Im a student at the ICLP at Tai da and am thinking about to applying to the top 2 or 3 universities in Taiwan for an international mba or related degree . I have been in Taiwan for a few years , did some English teaching, Have a ba from a good Canadian university with decent grades, and am enrolled in a great Chinese program at Tai da currently. Im sure I can get some great refrences from previous teachers employers ect. Question is just how hard is it to get accepted to these programs for a foreigner in Taiwan? What are they looking for in people? Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.
-
Relevant experience, say, in multinational corporations with links abroad and in Asia.
-
Confident, active people who make things happen, with specific goals and hopefully a time line -meaning you will not kinger in limbo…
-
Interest in the program, the university, the country. This means you have connections here -but not as much as roots. Trees do not move.
Piece of advice: go and sit in in some lessons, get the feel of the place, check out at least 3 options -and I mean visiting dorms, attending a whole class or two, talking to the people -teachers, students, secretaries, administrators- before commiting to a two or four year stint.
Good luck.
ps.
check www.imba.nccu.edu.tw
The answer is that it is not very hard to get in.
I looked at these programs before heading back to the US for a degree and I would not touch one with a ten foot pole unless it was the TaiDa EMBA program. In that case, I wouldn’t be going there for the education, but for the connections.
An article on this subject:
[quote]For the second year in a row, National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) was included in the Financial Times (FT) EMBA global ranking, placing at No. 57 this year. And for the first time, NSYSU placed No. 49 in the U.K. news organization’s Masters in Management ranking.
This year 109 business schools took part in FT’s ranking of the top 95 EMBA programs, while 55 schools participated in the ranking for world’s 50 best pre-experience master’s programs.
…
“Our EMBA program adds more value to students. In the FT ranking category of alumni salary increase in the past three years, our alumni performed the best in Taiwan and the second best in Asia,” he notes
…
“In fact, we were the first business school in Taiwan to receive the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation, ahead of other business schools in Taiwan,” he adds.
The AACSB is an international accreditation organization of collegiate business schools and accounting programs worldwide. [color=#0000FF]Other local institutions that are AACSB accredited are Fu Jen Catholic, National Chengchi, and National Chiao-Tung universities.[/color]
…
NSYSU is also an active member of organizations such as PACIBER (the Pacific Asian Consortium for International Business Education and Research), which promotes international business education, research and exchange of information among faculty and students.And NSYSU continues to offer international exchange programs and international business programs that are lectured in English, he adds. The university’s International Business MBA program has a good mixture of local and foreign students (the ratio is about 2 to 1), making it “a truly international environment for learning business in Taiwan,” says Liang.
[/quote]
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2008/12/04/186081/Business-education.htm
From a past acquaintance, I don’t believe you need work experience to get a MBA from Taida, as funny as that sounds.
Yep, even Chengchi’s IMBA removed that requisite -two years experience. Yet, it is always handy.
So basically what you guys make it sound like is you dont need to be “Rhodes scholar” material to get into a program here. Anyone have comments about the quality of instruction ect? What do you think they focus on most when making admissions decissions?
Quality varies a lot, and also depends on the focus of the program. Xinhua for example focuses in administration of technical programs.
There is also the language factor:
[quote]NCCU counts with almost 100 international students from over 30 countries in its IMBA (international MBA) program, and about 90 exchange students from nearly 60 sister schools spread throughout the world…
One of the main reasons for international students to choose NCCU is that the number of business courses taught in English total over 100 – a relatively large figure compared with most universities in Taiwan, he notes.
[/quote]
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2008/12/05/186258/p2/NCCU-producing.htm
Personally, we had some great teachers, mostly were good, and a couple of really bad apples. Quite the same as any other place. The good ones knew what they were talking about, the bad ones had name but no substance.
Admission is based on face value: what you can bring to the program, how good it looks, and how good you make them look.
I just met a friend last night that got denied to NCCU this year. He had almost straight A’s in Canada and was admitted to law school there. I guess things are getting tougher? What kind of grades - experince did any of you have that are enrolled in similar programs in Taiwan?
NCCU is getting a bit too competitive, I’ve been told, because o the language factor. Other progams claim to be 100% English, only NCCU -AFAIK- comes clean.
Can someone please list the top 5 schools in Taiwan that offer at least most of the classes in English for masters programs in business or related fields?
Id like to apply to the top few and have a back up or 2. Thanks
Is there anyone out there that has gone through the MBA program at Tai-Da or another university using only Chinese? My plan is to apply in January for the MBA program at Tai-Da, and I’ve already spoken to the administration. They said that I need only to prove that my Chinese is good enough (i.e. letter of reccomendation, grade transcript, and auto-biography).My thought is that it will look much better to earn an MBA here if the language of instruction is Chinese as well as open more doors for making contacts. After all, if I want a good university that uses English I can just go back home - allbeit pay alot more. Does anyone have experience with this or know of someone who has done this? Am I wrong in assuming that using Chinese as the language of instruction will give me an advantage?
Well, I did my MBA in English but my Mandarin skills helped a lot when making research and other assignments. NTU has the advantage of being the “national” university -and gets instant recognition.
I have acquaintances and fellow countrymen/women who did their studies in Mandarin -meaning taking the normal coursework with the rest of the local students- and they had a tough time, even the ones that had studied the language for 3 years.
Of course, your higher the command of the language, the better in terms of prospects -ask anyone who works in finance- but still you do not have to be mistaken for a native -though I had an acquaintance from Serbia who used to be mistaken for a local on the phone and could out curse any punk mopet driver in Taiwanese -and those are useful skills indeed. 
The advantage is actually the connections, the people you will meet and stay in touch. Student networks expand and are really useful later for business opportunities. So, if you study here in Chinese, it is because you want to make inroads with the local people, understand this market, and basically build guanxi bridges.
On the other hand, if anyone wants another choice, how about:
[quote]National Taiwan University’s (NTU) Global MBA Program will start accepting applications for the 2009-2010 academic year Feb. 20 to 21 next year (including those with dual nationalities), and international applications from Jan. 1 to Mar. 13. In line with all the leading MBA programs, NTU Global MBA Program admission requires no entrance examination. NTU Global MBA Program is considered a gateway to a successful career and a great opportunity to expand applicants’ global network.
NTU Global MBA Program is taught in English, with rigorous and practical MBA curriculum, instructed by outstanding faculty members. The program strives to train future leaders of the competitive marketplace with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, innovation, and real-world practices.
One of the many examples is their partnership with Wharton Business School in the Global Consulting Practicum (GCP).
In addition, the program also provides students with international exchange opportunities at partner schools worldwide.
[/quote]
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2008/12/18/188212/NTU-Global.htm
My school also has joint programs with European, Japanese, and Korean schools. I would have loved to take advantage of this opportunity, as it would have been cheaper and easier as a student in a Taiwanese university -but I was working, so, meipanfa!