National Central University (
NCU) is a national comprehensive university, widely regarded as one of the top academic and research institutions in
TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
(
ROCThe word Roc may refer to:*Roc , a mythical giant bird*Roc , an American television sitcom starring Charles S. Dutton which aired 1991 – 1994*"Roc" , the second single release from Nâdiya's eponymous album...
).
NCU was founded in 1915 at
Nanjing' , abbreviated in Chinese as Ning , is the capital of China's Jiangsu Province, and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture...
, which literally means the southern capital of
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. After NCU in Nanjing was renamed
Nanjing UniversityNanjing University is a national comprehensive university located in Nanjing, an ancient capital of China. It is regarded as one of the best and most selective universities in China. Its history dates back to the first year of Yong'an reign , making it one of the oldest higher learning...
in 1949, NCU was re-established in
TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
in 1962. The school was initially located in
MiaoliMiaoli may refer to:*Miaoli City, the seat of Miaoli County, Taiwan, Republic of China*Miaoli County, a county located in central Taiwan, Republic of China...
, but was relocated to Jhongli in 1968, and developed into a comprehensive university. It is now become Taiwan's leading school in the fields of
geophysicsGeophysics, a major discipline of the Earth sciences and a subdiscipline of physics, is the study of the whole Earth by the quantitative observation of its physical properties. Geophysical data are used in academics to observe tectonic plate motions, study the internal structure of the Earth,...
,
space scienceSpace science is an all-encompassing term that describes all of the various science fields that are concerned with the study of the Universe, generally also meaning "excluding the Earth" and "outside of the Earth's atmosphere". Originally, all of these fields were considered part of astronomy...
,
remote sensingRemote sensing is the small or large-scale acquisition of information of an object or phenomenon, by the use of either recording or real-time sensing device that are wireless, or not in physical or intimate contact with the object...
and
Hakka
studies. In 2001, NCU was selected as one of the 11 research-oriented universities, which is the first-rate university with solid international qualifications.
NCU now has 7 colleges in different areas, including College of
Liberal ArtsLiberal arts are the skills derived from the Classical education curriculum.-Definition:The term liberal arts denotes a curriculum that imparts general knowledge and develops the student’s rational thought and intellectual capabilities, unlike the professional, vocational, technical curricula...
, College of
ScienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
, College of
EngineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
, College of
ManagementManagement in all business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing, facilitating and controlling or manipulating an organization or effort for...
, College of
Electrical EngineeringElectrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after...
and
Computer ScienceComputer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. It is frequently described as the systematic study of algorithmic processes that create, describe and transform...
, College of Earth Sciences, and College of
Hakka
Studies.
History
Originally founded in 1915 in
Nanjing' , abbreviated in Chinese as Ning , is the capital of China's Jiangsu Province, and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture...
, the new capital city of the young government of the
Republic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition and jurisdiction over China into a democratic state with limited international recognition and jurisdiction only over Taiwan and minor islands, though it...
. NCU moved to Chungking in 1937 when
Sino-Japanese WarThere were two wars known as the Sino-Japanese War :* The First Sino-Japanese War occurred between 1894 and 1895, primarily over control of Korea....
broke out and returned to
Nanjing' , abbreviated in Chinese as Ning , is the capital of China's Jiangsu Province, and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture...
in 1946. After the R.O.C. lost control of the Chinese Mainland in 1949, in Nanjing it was renamed National Nanjing University by
CCPThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
. NCU was reinstated in Taiwan in 1962, first as the National Central University Graduate Institute of Geophysics. In 1968, NCU moved to its current location in the Shuanglianpo (雙連坡）district of
Jhongli CityZhongli is a city in Taoyuan County of Taiwan, the Republic of China. It became a city before Taoyuan City. Historically, the city is the stage of the Zhongli incident of 1977, the most significant event of the democratization movements of Taiwan prior to the 1980s...
(中壢市),
Taoyuan County"Taoyuan County" may refer to:#Taoyuan County, Taiwan, a county in northern Taiwan Province, Republic of China#Taoyuan County, Hunan, a county in Hunan Province, People's Republic of China...
(桃園縣), and was renamed the National Central University College of Science. In 1979, it was officially re-established under its current name. More recently, NCU and a few other highly regarded universities established the
University System of TaiwanThe University System of Taiwan is a university alliance in Taiwan. Its members are:*National Central University*National Chiao Tung University*National Tsing Hua University*National Yang Ming University...
cooperative partnership (2002). The current president is Dr. Lou-Chuang Lee.
Location
The university's Taoyuan County campus is situated in the northern section of the island, about 45 minutes from
TaipeiTaipei is the largest city in Taiwan and has served as the de facto capital of the Republic of China since the Chinese Civil War in 1949. It is situated on the Danshui River, almost at the northern tip of the island, about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
. The spacious, green hilltop campus, some distance away from the busy Jhongli City, offers a rare learning environment for students. NCU is only half an hour away from the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which makes it very convenient for international travel.
Organization
NCU consists of seven colleges:
- Liberal Arts
- Science
- Engineering
- Management
- Electrical Engineering
- Computer Science
- Earth Science
- Hakka
Studies
Each college houses numerous research centers, such as the Center for Space & Remote Sensing Research, Hazard Mitigation & Prevention, Taiwan Economic Development, Biotechnology & Biomedical Engineering, and several boutique-style humanities centers.
In total, the 7 colleges contain 19 undergraduate departments, 48 graduate institutes, and 38 research centers.
External links