National Cheng Kung University

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU; Chinese: 國立成功大學) is a national public research university in Tainan, Taiwan. Founded in 1931 during Japanese rule as a technical and engineering college, it primarily teaches and conducts research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Cheng Kung is organized into nine colleges which host undergraduate and graduate programs in 70 departments and 29 research institutes. In addition to its main campus in East District, Tainan, the university also operates National Cheng Kung University Hospital in North District, Tainan, and a satellite campus in Douliu. Most of its more than 11,000 undergraduates and 10,000 graduate students are enrolled in engineering, science, medicine, and design programs.

The university is a founding member of the Taiwan Comprehensive University System and the only Taiwanese member of the Worldwide Universities Network. Notable graduates include the current president of the Republic of China; a Nobel Prize laureate; a premier of the Republic of China; a president of the Control Yuan; presidents of Apple Daily, China Motor Corporation, and TSMC; and members of Academia Sinica.

National Cheng Kung University was originally established under Japanese colonial government in January 1931 as the Tainan Technical College, one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Taiwan.^[9] After the Japanese handover of Taiwan in October 1945, the school was renamed Taiwan Provincial Tainan Junior College of Technology in March 1946, and then to Taiwan Provincial College of Engineering in October the same year.

When the Republic of China government moved to Taiwan in 1949, it was one of the three existing colleges in Taiwan. As the number of colleges expanded, it was upgraded to a provincial university in 1956 as Provincial Cheng Kung University,^[10] named after Koxinga, a Southern Ming military general who drove the Dutch East India Company from Taiwan and founded the Kingdom of Tungning. In 1971, the university became a national university and was renamed National Cheng Kung University.

Former Minister for Education Wu Jin served as the first president of the new National Cheng Kung University.^[11]

NCKU is located in Tainan City, Taiwan. The main campus is situated across from the Tainan Railway Station, offering convenient transportation. NCKU has 11 campuses occupying a total of 187 hectares of land in the greater Tainan area, including the Cheng-Kung, Sheng-Li, Kuang-Fu, Cheng-Hsing, Tzu-Chiang, Ching-Yeh, Li-Hsing, Tung-Ning, Kuei-Jen, An-Nan and Dou-Liu campuses, and some areas designated for dormitory use.

On 12 January 2011, the Y. S. Sun Green Building Research Center was inaugurated.^[12] It is the world's first green educational center as well as Taiwan's first zero carbon building.^[13] The 4,800 m² (52,000 sq ft)-facility cost NT$30 million (US$4.41 million) to construct, far below the original NT$180 million budget.^[12] Natural ventilation, limited power usage, reduced window size, and energy efficient lighting all contribute to the building's carbon neutrality.^[12]

NCKU comprises 9 colleges, 70 departments, and 29 institutes. The nine colleges include: Liberal Arts, Sciences, Management, Engineering, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Social Science, Planning & Design, Bioscience & Biotechnology and Medicine, each with its own faculties, departments, and institutes offering programs up to doctoral level. The university currently offers 42 undergraduate programs, 74 master's degree programs, 53 doctoral programs, and 17 master's degree programs for working professionals. While most courses are taught in Mandarin Chinese, many are offered in English.

Cheng Kung is a founding member of the Taiwan Comprehensive University System, a strategic alliance of four leading research universities in the Southern Taiwan. The university is also a member of AACSB and IEET, and the only member from Taiwan in the Worldwide Universities Network.

NCKU has 401 cooperation agreements with 251 institutions and universities across the world. Student exchange agreements have been signed with 98 foreign partner universities including University of Southern California, Technical University of Munich, Leiden University, the University of New South Wales, Kyoto University, Seoul National University, National University of Singapore, etc.

In 2018, KU Leuven and IMEC reached dual degree agreement with NCKU.^[14] During the same year, NCKU and Purdue University signed the agreement of collaboration for international dual degree program and online courses.^[15] TU Darmstadt launched its liaison office in Asia at NCKU on 21 May 2019.^[16]

NCKU participates in the Taiwan International Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience of Academia Sinica, the national academy of Taiwan.

NCKU is generally considered to be a top tier university in Taiwan, along with National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University, and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. In 2014, the Representative of Japan in Taiwan listed NCKU as one of the seven well-known Taiwanese universities.^[25]

In 2005, NCKU was chosen by the Ministry of Education as one of the seven universities in Taiwan for the Aim for the Top University Project (邁向頂尖大學計畫), which is similar to Top Global University Project in Japan and Universities of Excellence in Germany. Starting from 2006, because of its academic performance and research potential, the Ministry of Education (Taiwan) has offered NCKU NT$1.7 billion annually for five consecutive years, which is the second highest amount received among the universities in the project.^[26]

Globally, NCKU is 228th in QS WUR 2024, 601–800th in Times WUR 2023, 639th in U.S. News & World Report rankings 2022-2023, 301–400th in ARWU 2022, and 218th in CWTS Leiden Ranking.^{[27][28][29][30]}

According to QS World University Rankings by Subject in 2020,^[31] NCKU ranked within the world's top 150 universities in the following fields: Civil and Structural Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Information Systems, Chemical Engineering, Engineering and Technology, Materials Sciences, Architecture, Statistics and Operational Research, Art and Design, and Environmental Studies.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranked NCKU 76-100th in the engineering field in 2016 and 101-150th in computer science in 2015.^[32]

According to the ESI database, NCKU has published 18,333 papers in the last ten years and has respectively ranked the 24th and the 51st in the list of world top 100 universities respectively in the engineering and computer science fields.

• Wakatsuki Michitaka (January 1931 – August 1941)
• Sakuma Iwao; 佐久間巖 (August 1941 – March 1944)
• Shunsuke Suemitsu; 末光俊介 (March 1944 – October 1944)
• Saburo Kousuke; 甲婓三郎 (October 1944 – October 1945)
• Wang Shih-an (February 1946 – August 1951)
• Yeh Tung-tse (August 1951 – February 1952)
• Qing Dajun (February 1952 – July 1957)
• Yen Cheng-hsing (August 1957 – December 1964)
• Lo Yun-ping (January 1965 – July 1971)
• Ni Chao (August 1971 – July 1978)
• Wang Wei-nung (August 1978 – July 1980)
• Hsia Han-min; 夏漢民 (August 1980 – July 1988)
• Ma Che-ju; 馬哲儒 (August 1988 – July 1994)
• Wu Jin (August 1994 – June 1996)
• Huang Ting-chia; 黃定加 (July 1996 – February 1997)
• Weng Cheng-yi; 翁政義 (February 1997 – May 2000)
• Weng Hung-shan; 翁鴻山 (May 2000 – January 2001)
• Kao Chiang; 高強 (February 2001 – January 2007)
• Michael M. C. Lai (February 2007 – January 2011)
• Hwung Hwung-hweng (February 2011 – January 2015)
• Su Huey-jen; 蘇慧貞 (February 2015 – January 2023)
• Shen Meng-ru; 沈孟儒 (Since February 2023)

• Lai Ching-te,

  President of the Republic of China

  (MD, 1991)
• Samuel C. C. Ting,

  1976 Nobel laureate in Physics

  (Engineering, 1956)
• Mao Chi-kuo,

  Premier of the Republic of China

  (BS, 1971)
• Wu Po-hsiung,

  Chairman of the Kuomintang

  (BS, 1962)
• Han Pao-teh,

  Architect

  (BS, 1958)

National Cheng Kung University has produced notable graduates across politics, science, business, and the arts. Lai Ching-te, the current president of the Republic of China, graduated from NCKU's post-baccalaureate medicine program in 1991 and was awarded the university's distinguished alumni medal in 2013.^[33] Other prominent political figures include Mao Chi-kuo, Premier of the Republic of China (2014–2016); Chang Chia-juch, Minister of Economic Affairs (2013–2014); Chen Hsiung-wen, Minister of Labor (2014–2016); Lung Ying-tai, Minister of Culture (2012–2014); Chen Liang-gee, Minister of Science and Technology (2016–2020); Wang Chien-shien, President of the Control Yuan (2008–2014); Wu Po-hsiung, Mayor of Taipei (1988–1990) and later Chairman of the Kuomintang (2007–2009); Fan Chih-ku, Administrative Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications; Lee Wo-shih, Magistrate of Kinmen County (2009–2014); and Hsu Hsin-ying, founder and Chairperson of the Minkuotang.

In the fields of science and engineering, notable graduates include Tze-Chiang Chen, IBM Fellow and Vice President of Science and Technology at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center; Ken P. Chong, Director of the Division of Mechanics and Materials at the U.S. National Science Foundation; Chu Ching-wu, a leading superconductor physicist and President of the Taiwan Comprehensive University System; Wei-Kan Chu, professor of physics at the University of Houston; Lin Yi-bing, Vice President of the Office of Research and Development at National Chiao Tung University; Chung Laung Liu, computer scientist; and Wen Ho Lee, the nuclear physicist once accused of espionage. Samuel C. C. Ting, a Nobel Prize laureate in physics, also attended NCKU before returning to the United States. Architect Chu-yuan Lee, who designed Taipei 101, one of the largest skyscrapers in the world, also studied at the university.

Cheng Kung alumni in business and finance include CommonWealth Magazine editor-in-chief Yin Yun-peng (BA'64, foreign languages); Central Daily News editor-in-chief Cheng Pei-fen (BA'66, Chinese literature); China Airlines chairman Kao Shing-Hwang;^[34] Philips Taiwan CEO Lo Yi-chiang (BS'63, physics); China Motor Corporation chairman and president Lin Hsin-i (BS'70, mechanical engineering); Delta Electronics founder and chairman Bruce Cheng (BS'59, electrical engineering); Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Lawrence T. Wong (BS'61, mechanical engineering); Macronix founder Miin Wu (BS'70, electrical engineering); Compal Electronics CEO Chen Jui-tung (BS'71, electrical engineering); Apple Daily president Tung Chun-chieh (董群傑; BA'64, foreign languages); Taiwan Stock Exchange director Ho Show-chung (BS'67, mechanical engineering); TPV Technology CEO Jason Hsuan (BS'68, electrical engineering); architect Cheng Mei (BS'62); architect Jih Pan (BS'63, architecture); publisher Chu An-min (BA'82, Chinese literature); Taiwan High Speed Rail chairman Chiang Yao-chung (BS'74; MS'76, engineering); architect Chang Ching-hwa (BS'79, architecture); Sampo Corporation chairman Chen Sheng-tian (BS'70, hydraulic engineering); Yageo founder and chairman Pierre Chen (BS'80, engineering); and Acer Inc. CEO Jason Chen (BS'84, management science).^[35]

In culture and the humanities, Cheng Nan-jung and Pai Hsien-yung both began their studies in engineering at NCKU before shifting to the humanities and went on to become prominent public intellectuals and writers. In addition, NCKU has many international alumni who have studied Mandarin Chinese at the university, such as Mike Frerichs, the state treasurer of Illinois.

• National Cheng Kung University Hospital
• Taiwan Comprehensive University System
• List of universities in Taiwan

• Official website (in English)
• University website for International students
• Three universities in central and southern Taiwan forge alliance

23°00′N 120°13′E / 23.000°N 120.217°E / 23.000; 120.217