Medicine, Engineering, Sciences, Agriculture, Law, Social Sciences, Liberal Arts
National Taiwan University was founded on 16 March 1928 as Taihoku Imperial University under Japanese rule. It was the seventh Imperial University and is the oldest university in Taiwan. Its first classes began in May 1928, and about 80 percent of its students were Japanese from 1928 to 1943. After the surrender of Japan in September 1945 the Republic of China took control, and in November 1945 the university received its present name and was reorganised into six faculties.
The main campus is at 1 Roosevelt Road, Section 4, in the Da’an District of Taipei, and covers 114.72 hectares. Other sites in Taipei include the Shuiyuan Campus and a downtown medical campus in Zhongzheng District, and the university also operates campuses at Zhubei in Hsinchu County and Huwei in Yunlin County.
In 2024 the university enrolled 34,483 students: 17,432 undergraduates, 13,272 master’s students and 3,779 doctoral students. It counted 3,981 academic staff in 2021 and 6,765 administrative staff in the academic year 2020 and 2021. Seventeen college-level units, 61 departments and 152 graduate institutes make up its structure, including the College of Medicine, which is affiliated with National Taiwan University Hospital.
The library system holds over 2.4 million volumes, about 24,000 periodicals and more than 50,000 rare books. The university belongs to the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and the Association of East Asian Research Universities. Washington University in St. Louis has funded the doctoral degrees of NTU students since 2012, and in 2024 a dual master’s programme started with the University of Texas at Arlington. The International Chinese Language Program has operated since 1962.
Alumni include Yuan T. Lee, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986, and Andrew Yao, Turing Award in 2000. Five of the eight presidents of the Republic of China studied there: Lee Teng-hui, Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou, Tsai Ing-wen and Lai Ching-te. About 48.7 percent of the academicians of Academia Sinica and 25 members of the US National Academy of Sciences are NTU graduates. Tuition differs by programme. Check the current tariff. Teaching is mainly in Mandarin Chinese, with some programmes in English.
Domains taught:
Agriculture, Chemistry, Data Analytics, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Finance, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master, MBA
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
National Taiwan University Hospital, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Texas at Arlington, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and the Association of East Asian Research Universities.
Research:
Medicine, engineering, life sciences, agriculture, physical sciences, social sciences and the humanities across 17 college-level units, 61 departments and 152 graduate institutes.
Famous Alumnis:
Yuan T. Lee, Andrew Yao, Lee Teng-hui, Ma Ying-jeou, Tsai Ing-wen, Lai Ching-te
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
10746
Current students***:
34483
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
Oldest and most prestigious university in Taiwan, large central Taipei campus, strong medicine and engineering, library of 2.4 million volumes.
Cons
Very competitive admission, teaching mostly in Mandarin Chinese, campus is large and busy.
Best For
Students aiming at the leading university in Taiwan, with strong medicine, engineering and sciences.
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Most Similar Schools Locally
Another national school that puts electrical and electronics, life sciences and data analytics at the centre is National Cheng Kung University, and it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba, and covers industrial design and civil engineering as well.
National Tsing Hua University offers a comparable education in chemistry, physics and electrical and electronics: it covers nanotechnologies and materials as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 18,125 students against roughly 34,483 here.
Another national school that puts electrical and electronics, life sciences and data analytics at the centre is National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, and it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba.
China Medical University Taichung is the closest domestic counterpart for life sciences; it is far smaller, with about 8,000 students against roughly 34,483 here, and is private, whereas this institution is public.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Abroad, Seoul National University (South Korea) covers agriculture, chemistry and physics in a comparable way, and it covers materials as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 28,300 students against roughly 34,483 here.
Looking internationally, Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain is where finance, chemistry and physics get a comparable treatment; it does not run the mba programmes found here, and has almost the same size, at about 31,722 students.
Korea University brings a South Korea setting to the same core fields, finance, chemistry and physics, and it covers software engineering as well, and has almost the same size, at about 31,130 students.
University of Lisbon (Portugal) works on the same fields as this university, chiefly finance, agriculture and chemistry; it runs the same bachelor's, master's, doctoral and mba programmes, and covers civil engineering as well.
In South Africa, University of Cape Town teaches much the same core subjects, finance, chemistry and physics, and it is slightly smaller, at about 28,233 students against roughly 34,483 here, and is also a public institution.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is National Taiwan University?
On Roosevelt Road in the Da'an District of Taipei, Taiwan.
When was it founded?
On 16 March 1928, as Taihoku Imperial University.
When did it receive its present name?
In November 1945.
How large is the main campus?
114.72 hectares.
How many students does it have?
34,483 in 2024, including 17,432 undergraduates.
How is it structured?
Seventeen college-level units, 61 departments and 152 graduate institutes.
How large is its library?
Over 2.4 million volumes and about 24,000 periodicals.
Which Nobel laureate studied there?
Yuan T. Lee, who received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Which Taiwanese presidents studied there?
Lee Teng-hui, Chen Shui-bian, Ma Ying-jeou, Tsai Ing-wen and Lai Ching-te.
What does it cost?
Tuition differs by programme. Check the current tariff.
Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Innovation, Research and Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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