Introduction

About

The College of Liberal Arts was established in 1968. For about 18 years, it was accommodated in Hung Tao Hall, located in the north-western area of the campus. In 1994, the Chinese Department, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (FLL), and the History Department moved to the Teaching Complex Building. The Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature (TL), established in 2004, is also housed in this building. Currently, the Graduate Institute of Library and Information Science (LIS) resides in Hung Tao Hall, while the Language Center and the College Library occupy Wan Nian Hall, a new building constructed in 2004.

The College has three departments and two graduate institutes. The Chinese Department, FLL, and the History Department offer both BA and MA programs. Ph. D. programs are only available in the Chinese Department and History Department. The two graduate institutes, LIS and TL, only provide MA programs. The Language Center and the College Library deliver services to students and teachers of the university.

Currently, the College has some 2,566 students. 2073 of these are registered as undergraduates (including 1,258 in the Continuing Education Program), 293 in master programs, 54 in doctoral programs, and 146 in master's programs specifically designed for students with full-time day jobs. Among the 72 full-time faculty members are 29 professors, 19 associate professors, 13 assistant professors, and 11 lecturers.

Facilities

Each department and graduate institute has its own library, computer lab, and seminar rooms. Several special rooms are reserved for particular courses, such as Calligraphy, Chinese Drama, and Music Appreciation in the Chinese Department, Translation and Creative Writing in FLL, and Historiography in the History Department. The Language Center and FLL have worked together to develop language training courses intended for the public.

Goal

As a liberal arts college in the sole national university in central Taiwan, the College has instructors and facilities par excellence and a liberal learning environment. The College supports students in developing various skills and areas of knowledge, which will help them to develop a deeper understanding of the world both at the local and global levels. Graduates from the College perform very well in culturally oriented careers such as journalism and education.

Taiwan has acquired memberships in a variety of international organizations, which, as a result, increases the need for bilingual interpreters. To meet this need, the College is planning to set up programs in Japanese as well as several European languages. Based on their creative writing course series, the Chinese Department and FLL will work together to establish a graduate program in modern literature. The History Department is planning to initiate a center for research on the history of Taiwan foreign relations. LIS and TL are also planning to establish their own Ph. D. programs. The College is considering to set up programs in art studies and management. To that end, the College is seeking to incorporate the university's Art Center, in order to facilitate the art studies in the programs to be established.