National Taiwan University

The predecessor of National Taiwan University was Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University (TIU), founded by the Japanese in 1928. The first president was Dr. Taira Shidehara. When TIU was first established, it had two colleges: the Faculty of Literature and Politics, and the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, and had a combined total of 59 students. The Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Engineering were added in 1935 and 1943 respectively. The Faculty of Science and Agriculture was also divided into two colleges in 1943: the Faculty of Science, and the Faculty of Agriculture.

During Taihoku Imperial University period, every college consisted of "lectures", which were conducted by a professor and included assistant professors, assistants, instructors and office employees. In 1945, the five colleges had 114 lectures with 382 students.

After World War II and Taiwan's retrocession to Chinese Sovereignty, the R.O.C. government completed the taking-over work officially on November 15, 1945, with Dr. Tsung-lo Lo serving as the first president, and reorganized and renamed the school “National Taiwan University”. The Faculty of Literature and Policitcs of TIU was divided into two colleges: the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Law. The University thus consisted of six colleges (Liberal Arts, Law, Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture) and had twenty-two departments with 500 odd students. The Evening Division, the College of Management, the College of Public Health, and the College of Electrical Engineering (renamed as the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2000) were established respectively in 1967, 1987, 1993, and 1997. In 1999, the College of Social Sciences replaced the College of Law, and the Department of Law was upgraded to become the College of Law. The evening division and the Center of Continuing Education were also combined into the Division of Continuing Education & Professional Development. In 2002, the College of Agriculture was renamed the College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture. In 2003, the College of Life Science was established. As of the 2009 academic year, the University has a total of eleven colleges, 54 departments, 100 graduate institutes (which offer 100 Master's programs and 91 doctoral programs), and 25 research centers: the Division of Population and Gender Studies, the Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, the Center for Biotechnology, Japanese Research Center, and the Biodiversity Center, etc. The number of students reached 33,000 in 2009.

1922
Kenjiro Den, the Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan, proposed the establishment of an Imperial University in Taipei.

1925
Takio Izawa, the Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan, officially allocated the “Preliminary Budget for the Imperial University” with the objective of establishing a comprehensive institution. Dr. Taira Shidehara was placed in charge of the preparatory work, in which he was assisted by Dr. Kintaro Oshima, the Principal of the Taihoku Senior School of Agriculture and Forestry.

1928
Feb. 25》 Japanese Prime Minister Giichi Tanaka presented the bill of the “Establishment of the Taiwan Imperial University” to the Cabinet.
Mar. 16 》 The Japanese Government passed the bill for the establishment of the Taihoku Imperial University (TIU), which went into effect on March 17th. Dr. Taira Shidehara was appointed the first president. The university was located on the grounds of the Taihoku Senior School of Agriculture and Forestry, which has since become the main campus of the NTU. The first to be set up were the Faculties of Literature and Politics and Science and Agriculture, as well as the affiliated Technical College of Agriculture and Forestry to replace the former Senior School of Agriculture and Forestry.
Apr. 30 》 The first freshman class took the oath at a swearing-in ceremony.

1931
Mar. 25 》 A joint commencement exercise was held for the first-year TIU graduates and the third-year graduates of the Technical College of Agriculture and Forestry. The Faculty of Literature and Politics graduated 14 (four in Literature and ten in Politics), while the Faculty of Science and Agriculture graduated 32 (six in Science and 26 in Agriculture). Among them, only five graduates were Taiwanese; namely Seth Mackay Ko (History), De-Jyun Jhong (Politics), Ching-chung Hsu (Agriculture), Sing-wun Liu (Agriculture), and Yu-ze Cai (Agriculture).

1935
Dec. 26 》 The Faculty of Medicine was established, with seven lectureships. President Shidehara served as the interim dean.

1936
Apr. 1 》 The Taihoku Medical School was reorganized as the Medical College affiliated to the TIU.
May 17 》 With the various aspects of the Imperial University system in place, President Taira Shidehara presided over the official inauguration.

1937
Jul. 21 》 A piece of forestry land totaling 232.8 hectares at Nokogun originally under the jurisdiction of Taichung County was transferred to the university for use as a highland experimental farm.
Sep. 1 》 President Shidehara retired from office.
Sep. 2 》 Professor Sadanori Mita of the Faculty of Medicine succeeded Shidehara as the second president.
Nov. 》 Former President Shidehara donated his residence, located in Mt. Shamao, Peitou, together with the surrounding lot totaling 1884.3 square meters to the TIU.

1938
Apr. 1 》 The Taiwan Governor-General agreed to the reorganization of the Taihoku Hospital into a teaching hospital affiliated to the TIU.

1939
Apr. 28 》 The Institute of Tropical Medicine was officially set up in the TIU.

1941
Apr. 1 》 The TIU Preparatory School was founded at Zhishanyan, Shilin to groom future candidates for admission into the university.
Apr 26 》 President Sadanori Mita resigned, and the third President, Dr. Masatsugu Ando, was elected by the faculty in a runoff election.

1943
Mar. 15 》The Southern Cultures Research Institute and the Southern Resources Research Institute of the TIU were officially established.
Mar. 31 》 The Faculty of Science and Agriculture was divided into two: the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Agriculture.
Apr. 1 》 The Technical College of Agriculture and Forestry was detached from the TIU to become the Taichung Senior School of Agriculture and Forestry. However, teaching was still conducted on the TIU campus.
May 28 》 The Faculty of Engineering was formally established.
Oct. 1 》 The Taichung Senior School for Agriculture and Forestry was relocated to Taichung.

1945
Mar. 29 》 The phytopathology lecture room of the Agricultural College was destroyed during the air raids, and the various parts of the university were evacuated to the suburbs of Taipe, or to the central part of Taiwan.
Mar. 》 Kazuo Ando, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, took over the post as the fourth president.
Aug. 15 》 After the Japanese surrender, the Nationalist Government set up a Demobilization Education Counseling Committee and appointed Dr. Tsung-lo Lo to take charge of the university’s handover from the Japanese President Kazuo Ando.
Nov. 》 Taihoku Imperial University was reorganized and renamed National Taiwan University with Dr. Tsung-lo Lo serving as the first president.

1946
Prof. Lu Chih-hung served as President. Diploma courses in College of Medicine initiated.

1947
Provincial College of Law and Commerce integrated into College of Law.

1948
Prof. Chuang Chang-kung succeeded as President.

1949
Prof. Fu Szu-nien succeeded as President and Chien Szu-liang appointed as Dean of Academic Affairs. A special temporary freshman class for returning local students and refugee mainland students established. The Senior Vocational School for Nurses inauguarated.

1950
The Chinese title of University Hospital adopted. Diploma classes in Medicine terminated. Administrative Office of the University Experimental Forest established in July in Chushan, Nantou. The University started its first cooperation with extramural institutions through combining Irrigation Engineering Laboratory on campus with Central Irrigation Experiment Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. President Fu passed away on Dec. 20. Prof. Shen Kang-po, Dean of College of Liberal Arts, named acting president.

1951
Prof. Chien Szu-liang, Dean of Academic Affairs, succeeded as President. Graduate Institute of Tropical Medicine reorganized as Graduate Institute of Public Health.

1952
The Ministry of Education began sending temporary students to the University. The Veterinary Hospital inaugurated.

1953
The Chinese title of Senior Vocational School for Nurses adopted.

1954
The University participated in the Joint University and College Entrance Examination. Military education initiated.

1955
Extramural evening courses initiated.

1956
Taipei Children's Mental Health Center established jointly by College of Medicine and Taiwan Provincial Government. A three-year industrial-educational cooperation contract signed with Taiwan Sugar Company.

1957
The Senior Vocational School for Nurses stopped taking new students. The University Experimental Farm reorganized and renamed.

1958
University Hospital started taking patients covered under the Central Government Employee Insurance Plan.

1959
Pre-university courses for overseas Chinese students launched. College of Medicine established Taipei Public Health Instruction Demonstration Center jointly with Health Bureau of Taiwan Provincial Government and Taipei City Government. College of Agriculture co-sponsored Navigation Survey Center with Taiwan Provincial Government and Chinese Photographic Survey Association. University Hospital started taking Provincial Government employees covered under the Central Government Employee Insurance Plan.

1960
Evening Division established, containing Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Department of Law, Department of Business Administration, and Department of Agricultural Promotion.

1961
Pre-university courses for overseas Chinese students discontinued.

1962
Joint projects with Academia Sinica initiated.

1963
Joint Employment program with Academia Sinica initiated. New enrollment for Evening Division suspended.

1964
Agriculture Exhibition Hall inaugurated. University Hospital Shihmen Branch opened. Blood Serum Manufacturing Office, jointly operated by the University and Taiwan Provincial Government since 1951, closed.

1965
Mathematics Research Center and Chemistry Research Center jointly established with Academia Sinica and National Tsing Hua University. Agriculture Research Center jointly established with National Chung Hsing University and Taiwan Provincial Agricultural Laboratory. Physics Research Center jointly established with Academia Sinica and National Tsing Hua University. Biology Research Center jointly established with Academia Sinica. Engineering Research Center jointly established with Cheng Kung University and National Chiao-Tung University. The Language Center jointly established with Economic Cooperation and Development Committee, Executive Yuan.

1966
All-university cooperative relation established with Michigan University.

1967
A new Evening Division system established for the Departments of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Law, and Business Administration to replace the former Evening Division. The University agreed on Exchange Students Program with Nanyang University, Singapore.

1968
University Hospital completed the first case of kidney transplantation. University Anthem issued.

1969
By the University Team of Archaeological Studies under Prof. Li Chi's guidance discovered at Pahsientung of Changping, Taitung, prehistoric remains of the Old Stone Age claimed to be over ten thousand years old.

1970
Prof. Yen Chen-hsing succeeded to presidency after President Chien took charge of Academia Sinica.

1971
Department of History added to Evening Division.

1972
Department of Chinese Literature added to Evening Division.

1973
University Newsletter Association organized. Counselor Office for Overseas Chinese and Foreign Students established.

1975
Joint Industry Research Institute with Ching Ling Industrial Development Foundation established. College of Liberal Arts and College of Agriculture established cooperative relations with Chungnam National University and Chung-Ang University of South Korea.

1976
Course selection computerized.

1977
Industrial Research Institute Building opened for use.

1978
Committee for Campus Planning established.

1979
President Chiang Ching-kuo suggested the University establish a Medical Center. Successful operation of separating Siamese twins by University Hospital. Agreements on academic cooperation signed with University of Washington and Pennsylvania State University, USA.

1980
Regulations on University Organization approved by the Ministry of Education. The Alumni Association Building opened for use. Agreement on academic cooperation signed with California State University System, USA.

1981
Administration Council approved Visiting Professorship scheme. Prof. Yu Chao-chung succeeded to presidency. Memorandum on cooperation signed with University of Colorado-Boulder.

1982
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology renamed Department of Anthropology. Agreement on scholarly exchange signed with Foreign Student Bureau, Austria.

1983
Former NTU President Chien Szu-liang passed away.

1984
Prof. Sun Chen assumed presidency. University alumnus Dr. Lee Teng-hui elected Vice President of R.O.C. A new international conference hall constructed and named after the late NTU President Chien. Construction of Medical Center started. Agreement on academic cooperation signed with University of Hawaii.

1985
Agreements on academic cooperation signed with University of Paris, France, and Leiden University, Netherlands. Liaison Center established. University Newsletter began publishing. University Library initiated CME system.

1986
Agreement on scholarly exchange signed with University of Washington. On-job training program and lecture series for university employees launched. Chiu Shih-jung, Tai Ching-nung and 75 other professors nominated as Professors Emeriti. Dr. Li Yuan-che, alumnus of the University, won Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

1987
Agreements on academic cooperation signed with University of Pittsburgh, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and University of Oklahoma, USA; the University of Pavia, Italy; and University of Liege, Belgium. Agreement on science cooperation signed with Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. University Extension Center established. College of Management established, including Departments of Business Administration, Accounting, International Trade, Finance, and Graduate Institute of Business Administration.

1988
Dr. Lee Teng-hui succeeded to presidency of R.O.C. upon President Chiang Ching-kuo's death. Agreements on academic cooperation signed with Florida University System, Harvard Medical School, USA; and Univ. de Droit, d'Economie et des Sciences d'Aix-Marseille, France. Agreement on cooperation in post-doctoral studies signed with University of California, Berkeley. The University celebrated its 60th anniversary.

1989
Agreements on academic cooperation signed with State University of New York at Stony Brook, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Cornell University.

1990
Agreements on academic cooperation signed with King's College, University of London, and University of Pretoria, South Africa. Agreement on scholarly exchange foundation signed with University of Chicago. Construction of Medical Center completed.

1991
Agreements on academic cooperation signed with Free University of Berlin, Germany; Budapest University of Economic Sciences, Hungary; and the University of Olso, Norway. Medical Center opened, the greatest construction enterprise undertakeu by the University. Liaison Center reorganized and renamed as International Programs and Liaison Office.

1992
Continuing agreement of scientific cooperation signed with Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France. Agreements on academic cooperation signed with University of Athens, Greece; Stanford University, USA; Munich University, Germany; University of New South Wales Australia; Macquarie University Bremen University, Germany; University of British Columbia, Canada; and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

1993
President Sun Chen being appointed as Minister of National Defense, Dr. Kuo Guang-hsiung, Dean of Faculty, served as the acting President. Agreements of cooperation signed with Alberta University of Canada, Manchester University of England, and North Carolina University of USA respectively. Dr. Chen Wei-jao, the first elected president of the University, assumed office on June 22. Graduate Institutes of Linguistics, Industrial Engineering, Epidemiology, and Information Management established.

1994
Agreements of cooperation signed with University of California, Davis; Washington University, St. Louis; and University of Melbourne, Australia.

1995
The major parts of the new University Law passed by the Ministry of Education. Report on the Philosophy Department Incident issued.

1996
President Chen Wei-jao re-elected to serve a second term. Project of University Museum approved. College of Electrical Engineering established. College of Law renamed College of Social Sciences, and a new College of Law established. Ways of compensating the victims of the Philosophy Department Incident passed.

1997
A summary report on "The April-6 Incident Investigation" issued by the research team.

1998
International Programs and Liaison Office renamed Center of International Academic Exchanges.

"Ethical Guidelines of NTU Teachers" (proposed by the Committee for Preserving Teachers' Integrity) passed.

1999
Establishment of NTU Biotechnology Research Center passed. Details of establishing NTU Extension Program passed by the Ministry of Education.

2000
President Chen Wei-jao re-elected in May to serve a third term of NTU presidency. College of Electrical Engineering renamed College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Department of Computer Science & Information Engineering converted from College of Engineering to College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Graduate Institute of San Min Chu I renamed Graduate Institute of National Development. Establishment of "NTU Medicine Research Center" in College of Medicine passed. "Guidelines for NTU Faculty Taking Full-time/Part-time Jobs in Commercial Business Organizations or Groups" passed. "Guidelines for Establishing Committees to Settle Campus Disputes" passed. "Guidelines for Regulating the Use of Experimental Animals" passed. Establishment of "Bio-diversity Research Center" in College of Agriculture passed.

2001
Academic Collaboration Agreement between NTU and Academia Sinica passed. Graduate Institute of Interdisciplinary Law established in College of Law. "Rules of Investigating Plagiarism in Faculty Publications" passed. Graduate Institute of Japanese Language and Literature established in College of Liberal Arts.

2002
International Graduate Program under Collaboration Agreement between NTU and Academia Sinica passed. Plan to restructure "College of Life Science" started. "College of Agriculture" renamed "College of Bio-resources and Agriculture. " Commission established to discuss the evaluation system of faculty research results.

2003
MAR》Regulations governing the invitation of special guest lecturers were approved at the university affairs meeting.
AUG》The College of Life Science was established.

2004
APR》On the 1st, the Yunlin Hospital affiliated with the Department of Health of the Executive Yuan was reorganized into the Yunlin Branch of the NTU Hospital.

2005
JAN》Registration for forest land ownership started in 1989. The final verdict was announced that the NTU Experimental Forest occupies 32,747.31 hectares in total.
MAR》The promenade at the front of the main entrance was reconstructed and renamed the University Promenade.
JUN》The Guo Li Tai Wan Da Xue Xiao Shi Gao, 1928--2004 (National Taiwan University Chronicles, 1928--2004) was published on the 16th. On the 22nd, the Gallery of National Taiwan University History was inaugurated. Dr. Si-chen Lee took office as the tenth president.
OCT》The Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and NTU Public Forum were established.
DEC》The NTU Visitor Center under the Secretariat Office began operation officially.

2006
JAN》A one-year subsidy under the government’s program to develop top ranking universities and research centers was received by the NTU from the Ministry of Education. The Office for Arts Promotion was established. The Hospital affiliated to National Taipei College of Nursing was reorganized into the Bei-Hu Branch of the NTU Hospital.
MAY》Center for Teaching and Learning Development under the Office of Academic Affairs was established.
JUL》The Der-Tian Hall of the Department of Information Science was inaugurated.
AUG》Regulations governing the Appointment of Distinguished Professors were brought into effect.
NOV》The first-ever awards ceremony of outstanding alumni was held during the anniversary celebration.

2007
JAN》Ming-Da Hall, the research building of the Department of Electrical Engineering, was inaugurated.
JUN》The all-in-English quarterly NTU Newsletter was published.
SEP》On the 4th The Yong-ling Charity Foundation of Foxconn Corporation and NTU to establish a Chinese-led world-class hospital for cancer treatment by signing a memorandum for a NTD 15 billion donation and cooperation project. It was a record-breaking donation to university medical colleges in the past 40 years, as well as one of the ten largest-ever contributions received by universities globally.
NOV》The NTU Museums and the NTU Collected Works were officially open to the public.

2008
SEP》The NTU Freshmen Orientation Camp was initiated.
NOV》The 80th anniversary celebration of NTU’s founding was launched with the slogan “Wise at 80, Century Club Ready.”

2009
JUN》On the 8th, the Tsai Lecture Hall and Wan Tsai Research Hall of the College of Law were inaugurated. On the 22nd, Dr. Si-chen Lee was re-elected the president of NTU.
OCT》NTU entered the list of the top 100 universities for the first time as it was ranked the 95th by The Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
NOV》The new chemical research building, Tzi-Shueh Hall, was inaugurated.
DEC》The University-industry Cooperative R&D Building of the Chu-Bei Branch School was inaugurated.

2010
MAY》Ya-Song Square was inaugurated.
JUL》The Research Center for Developmental Biology and Regeneration Medicine was inaugurated.
OCT》The North Coast Jin-Shan Hospital was restructured into the Jin-Shan Branch of the NTU Hospital.
NOV》The Museum of Anthropology was officially open to the public at the western hall of the former main library building.
DEC》President Lee, together with a large delegation of NTU faculty and students, went to Peking University to co-host NTU DAY.

Being the first integrated and most prestigious institution of higher education in Taiwan area, National Taiwan University has taken up the responsibility of promoting the level of academic research study and teaching in Taiwan, and has from the very start put emphasis on scholarly research in basic theory and on free atmosphere of academic thought. The University thus sets its objective for development in three major fields: humanities and social sciences, basic sciences, and applied sciences. To coordinate with the demands of our national and social developments, the University plans to expand, as needs be, those Departments and Institutes of high applicability into various professional colleges beyond its present nine colleges. Being the leading integrated university in Taiwan and responsible for training researchers and technicians in practical fields, the University hopes to increase gradually the number of graduate students and to decrease proportionally the number of undergraduates. Among graduate students, more Ph. D. programs will be organized to upgrade research standards and to meet our country's demand for high-tech expertise. On the other hand, to satisfy modern people's wish for multifarious knowledge offered in college and to fulfill the social function of college education through feedback, the University will also promote programs of extension education by giving on-job training to adults or people in need, in order to lay a solid foundation for the lifetime education of an ideal adulthood in the 21st century. Being the most representative university in Taiwan, the University intends to make more exchange programs and sign cooperative agreements with famous foreign universities, to achieve the goal of broadening our international scope. The University also encourages its faculty members to join research study groups more actively to establish research centers, and to further intercollegiate inter-disciplinary engagements. Meanwhile, an institute will be set up to supervise the developments and directions of future researches, making evaluations, coordination, and sanction. In addition, the University will utilize new technological achievements and information network, to establish such advanced systems of tele-communicative teaching, tele-communicative medical treatment cooperation, etc., to create a complete and computerized environment for more advanced research and teaching.

Brief History

Foreword

Outline of University History

Prospects

Names and tenures of office of former presidents