Hello everyone!
I am new on this forum, (I hope I am writing in the right section for this topic) and even if I am not currently living in Taiwan I am really hoping to be able to study there in the future. At the moment I am an exchange student in Sichuan, and I totally fell in love with Chinese culture and Mandarin language, so at first I was thinking about going back to the Mainland for my bachelor degree once I am done with High School (I should graduate next year in summer), but I later started thinking that Taiwan would be a better place where to live for a long time, because, at least from the outside,it seems to be a better compromise between Chinese and Western lifestyle, not to mention the fact that, despite living in Chengdu for eight months, I have more “loved ones” in Taipei, so I would probably feel more at home. The problem is that since I decided to look up for some more informations about studying in Taiwan, I found that except for Buisness/Economy related programs (I would be mostly intrested in East Asian studies, Languages or Journalism) and graduate programs, admission requirements can be a little confusing, same goes for how to get a scolarship. So here are the points that I have troubles understanding.
All universities require to pass the TOCFL 2 or 4 before applying or at most before graduating, but they also accept different chinese tests at the same level; does anyone know what other chinese tests are acceptable and which level corresponds to which? And if I wanted to take the TOCFL but there’s no place to take it where I live (Italy) how can I do?
How can I know if the courses are at least partially in english or not?
What is exactly a study plan, and does the biography correspond to a sort of curriculum, or is it more about a self introduction?
Does anybody have direct experience of European foreigners pursuing a bachelor degree not related to Economy in Taiwan ?
Thank you very much for reading, I am sorry it came out a little long , I hope you can all have a good day!
P.S Please do not just tell me to go study somewhere else, I have been told so many times, but I am still trying to figure out if it’s possible for me to study in Taiwan before giving up.
not totally sure, but online sources seems to indicate TOCFL Intermediate = CEFR B2 = new HSK Level 4 = old HSK Level 6 = SPM(Chinese Language) Level C
From personal experience, only 1 of all 4 requires courses in a graduate program is taught in English.
I don’t know how it works for others, but a study plan for an engineering graduate program means what topics you like to research or what you want to get out of going to school there. it’s basically asking you to bs like you know what you are talking about. unless you’ve already went to the school and talked to some professors, chances are you have no clue what you want to research or study.
I’ve only seen European foreigners pursuing graduate degrees, but that’s probably because i’m old as fart.
anyway, the best way to get answers is go directly to the international center at the school you are most interested in and just ask for help.
Hello friend,
A lot of your questions vary by university. Try typing the name of the university + “international students’ office” into Google and you should be able to find an office with answers to most of these questions.
Language testing requirements vary not only by school, but also by department. Some departments will accept China’s “HSK” test in lieu of TOCFL (since TOCFL is much harder to actually take outside of Taiwan). Some departments can even provide their own test. Contact the school directly.
Again, this should be on the school’s website. However, I have heard of many instances where a course was supposedly “all English” when in fact Chinese was often the lingua franca. Consider that the professor and the majority of your classmates will be Taiwanese, for whom using Chinese to communicate will be infinitely more efficient. Keep expectations for the amount of English you will be able to use low, so that you can be pleasantly surprised if they are exceeded, rather than disappointed when people naturally revert to their native language around you. By the way, the only school I’ve heard of that consistently provides degrees taught all in English is National Chengchi University.
I applied to 4 departments (2 schools), and asked all of them for more concrete guidance on what to write on the study plan/biography, but they did not have more detailed information. This model of application is based on an American “holistic” admissions review, which is different from the traditional Taiwanese/Chinese style (purely test-based), and I think they’re still learning about how to make use of essays in lieu of tests. What I did was search for 研究計畫(study plan) and 自傳(biography) on Google and found several examples, and modeled my study plan and biography after those. Then I had a Taiwanese friend help me proofread the grammar/word usage.
I am not European but American, so I mostly know Americans pursuing graduate (Master’s) degrees here, not sure if that would be helpful. Most are in the humanities or social sciences, pursuing topics directly related to Taiwan and/or China for which there are more resources here.