National Taiwan University

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National Taiwan University
國立臺灣大學
National Taiwan University

Motto: 敦品勵學˙愛國愛人 (Chinese)
Motto in English: Integrity, Diligence, Patriotism and Philanthropy
Established: Founded 1928[1]
Reorganized 1945
Type: Public (National)
President: Lee, Si-chen (李嗣涔)
Faculty: 1,793 (full time),
1,188 (joint and adjunct)
Undergraduates: 17,913
Postgraduates: 10,859
Location: Taipei City, Taiwan
Campus: Urban,
1.6 km² (Greater Taipei combined),
344 km² (Nantou County combined)
Affiliations: ASAIHL
Website: (NTU Home)

National Taiwan University (traditional Chinese: 國立臺灣大學; simplified Chinese: 国立台湾大学; Hanyu Pinyin: Guólì Táiwān Dàxué; Tongyong Pinyin: Guólì Táiwan Dàsyué; abbreviation NTU) is a national co-educational university located in Taipei City, Taiwan. In Chinese, it is colloquially known as "Taida" (台大). Its main campus is set upon 1,086,167 square meters in Taipei's Daan District. In addition, the university has 6 other campuses in Taiwan, occupying a total of 345,830,000 square meters.[2]

NTU is the top ranking University by scientific paper performance[3] in Taiwan and ranked the 102th in the world.[4] Currently the University consists of 11 colleges, 54 departments, 96 graduate institutes and 4 research centers[5] and offers diplomas in over 100 fields of study.[citation needed]

NTU was founded in 1928 by the Japanese during the Japanese colonial era and was then known as the Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University. After World War II and Taiwan's retrocession to Chinese Sovereignty, the Taiwan government resumed the admnistration of Taihoku University and reorganized and renamed it National Taiwan University on November 15, 1945.[6]

The entrance examination score requirements to enter NTU is typically the highest among universities in Taiwan[citation needed], and NTU is widely considered the best and most prestigious university in Taiwan. NTU has very strong ties with Academia Sinica. NTU admits students based solely on merits, disregarding other factors such as race, religion, or gender. The female-to-male ratio in the undergraduate population is about 0.9:1.[citation needed]

Many influential individuals in Taiwan society received their education at NTU, including government officials in both pan-blue and pan-green camps.

Contents

[edit] History

National Taiwan University has its origins in the Taihoku Imperial University (台北帝國大学 Taihoku Teikoku Daigaku) founded by Taiwan's Japanese colonial government in 1928 as a member of the imperial university system administered by the Empire of Japan.[6]

The school's first president was Hiroshi Shidehara.[6] The Taihoku Imperial University began with a College of Liberal Arts and Law and a College of Science and Agriculture serving 60 students. The university was intended mainly for Japanese nationals; few Taiwanese students were admitted. The College of Medicine and the College of Engineering were added in 1936 and 1943, respectively. After World War II the incoming Republic of China government reorganized the school as an institution for Chinese-speaking students. The school was renamed the National Taiwan University on 15 November 1945 and Lo Tsung-lo was appointed as its president.[6]

Today, the National Taiwan University serves nearly 30,000 students through 11 colleges, 54 departments, and 96 graduate institutes (which offer 96 Master's programs and 83 doctoral programs).[5] A new library, built in 1998, now contains over 3 million volumes. In 2010, the university is scheduled to merge with the National Taipei University of Education, the city's oldest institution of higher learning.

[edit] University Emblem

  • The University Motto: "Integrity, Diligence, Patriotism and Philanthropy," the cornerstone of NTU philosophy and personal comportment;
  • The Fu Bell: A reminder of discipline and enlightenment; and
  • The University Tree: The royal palm as a symbol of growth and nurture; of broad vision and steadfast willpower.

The figure of the plum blossom, the blue-and-white background and the thunder-and-cloud line pattern combine the spiritual ideals of the nation and its cultural traditions, as well as those of all members of the university community.

[edit] Institution

[edit] Education

The original building housing the National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei. The Shin Kong Life Tower appears in the background.
The original building housing the National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei. The Shin Kong Life Tower appears in the background.

NTU offers the bachelor's degree, master's degree, and PhD in many disciplines. Students are given the flexibility to select courses offered by any 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. Traditionally, medicine, electrical engineering, and law are the three most selective majors. Most majors take 4 years to complete while the medical degree takes 7 years to finish.

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 males, but it is a prerequisite if the student plans to be an officer during his mandatory military service.

[edit] Organization

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.

The 11 colleges in NTU are:

  • College of Liberal Arts
  • College of Science
  • College of Social Science
  • College of Medicine
  • College of Engineering
  • College of Bio-resource and Agriculture
  • College of Management
  • College of Public Health
  • College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  • College of Law
  • College of Life Science

The International Chinese Language Program (ICLP), founded by Stanford University, is located at National Taiwan University.

[edit] Campus

An avenue of royal palms leads to the library on the National Taiwan University main campus
An avenue of royal palms leads to the library on the National Taiwan University main campus

The University has six campuses in the greater Taipei region (including Taipei County) and two additional campuses in Nantou County, amounting to nearly 1% of the total area of the Taiwan island. The University governs farms, forests, and hospitals for educational and research purposes. The main campus is situated in Taipei's Daan district near Gongguan, where most college department buildings and all the administrative buildings are located. Notable exceptions are the College of Law, the College of Social Science,and the College of Medicine, which are located near the Presidential Building.

Interactive map of the main campus

The six campuses are:

  • Main Campus (No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, Taiwan)
  • College of Law, Social Sciences and Public Health (No.21, Hsu-chou Road, Taipei, Taiwan)
  • College of Medicine (No. 1, Sec.1, Jen-ai Road, Taipei, Taiwan)
  • University Hospital (No. 7, Chung-shan South Road, Taipei, Taiwan)
  • University Farm (No.7, Jiu-kuang Road, Hsin-tien, Taipei County, Taiwan)
  • Wenshan Botanical Garden (No.4, Lei-kung Po, Geh-tou Tsun, Shih-ting, Taipei County, Taiwan)

The three research stations are:

  • Highland Farm (No.136, Jen-heh Road, Ta-tung Tsun, Jen-ai, Nan-tou County, Taiwan
  • Experimental Forest
  • Department of Forestry (No. 12, Sec.1, Chien-shan Road, Shiang-shan, Nan-tou County, Taiwan)

[edit] University Presidents

Presidents of Taihoku Imperial University:

  • Hiroshi Shidehara (幣原坦): March 1928-September 1937
  • Sadanori Mita (三田定則): September 1937-April 1941
  • Masatsugu Ando (安藤正次): April 1941-March 1945
  • Kazuo Ando (安藤一雄): March 1945-August 1945

Presidents of National Taiwan University:

  • Lo Tsung-lo (羅宗洛): August 1945-July 1946
  • Lu Chih-hung (陸志鴻): August 1946-May 1948
  • Chuang Chang-kung (莊長恭): June 1948-December 1948
  • Fu Szu-nien (傅斯年): January 1949-December 1950
  • Shen Kang-po (沈剛伯): December 1950-January 1951
  • Chien Szu-liang (錢思亮): January 1951-May 1970
  • Yen Cheng-hsing (閻振興): June 1970-July 1981
  • Yu Chao-chung (虞兆中): August 1981-July 1984
  • Sun Chen (孫震): August 1984-February 1993
  • Kou Guang-hsiung (郭光雄): March 1993-July 1993
  • Chen Wei-Jao (陳維昭): August 1993-June 2005
  • Lee Si-chen (李嗣涔): August 2005-

[edit] Alumni

NTU alumni are influential in the politics of Taiwan as well as in academics. Many NTU scholars enjoy a portion of their career outside of Taiwan, most frequently in the United States.[citation needed]

[edit] Academics

[edit] University chancellors

  • Tien, Chang-lin (田長霖): the 8th Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley
  • Henry T. Yang (楊祖佑): the 5th Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

[edit] Humanities and social sciences

[edit] Physical sciences, mathematics, and engineering

[edit] Life sciences

  • Chuan-Chiung Chang (張傳炯): co-discoverer of bungarotoxin; Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology, National Taiwan University
  • Ding-Shinn Chen, M.D. (陳定信): authority on hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma; Dean, NTU College of Medicine; Foreign Member, National Academy of Sciences, USA
  • Lan-Bo Chen (陳良博): Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School
  • Pei-Jer Chen, M.D. (陳培哲): authority on hepatitis D virus; Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Research Scholar; Professor of Medicine, NTU
  • Wei-Jao Chen, M.D. (陳維昭): President, NTU, 1993-2005; pioneer in surgical separation of ischiopagus tripus conjoined twins
  • Yuan-Tsong Chen, M.D. (陳垣崇): inventor of Myozyme, the first EMEA- and FDA-approved treatment for Pompe disease (approved in 2006); Director, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica; former Chief and Professor, the Pediatrics Division of Medical Genetics, Duke University Medical Center
  • Yao-Tseng Chen, M.D.: Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College
  • Yu-Ray Chen, M.D. (陳昱瑞): President, International Society of Craniofacial Surgery, 1999-2000
  • Shu Chien, M.D. (錢煦): University Professor, University of California; President, the American Physiological Society, 1990-1; President Elect, the Biomedical Engineering Society, USA, 2005-6
  • Tuan-Hua David Ho (賀端華): ISI (Institute for Scientific Information) highly cited researcher in plant and animal science; UNESCO Professorship, 2004; Director and Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Botany, Academia Sinica, 2003-
  • Ru-Chih Chow Huang (黃周汝吉): American Women in Science, 1985; Professor of Biology, Johns Hopkins University
  • Tao-shih Hsieh (謝道時): Professor of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center
  • Su-Ming Hsu, M.D. (許世明): ISI highly cited researcher in clinical medicine (cited more than 10,000 times between 1981 and 1992); Professor of Pathology, NTU
  • Lily Y. Jan (葉公杼): Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco
  • Yuh Nung Jan (詹裕農): Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, Professor of Molecular Physiology, University of California, San Francisco
  • Selina Chen-Kiang: Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College
  • Michael M. C. Lai, M.D. (賴明詔): Vice President, Academia Sinica; Distinguished Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Southern California; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, 1990-2003
  • Chen-Yuan Lee, M.D. (李鎮源): co-discoverer of bungarotoxin; Redi Award, 1976; Former President, International Society on Toxinology
  • Tun-Hou Lee (李敦厚): Professor of Virology, Harvard School of Public Health
  • Ching-Hon Pui, M.D.: Chair, Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital; ISI highly cited researcher in clinical medicine
  • Vivian E. Shih, M.D.: Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
  • Ming T. Tsuang, M.D. (莊明哲): University Professor, University of California; Director, Institute of Behavioral Genomics, University of California, San Diego; Director, Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics
  • Ching-Chung Wang (王正中): Professor of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco
  • James C. Wang (王倬): discoverer of topoisomerase; Chair (1983-1985) and Professor (1977-2005), Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University
  • Tzyy Choou Wu, M.D.: Professor of Pathology, Professor of Oncology, and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions; Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University
  • Jang Yen Wu (吳政彥): ISI highly cited researcher in neuroscience; Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Senior Schmidt Fellow, Department of Biomedical Science, Florida Atlantic University
  • Fun-Sun Frank Yao, M.D.: Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College

[edit] Politics

[edit] Entertainment

  • Alec Su (蘇有朋): majored in mechanical engineering (did not graduate)
  • Wakin Chau (周華健): majored in mathematics

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ as Taihoku Imperial University
  2. ^ National Taiwan University_Campus Location & Area
  3. ^ "Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan, (2007) " 2007 Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities
  4. ^ "Times Higher Education, (2007) " Education news, resources and university jobs for the academic world
  5. ^ a b "National Taiwan University, (2007) " About NTU
  6. ^ a b c d "National Taiwan University, (2007) " NTU history

[edit] See also

[edit] External links