The education system in Taiwan: choosing your level and field

Understanding how education is structured in Taiwan before you pick a school stops you applying to the wrong level or the wrong type of programme.

What you need to know

• National and private universities run in parallel; national institutions such as NTU, NCKU, NTHU and NYCU are the most competitive.
• University-run Chinese language centres are a common route: study the language first, then progress to a degree.
• Many international programmes are taught entirely in English, concentrated in engineering, semiconductors and management.

Language of instruction and the tests that go with it

• TOCFL is the Chinese proficiency test used in Taiwan; Chinese-taught programmes usually set a minimum level.
• English-taught programmes require IELTS or TOEFL.

The order to work through

1. Settle the level and field first — they determine everything else in the application.
2. Check the language requirement of the exact programme, not the institution's general statement.
3. Compare deadlines school by school; they differ between intakes.
4. Prepare the financial and immigration paperwork alongside the academic file, not after it.

Check against official sources

Fees and residence conditions in Taiwan change year to year and school to school. This article describes the mechanism; check current figures against the official sources below, or ask VNIS to verify them for your chosen programme.

• Study in Taiwan
• Bộ Giáo dục Đài Loan

Next steps

• Study in Taiwan — overview
• The same topic across every destination
• School directory