Taiwan Normal University
Taiwan Normal University (TNU or Shīdà 師大) is an institution of higher education
and normal school operating on three campuses in Taipei, Taiwan. TNU is widely
recognized as one of Taiwan's elite institutions of higher education. The university
enrolls approximately 11,000 students each year. The ratio of undergraduate to
graduate students is 6:4. Approximately 1,500 students are international.
History
The Taiwan Normal University opened its doors in the early 20th century during
Japanese rule in Taiwan. Taiwan's Japanese governors established the school as
Taiwan Provincial College. Soon after they gave it the name Taihoku College
(Taihoku is "Taipei" in Japanese). The school's purpose was to nurture a native
educated class qualified to assist the government in matters of administration. Many
buildings on the university's main campus date from the Japanese colonial period,
including the Administration Building, the Lecture Hall, Wenhui Hall and Puzi Hall.
Japanese civil engineers incorporated features of the Neo-Classical, Gothic and
Gothic Revival styles often encountered on European university campuses. A room in
the Lecture Hall housed the traditional Japanese document that authorises and
formalises campus construction.
In 1946 China's Kuomintang government assumed control of Taiwan and redefined
the school as Taiwan Provincial Teachers College. Some school publications still
display 1946 as the institution's founding date in reference to this regime change. A
number of Taiwan's leading authors, poets, artists, educators, musicians, and
researchers have passed through the university's doors as students and faculty. Puru, a
famous painter and cousin to the last emperor of China, was a professor in the art
department from 1950 to 1963. In 1956 the Mandarin Training Center opened its
doors as an extension of the college. The school acquired its present name, Taiwan
Normal University, in 1967. By now the school had established itself as a recognized
center of learning in arts, literature and the humanities; its fundamental mission,
though, remained the preparation of teachers.
As Taiwanese society made its shift from authoritarian rule to democracy in the 1990s,
the university saw its role transformed by passage of the 1994 Teacher Preparation
Law. The law gave more schools responsibility for teacher training and set TNU on its
present course as a truly comprehensive university. New departments were created,
course offerings and majors were expanded, and new faculty were hired. The
university became a hub of international activity, enabling Taiwanese students to
travel abroad, attracting international students to Taipei, and building exchange
programs with dozens of sister institutions around the world.
Today
TNU occupies three campuses in downtown Taipei: the historic Daan campus (home
of the Administration Building, Main Library, Music & Lecture Hall, Language
Building, Athletic Center); the Gongguan campus (home of the College of Science);
and the Linkou campus. Academic programs at TNU are administered by ten colleges:
College of Education
College of Fine and Applied Arts
College of International Studies and Education for Overseas Chinese
College of Liberal Arts
College of Management
College of Music
College of Science
College of Social Science
College of Sports and Recreation
College of Technology
In 2006 the school published the following figures for students enrolled and
employees retained.
Students enrolled 11,055
Undergraduate students 6,942
Graduate students 4,113
International Students (including Culture Center) 1,499
Full-time Faculty 693
Part-time Faculty 470
Staff 492
The university also runs the Affiliated Senior High School of Taiwan Normal
University, a daughter institution for secondary-school students in Taiwan.
International programs
Internationally TNU is best known for its Mandarin Training Center (formerly known
as the Center for Chinese Language and Cultural Studies), a program founded in 1956
for the study of Mandarin Chinese by foreign students. The Mandarin Training Center
represents one of the world's oldest and most distinguished programs for language
study, attracting more than a thousand students from over sixty countries to Taiwan
each year and making the Shida area of Taipei one of the city's most cosmopolitan.
Courses in language, literature, calligraphy, art and martial arts are offered in a series
of three-month terms throughout the year, enabling international students to undertake
language studies during summer breaks and within single semesters. The center also
sponsors travel, hosts speech contests, and stages workshops and performances for a
variety of East Asian arts. A Mandarin Training Center Alumni Association (MTCAA)
has been operating since 1998.
Other international highlights recently at TNU include the International Chemistry
Olympiad hosted by the university in 2005 and the merger of TNU with the
University Preparatory School for Overseas Chinese Students in 2006.
TNU nurtures a robust system of partnerships to enable this level of international
study. Among the institutions that enjoy sister relationships with TNU are the
Universidade de Sao Paulo in Brazil, La Universidad Nacional de Asuncion in
Paraguay, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, Ohio State University,
Pennsylvania State University, Radford University, Rutgers University, San Diego
State University, San Francisco State University, University of California - Los
Angeles, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Iowa and
University of Pittsburgh in the US, the University of Alberta, University of British
Columbia and Simon Fraser University in Canada, the University of Glasgow and
University of London in the UK, the Denis Diderot University and University of
Poitiers in France, University of Bonn and University of Heidelberg in Germany, the
Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts in Austria, the RSM Erasmus
University in the Netherlands, the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland, and the
Babes-Bolyai University in Romania, to name a few. TNU's connections in the
Asia-Pacific region are particularly extensive, including dozens of academic
institutions representing South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia,
and New Zealand.
Academic Departments
The Taiwan Normal University consists of seven colleges comprising a number of
departments.
(* = graduate study only.)
College of Education
Adult & Continuing Education
Civic Education & Leadership
Education
Educational Psychology & Counseling
Educational Policy & Administration*
Rehabilitation Counseling*
Health Promotion and Health Education
Human Development & Family Education
Information & Computer Education
Library & Information Studies*
Special Education
College of Fine and Applied Arts
Fine Arts
Visual Design
Art History*
Design*
College of International Studies and Education for Overseas Chinese
Graduate Institute of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language*
Graduate Institute of Sinology Studies*
Graduate Institute of European Cultures and Tourism*
Department of East Asian Culture and Development
Department of Applied Chinese Languages and Literature
Department of Chinese Languages for International Students
College of Liberal Arts
Chinese
English
Geography
History
Taiwan Culture, Languages and Literature*
Taiwan History*
Teaching Chinese as a Second Language*
Translation and Interpretation*
College of Music
Music
Performing Arts*
Ethnomusicology*
College of Management
Graduate Institute of Management*
Undergraduate Program of Business Administration
Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Global Strategy*
College of Science
Chemistry
Computer Science and Information Engineering
Earth Sciences
Electro-optical Science and Technology*
Environmental Education*
Life Science
Mathematics
Physics
Science Education*
College of Social Science
Mass Communication*
Political Science*
Social Work*
College of Sports and Recreation
Athletic Science
Exercise and Sports Sciences*
Physical Education
Sport and Leisure Management*
College of Technology
Graphic Arts Communication
Industrial Education
Technology Application and Human Resource Development
Institute of Applied Electronics Technology*
Mechatronic Technology
International Workforce Education and Development*
List of TNU People
Professors
Apo Hsu - Taiwanese-American conductor (also alumna)
Fan-Long Ko - Taiwanese composer
Liang Shih-chiu - the first Chinese scholar who has single-handedly translated the
complete works of Shakespeare into Chinese.
Man-houng Lin - economic historian and the first woman president of the Academia
Historica.
Li Meishu - Taiwanese artist who built the Zushi Temple.
Wen-Pin Hope Lee - Taiwanese Golden Melody Award-winning composer.
Ma Sen - Taiwanese writer.
Mou Zongsan - Chinese New Confucian philosopher.
Puru - artist, calligrapher, and member of the Qing Dynasty ruling Aisin Gioro family
and grandson of the Daoguang Emperor.
Su Xuelin - Chinese author and writer.
Alumni
Ang Ui-jin - Taiwanese linguist. He was the chief architect of the Taiwanese
Language Phonetic Alphabet.
Chi Shu-ju - Taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalist.
Chien Yu-chin - Chinese Taipei badminton player.
Evan Yo - Taiwanese Mandopop singer.
Huang Ming-hui - politician and mayor of Chiayi City.
Hsieh Chang-heng - Baseball player in the CPBL.
Liu Yong (writer) - Taiwanese painter and essayist.
Peng Wan-ru - Taiwanese feminist.
Selina Jen - member of the Taiwanese girl group S.H.E.
Tien Lei - Basketball player.
Tseng Shu-o - Professional Soccer player in Australia.
Tyzen Hsiao - Taiwanese composer of the neo-Romantic school.
Wang Tuoh - Secretary General of Taiwan's DPP.
Wang Jin-pyng - President of Taiwan's Legislative Yuan
Wong Chin-chu - Taiwanese politician
Gaurav Baranwal - Taiwan Olympic medalist in archery.
Mandarin Training Center Alumni:
Kevin Rudd - Former Prime Minister of Australia.
Andrew Fastow - Former CFO of Enron
Nomenclature
The standard abbreviation for the Taiwan Normal University in English is TNU. In
Mandarin Chinese it is Shi1da4. The word "Shida" in many Taipei place names (Shida
Night Market, Shida Road, Shida Bookstore, etc.) indicates a location on or near the
university campus.
The word normal in the university's name derives from a now archaic usage of the
word "normal" seen only in the term "normal school": that of a norm-setting
institution setting for future teachers.
MTC refers to the Mandarin Training Center.