiwan University underwent rapid expansion. A night school was established to provide continuing education for adults in 1955 and the NTU Research Library was completed in 1968.[10] The College of Management, the College of Public Health, and the College of Electrical Engineering were established in 1987, 1993, and 1997, respectively. The NTU Department of Law was expanded to the NTU College of Law in 1999 and the College of Life Science was established in 2003.[6] In November 2003, the university consisted of ten colleges, 52 academic departments, 82 graduate institutes, 1,778 full-time faculty, and more than 27,000 students.[23]

Academics

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National Taiwan University College of Liberal Arts
National Taiwan University Library
NTU Central Administration Building

The university has a total of eleven colleges: Liberal Arts, Engineering, Science, Social Sciences, Law, Bio-Resources & Agriculture, Management, Public Health, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Medicine, and Life Science.[24] They offer bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctorate degrees in multiple disciplines. As of 2009, NTU also consists of 54 departments, 100 graduate institutes (which offer 100 master's programs and 91 doctoral programs in total), and 25 research centers including the Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, the Center for Biotechnology, the Japanese Research Center, and others.[6]

The original building housing National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei

NTU requires most of its undergraduate students to take a mandatory core curriculum, comprising Chinese, freshman English, physical education, and public service. The medical school in addition dictates each of its students to take philosophy and sociology classes as well as seminars in ethics and thanatology. Military training is no longer an obligatory course for male students, but it is a prerequisite if they plan to apply to become officers during their compulsory military service.

NTU's programs cover a wide array of disciplines across science, arts, and the humanities, with up to 8,000 courses made available for selection each semester.[25] Students are able to select courses offered by any of the colleges; however, compulsory subjects designated for each major needs to be completed to be awarded a degree. A student must declare a major during college application, some majors are more competitive than others and require a higher national examination score. In recent years, medicine, electrical engineering, law, and finance have been the most selective majors. Most majors take four years to complete while both the dental and the medical degrees take six years to finish.

Department of Chemistry Building

The International Chinese Language Program (ICLP), founded by Stanford University, is located at National Taiwan University.[26] NTU is also a member of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, Washington University in St. Louis's McDonnell International Scholars Academy,[27][28] and the Association of East Asian Research Universities.[29][30] The university participates in several programs of the Taiwan International Graduate Program of Academia Sinica, Taiwan's most preeminent academic research institution.

In 2021, the "International College" was established, primarily enrolling international students of foreign nationality and offering courses entirely in English.[31]

Chung Wai Literary Quarterly

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Chung Wai Literary Quarterly (Chinese: 中外文學) is a quarterly Taiwanese peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, National Taiwan University, featuring fiction, academic articles, reviews, translations, and non-fiction essays related to Western literature.[32]: 17–21  Originally founded as a monthly literary magazine by Yen Yuan-shu [zh] and Chu Limin in 1972 and named Chung Wai Literary Monthly, the journal aims to encourage and promote critical and emerging approaches to non-local literatures and connect literature with other academic disciplines.[33] In 2007, the journal renamed and restructured as a quarterly and in 2019, the journal was recognized as a Grade I academic journal by the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan.[33][34]

Campuses

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NTU has a main campus in Daan District, Taipei City and has additional campuses in Taipei, New Taipei City, Hsinchu County, Yunlin County, and Nantou County. The main campus is home to most college department buildings and administrative buildings. The university governs farms, forests, and hospitals for education and research purposes. The total area of NTU exceeds 340 square kilometers (34,000 hectares), accounting for one percent of Taiwan's total land area.[35]

The five campuses are:

Other university property

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University rankings

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University rankings
Global – Overall
ARWU World[36]201–300 (2024)
CWUR World[37]104 (2024)
CWTS World[38]100 (2023)
QS World[39]68 (2025)
THE World[40]172 (2025)
THE Reputation[41]126-150 (2023)
USNWR Global[42]233 (2024–2025)
Regional – Overall
QS Asia[43]21 (2024)
THE Asia[44]26 (2024)
USNWR Asia[45]48 (2024–2025)

Overall rankings

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National Taiwan University is widely considered to be the best university in Taiwan. NTU was ranked 68th worldwide in the QS World University Rankings 2025,[46] 187th worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, 203rd worldwide in the US News 2022-2023, and 201-300th worldwide in the ARWU 2022.

The Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities (ARTU), which sorts universities based on their aggregate performance across THE, QS, and ARWU, ranked NTU 135th worldwide in 2022. [47]

With other peering references of academic ranking, NTU also releases NTU World Universities ranking annually on the Double Ten Day, the National Holiday of the Republic of China.[48]

Subject rankings

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In the QS and ARWU subject rankings, NTU is ranked first in Taiwan in the majority of subjects.[49][50] In the THE Subject Rankings, NTU is ranked first in Taiwan in all subjects.[51]

List of presidents

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The president heads the university. Each college is headed by a dean and each department by a chairman. Students elect their own representatives each year to attend administrative meetings.

National Taiwan University

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Taihoku Imperial University

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Alumni

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See also: List of National Taiwan University people

NTU has graduated notable alumni in politics, business, academia, science, medicine, and numerous other fields. Five of the eight presidents of the Republic of China are graduates of the university: Lai Ching-te, the current president of Taiwan, as well as former presidents Tsai Ing-Wen, Lee Teng-hui, Chen Shui-bian and Ma Ying-jeou. In addition, six out of the 13 vice-presidents of the Republic of China have graduated from NTU, including Lee Teng-hui, Lien Chan, Annette Lu, Wu Den-yih, Chen Chien-jen, and Lai Ching-te.

Both Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate Yuan T. Lee and Turing Award laureate Andrew Yao received their Bachelor of Science from the university. Many NTU electrical engineering graduates have gone on to build global companies, including Quanta Computer's Barry Lam, Mediatek's Tsai Ming-kai and Garmin's Min Kao. As of 2024, about half (48.7%) of all academicians of Academia Sinica are NTU graduates and 70 percent of all Taiwanese members of the U.S. National Academy of Science are as well.[52]

Notes

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  1. ^ pinyin: Dūnpǐn Lìxué, àiguó àirén
  2. ^ Chemist Yuan T. Lee, a 1959 graduate of National Taiwan University, won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with John C. Polanyi and Dudley R. Herschbach.
  3. ^ After graduating from NTU in 1967, Andrew Yao earned a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University and a second doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was awarded the Turing Award in 2000 for contributions to computer science.
  4. ^ Botanist Shang Fa Yang graduated with his bachelor's degree and his master's degree from NTU In 1956 and 1958, respectively, and was awarded the 1991 Wolf Prize in Agriculture. Biochemist Chi-Huey Wong graduated from NTU with his bachelor's degree and master's degree in 1970 and 1977, respectively, and received the 2014 Wolf Prize in Chemistry.
  5. ^ The five Taiwanese graduates were: Seth Mackay Ko (History), De-Jyun Jhong (Politics), Ching-chung Hsu (Agriculture), Sing-wun Liu (Agriculture), and Yu-ze Cai (Agriculture).[13]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "University Motto". National Taiwan University. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  2. ^ "National Taiwan University Monthly Report". National Taiwan University. October 16, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  3. ^ "About NTU". National Taiwan University. June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  4. ^ "NTU at a Glance". National Taiwan University. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ a b c d e "Brief History of National Taiwan University". National Taiwan University. 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  7. ^ "Office of International Affairs, NTU". oia.ntu.edu.tw. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  8. ^ "國立臺灣大學捐贈網站". giving.ntu.edu.tw (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  9. ^ "HYI Partner Institutions in Asia". Harvard-Yenching Institute.
  10. ^ a b Chiang 2008, p. 20–25.
  11. ^ Lo 2014, p. 19–20.
  12. ^ Chiang 2008, p. 12–13.
  13. ^ a b c d Chiang 2008, p. 13.
  14. ^ "About NTU - About - National Taiwan University". www.ntu.edu.tw. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Lo 2014, p. 20.
  16. ^ a b c Grace et al. 2020, p. 6.
  17. ^ Chiang 2008, p. 12, 13.
  18. ^ Chiang 2008, p. 14–15.
  19. ^ "Old Main Library(Gallery of NTU History)". VisitorCenterEn. October 20, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  20. ^ Chiang 2008, p. 15.
  21. ^ Grace et al. 2020, p. 6–7.
  22. ^ a b Grace et al. 2020, p. 7.
  23. ^ Teng, Sue-feng (November 2003). "NTU at Three Quarters of a Century". Taiwan Panorama. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  24. ^ "Colleges & Departments - Academics - National Taiwan University". National Taiwan University. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  25. ^ "Academics". National Taiwan University.
  26. ^ "About ICLP". ICLP of National Taiwan University. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  27. ^ "National Taiwan University". Global. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  28. ^ "McDonnell International Scholars Academy". Global. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  29. ^ "Member Universities - National Taiwan University". Association of Pacific Rim Universities. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  30. ^ "17 Members". The Association of East Asian Research Universities. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  31. ^ "International College, NTU | 臺大國際學院". International College, NTU | 臺大國際學院 (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  32. ^ Liu, C-H. (2000). "《中外文學》的本土轉向". Chung Wai Literary Monthly (in Chinese). 28 (8).
  33. ^ a b "Chung Wai Literary Quarterly: About Us". Chung Wai Literary Quarterly. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  34. ^ "臺灣人文及社會科學期刊評比暨核心期刊收錄". National Science and Technology Council (in Chinese). Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  35. ^ "About NTU". National Taiwan University. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  36. ^ "ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities".
  37. ^ "World University Rankings 2024". Center for World University Rankingsg. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  38. ^ "CWTS Leiden Ranking 2023". CWTS Leiden Ranking. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  39. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2024". Top Universities.
  40. ^ "World University Rankings". October 4, 2022.
  41. ^ "World Reputation Rankings 2023". 2024.
  42. ^ "2024-2025 Best Global Universities Rankings". U.S. News Education.
  43. ^ "QS Asia University Rankings 2024". Top Universities.
  44. ^ "Asia University Rankings 2023". Times Higher Education (THE). June 13, 2023.
  45. ^ "2024-2025 Best Global Universities in Asia". U.S. News Education.
  46. ^ "NTU QS World University Rankings 2025". Top Universities.
  47. ^ "Full Rankings | Rankings". research.unsw.edu.au. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  48. ^ "2012 National Taiwan University Ranking (NTU Ranking)". Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  49. ^ a b "QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022". QS World University Rankings. March 23, 2023.
  50. ^ a b "ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2022". Academic Ranking of World Universities2.
  51. ^ a b "World University Rankings by subject". Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
  52. ^ "The Impact of NTU Alumni". NTU HIGHLIGHTS. December 14, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

Additional sources

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