Studying a local course at a university

[Milkybar_Kid]

One of my ambitions in life is to complete a masters degree. I would like to do this in Taiwan following a normal course - ie enrol in a local grad programme which is taught in Chinese.

I don't want to enroll in one of those BS English taught programmes which are created especially for foreigners. I am planning this for in a few years time when I have a better understanding of Chinese.

I have done a search on here and read a few random posts by people who have completed such courses but I would like to know more.

My wife says that I will have the following problems;

1) passing the entrance exam
2) completing the course examinations which all have to be hand written (i can tpe Chinese however I can't write by hand)

I also don't know if I can get a scholarship for this course.

Is anyone currently completing such a course?

Thanks

[archylgp]

One of my ambitions in life is to complete a masters degree. I would like to do this in Taiwan following a normal course - ie enrol in a local grad programme which is taught in Chinese.

I don't want to enroll in one of those BS English taught programmes which are created especially for foreigners. I am planning this for in a few years time when I have a better understanding of Chinese.

I have done a search on here and read a few random posts by people who have completed such courses but I would like to know more.

My wife says that I will have the following problems;

1) passing the entrance exam
2) completing the course examinations which all have to be hand written (i can tpe Chinese however I can't write by hand)

I also don't know if I can get a scholarship for this course.

Is anyone currently completing such a course?

Thanks

I was in an all-Chinese masters program at NCCU. I did not need to take an entrance exam (or even have a letter of recommendation) and there was no course examination. I won't talk about my experience in the program...

Something to think about, though, is going to a school with few western students. I heard from a friend who has a friend in such a school that the school was basically throwing scholarships at them (and a free computer). (The schools that have too many western students are very particular about their scholarships.) This may not be true, of course, but it is something to look into. (In my opinion, a good scholarship is the most important aspect of a graduate program in Taiwan.)

What do you want to study?

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Scholarships for a whole Chinese program, no problem, since you are a foreigner. They do not really care if you are going for English taught or Chinese taught, but nowoadys they are asking for Chinese tests before giving people scholarships for university studies. It is a recent change.

Actually, most colleges would be glad to have you in their Mandarin taught programs, I have many friends who graduated from such, but it means a lot of work, cooperation from classmates and professors is essential. I did not dare to do my studies in Mandarin because my level was not good enough. I had enough hardship dealing with Math related stuff -Accounting, Economics, etc- to add language to the pile. But it is doable, in many fields, it will take longer time, but it has been done before.

It is true about the schools with fewer western students. Since the government gives incentive to schools with foreign students, the schools are keen on having you -overall, with certain hard headed exceptions. I found the ones down South -Tainan, Kaohsiung- to be better in most aspects like welcoming, guidance, assistance in general. However, nowadays it is harder to find a school without Western students, as the ICDF programs and other scholarship programs have made it their duty to spread the foreigners around. In a few years, hopefully, it won't be so rare to see foreign students.

[archylgp]

Scholarships for a whole Chinese program, no problem, since you are a foreigner..

Not true. NCCU didn't give me a scholarship even though I had strong grades and had written a pretty good research proposal considering it was only my second semester. I have ideas why I didn't get it, but regardless, they don't just hand them out at NCCU and I expect the same is true for NTU and NTNU....Not having a scholarship is one of the reasons I quit (among many)...

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Well, NCCU is the second most coveted university, for locals, after NTU, and with the oldest English taught programs, so getting a scholarship is hard, even getting in is hard. NTNU is also among the top. Disclaimer: I paid my way.

Furthermore, universities do not have a lot of scholarships to give. There are many options before that: MOFA, MOE, ICDF, etc. before you go directly to the university. Normally, you apply at your country, and at that point, they do not know if you will even get in the university of your choice, let alone any university. So, that is why I said that there was no specific problem of getting a scholarship if the OP wanted a whole Chinese program, since that is not the question at that point. His experience and relevant plan, as you have stated, should be more important. nevertheless, as your case points out, scholarships are not there like low lying mangos for the take, especially for the really coveted tier universities. I bet as time goes by, even getting in will get trickier.

But yeah, NCCU should give out more scholarships with all the money it has gotten over the years, but government funding for universities is also stretched thin.

[archylgp]

Well, NCCU is the second most coveted university, for locals, after NTU, and with the oldest English taught programs, so getting a scholarship is hard, even getting in is hard. NTNU is also among the top. Disclaimer: I paid my way.

Furthermore, universities do not have a lot of scholarships to give. There are many options before that: MOFA, MOE, ICDF, etc. before you go directly to the university. Normally, you apply at your country, and at that point, they do not know if you will even get in the university of your choice, let alone any university. So, that is why I said that there was no specific problem of getting a scholarship if the OP wanted a whole Chinese program, since that is not the question at that point. His experience and relevant plan, as you have stated, should be more important. nevertheless, as your case points out, scholarships are not there like low lying mangos for the take, especially for the really coveted tier universities. I bet as time goes by, even getting in will get trickier.

But yeah, NCCU should give out more scholarships with all the money it has gotten over the years, but government funding for universities is also stretched thin.

Good point. So OP, you should make sure you apply for all the pre-entrance scholarships. (I should have done that...)