Department History
National Taiwan University, known as Taipei Imperial University during
the Japanese colonial era, was founded in 1945 after the transfer of the
island's sovereignty to the Republic of China government. The Political
Science Department was established two years later in 1947 under the supervision
of the Faculty of Law. In 1957, the Political Science Department expanded,
adding a graduate program offering master's degrees in international relations,
public administration and political theory. In 1963, the department underwent
its first departmental reform, dividing itself into three sub-divisions:
political theory, international relations, and public administration.
In 1976, the department created a doctoral program, accepting students
who wanted to pursue an academic career in political science. In 2001,
the department established a program granting an Executive Masters of
Public Administration.
Department Structure
The three sub-divisions of the political science undergraduate department
now offer a great variety of courses. Students are encouraged to enroll
in any course of personal interest from a vast array of classes from all
departments. However, the department does require its students to complete
some mandatory courses. This policy is designed according to those course-requirements
stipulated by the Ministry of Education, varying from one sub-division
to another. Course designs for each sub-division are carefully planned
to prepare undergraduates either for future academic studies or for their
future professional needs.
The graduate institute, on the other hand, aims to develop professionals in the academic fields of political science. Similar to the undergraduate department, the graduate program is also divided into three sub-divisions: international relations, public administration and political theory. Each also recruits students individually. Given the small number of students, the doctoral program is not divided into sub-divisions. Doctoral students are encouraged to focus on research in their respective fields of interests, to select courses related to professional needs and, not least, to produce high caliber academic work.
Department Head
The head of the department, who also serves as the head of the graduate
institute, is responsible for handling numerous administrative tasks such
as hiring, course planning, library selections, equipment purchasing,
and the solicitation of research endowments. Since 1946, there has been
19 department heads. They have been, in chronological order: professors
Shih-hong Chen, Chong-wen Wan, Shan-lin Lee, Shung-sheng Lei, Ming-ming
Peng, Chu-Gui Huang, Tsai-tien Chao, Kuo-shin Chen, Lien Chan, Chieng-han
Chang, Song-shih Yuan, Geng Wu, Cheng-wen Tsai, Ching-fu Hsu, Tzong-ho
Bau, Chu-cheng Ming, Lang Kao, and Tsai-tsu Su. The current department
head is professor Yeh-lih Wang, who began his leadership tenure in 2009.
Rankings
The social science departments of NTU were ranked in the top 50 globally,
and in the top 4 in Asia, by the British newspaper《The Times》 and《The
Times’ Higher Education Supplement》. This kind of recognition can be seen
as a positive affirmation of the social sciences at NTU by the international
academic community.