Introduction

The International Undergraduate Program of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences is a program for international students who seek a degree in “Chinese as a second language.” Our goal is to broadly educate students, not only to help them achieve a high-level proficiency in Chinese but also to foster a deep understanding of diversified Chinese and Taiwanese cultures. Through a foundation of knowing and understanding the cultures, students will have a penetrating understanding of the thought and customs of local Chinese people, as well as of the society and the eco-political phenomena in China and those places around the world where Chinese language and cultures are encountered.  It is expected that our training will equip students with proficient bilingual capabilities, that can enhance their future work in international business, multicultural practices, interpretation and translation, tourism, academic studies, and other areas.

The curriculum is designed to be a 4-year program. Students who finish the program will be granted the degree of “Bachelor of Arts.” In consideration of students’ different needs in learning motivation and development of career goals following graduation, we have prepared the program with flexibility and variety. The curriculum in the first and second years focuses on Chinese language and culture. Students admitted will be placed in different class groups according to their Chinese-language capabilities. In the third and fourth years, the curriculum emphasizes language, literature, history, commercial applications, and teaching Chinese as a second language. Furthermore, after having laid the foundation in Chinese listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the first two years of study, students in their third and fourth years are encouraged to choose their preferred curricular track—either in “application” or in “academia.” The “application” curriculum is composed of four sets of courses, including “advanced courses in language,” “professional language,” “classical and modern literature,” and “thought and culture.” Students who choose the application curriculum have to take three out of the above four sets to finish the program in accord with their career plans following graduation. The other track is the academic curriculum in which students will take “advanced Chinese language studies” as preliminary courses before taking “ancient Chinese literature and history” and “modern Chinese and Taiwanese societies” course sets. The goal of the academic curriculum is to cultivate proficient and professional abilities in reading and writing about Chinese and Taiwanese related subjects.

Besides its practical curricular diversity, this program engages student interest and insight into local society and culture by hosting activities such as traditional celebrations, field-investigation tours, and other events. Also, we have graduate students from the Institute of Sinophone Studies of our school to serve as volunteer tutors for our international students so as to enhance their comprehension and grasp of the Chinese language and cultures.

NTHU scholarship for overseas Chinese students : http://gsa.web.nthu.edu.tw/bin/home.php?Lang=en

NTHU scholarship for international students: http://oga.nthu.edu.tw/index.php?lang=en