Summer opportunities at National Taiwan University (NTU)
The Global Office and School of Modern Languages are working with National Taiwan University (NTU) to offer places on their Chinese language programmes. These placements will take place over Summer 2025 and are supported by an external scholarship offered by the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) Programme.
About NTU Summer Opportunities
National Taiwan University is Taiwan’s oldest and most comprehensive university, offering students the opportunity to be part of the nation’s rich centre of learning and to receive a diverse education. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to study Mandarin in Taiwan, exploring NTU and Taipei City.
What will I study?
The Taiwan Huayu BEST Programme offers several different programmes focused on Chinese language and Taiwanese Culture.
Chinese Language Division (CLD) of Language Center: CLD offers courses based on the Chinese proficiency level of each student. Each class is composed of about five to seven people to ensure that each student improves greatly in listening, speaking, reading, and writing through the class. The programme runs for 10-12 weeks, with three hours per day, 15 hours per week (from Monday to Friday). Students can expect to complete 150-180 class hours.
Classes are held daily at the same time slots from Monday to Friday, and each class is 50 minutes long. In addition, CLD provides cultural activities outside of the classroom, including excursions, cultural seminars, and hands-on experiences in local traditions. These activities will enhance students’ understanding of Taiwan and practice their Chinese language skills.
Please refer to the CLD Course programme webpages for full details of the courses available.
The course pages will also outline programme dates, tuition fees and other costs, as well as academic information.
Certificates and Credits
Students will receive an end-of-course grade report from CLD and an NTU transcript indicating grades and credits of Chinese courses issued from International College. Academic performance is assessed through online placement tests, including a 15-minute oral exam and a written exam.
Please note that you will not receive academic credit at St Andrews for NTU summer opportunities. You will receive recognition of this external placement on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) at graduation.
Who can apply?
This programme is only open to students who are registered on a Chinese Studies degree, or who are studying a Department of Chinese language module or modules for academic credit in 2024-2025. Students due to graduate in June 2025 are not eligible for this programme.
Scholarships
During their attendance in the programme, students will receive a monthly scholarship of NT $25,000 (approx. £620 Pound Sterling/US $800) from the Taiwan Huayu BEST Scholarship Programme.
The amount of the scholarship received depends on the length of the period on the CLD programme. The awarded student(s) must open a bank account in Taiwan. The scholarship will be transferred monthly to that account and paid in the local currency.
Please note this scholarship is external to the University of St Andrews. Students do not need to apply but will need to meet the external requirements to obtain the scholarship.
Costs
The CLD fee for 2024 is NT $42,000 (approx. £1060 Pound Sterling/US $1340).
The CLD participation fee consists of a non-refundable application fee and the tuition fee.
Please see the CLD Fees page for further information on costs. You must pay these course fees to participate in the programme.
Other costs to consider include:
- Visa costs (depending on nationality)
- Visa application requirements, such as medical tests
- Flight ticket (round trip)
- Health and liability insurance
- Accommodation
- Other living expenses, e.g., local government registration, local transport, food, phone, internet, activities.
How to apply
Students should apply directly to NTU. Please speak to the Study Abroad Coordinator in Chinse Studies for further information.
Please inform the Global Office upon submission of your application to NTU by emailing outbound@st-andrews.ac.uk. If you successfully complete the placement at NTU, the Global Office will recognise this via prize on your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) transcript.