I’m a Singaporean who’s keen to take up a master degree in journalism at the Graduate Institute of Journalism of NTU, probably next year.
Wonder if anyone know if all exams have to be written in Traditional Chinese or Simplified Chinese will do too. Any idea if I’ve to go Taiwan for the pre-enrolment exams too? (I’ve tried emailing the school but they didn’t respond).
Would also appreciate a discussion of issues that an international student should take note of living/studying in Taiwan.
Thanks for reading I’ll appreciate any form of advice/suggestions!
I’m sure they would prefer that you wrote them in traditional Chinese, but I suspect you could get away with simplified Chinese. I think if you ask and you get an answer, you will be told to do it in traditional Chinese. This is based on general knowledge of Taiwan not any specific knowledge of the NTU program.
You have to come to Taiwan to do the entrance exams. These are usually held in the spring and need to be registered for a month or so in advance.
As for issues an international student might have, I think the failure to respond to your email is a probably a good indication. Many international students who otherwise like the course they do in Taiwan complain about lack of organization and especially communication on the part of the administration. You will find people friendly and willing to try to help, but the fact is that Taiwan’s higher education system is not very internationalized at all, so you should not expect very much support
Despite the lack of internationalization, I’m sure you will have a great experience and learn a lot–there are a lot of very smart, thoughtful people working in your field, and NTU is bound to have many of them.
I suggest that you call the department with your questions rather than relying on email.
I would reccommmend Kristen to call, but only in the mornings. On summer vacation, most schools work only part-time, even more their International Affairs Office.
By the way, have you checked out Chengda’s bilingual journalism program?
Can’t help you with the tests, though. I guess it is negotiable. Back in the day when there were few foreign students, some teachers made allowances for English on tests, dunno now that there are far more.
Issues? Housing is an issue, you have to decide if dorm life is for you, and apply early, or get here earlier -like two months ahead- to get a nice place. NTU is close to NTNU and the Technical University, so, there is stiff of competition for the best/reasonably priced apartments.
Talking about competitiveness, NTU is a rat race, every man for himself. You will be with the top crop, so, you gotta shape up and keep up. Lots of independent work. Would tell you more, but of NTU I only got second hand experience from fellow countrymen.
I did a little homework on Chengda and found out that their coursework sound pretty interesting too.
Any idea how competitive scholarships are?
I’m also trying to work out my budget (how much I’ll need to save). I’ve factored in items like: tuition fees, food, housing, books, transportation, entertainment but are there any other “hidden cost” that I didn’t think of?
Scholarships to select universities -NTU, NTNU, Suna Yat Sen, Cheng Kong, Hsin Hua, and Chengda- are quite competitive. Not impossible so, but remember there are always alternatives, from full scholarship plus benefits, up to paying half price tuition. So, if you do not get the top one, you still have opportunity for others, up to a discount. Remember, aside from MOFA and MOE, each university has funds to provide scholarships.
Insurance is not a hidden cost, but it should also be factores. Usually, you pay a whole semester with your tuition. Many universities have “miscelaneous fees” -lab and library use, maintenance, whatever- and those mount up to 5 to 10 thousand NTs, depending on the school.
Are you bringing your own computer or buying it here? Remember to bring clothes for all 4 seasons, but a winter jacket is best bought here -different materials for humid weather. You might need to buy a mattress, unless you are already used to sleeping on the floor or a similarly hard surface. You also might need to buy a fan in summer and a small heater in winter, cheap and very, very useful.
The lion’s share of your budget will be housing and food. Decide ahead where you want to live -dorm or outside- and factor the pricing accordingly. Same with food. Local is cheap, foreign starts to add up -poundwise and moneywise.
I’ll appreciate any form of advice/suggestions!
