Education in Taiwan with a scholarship

Education in Taiwan plays an important role in the development of the country. To attract more international students to local universities, the Ministry of Education has introduced various grants and scholarships aimed at supporting foreign applicants.

Universities in Taiwan

The top 6 most popular universities in Taiwan include:

Popular areas of study: IT, business administration, management, engineering areas, finance, medicine bioengineering.

Tuition fees range from $2,000 to $5,000 per year. The languages of instruction are Chinese and English. There is a greater choice of programs in English at the master’s and doctoral programs than at the bachelor’s degree. About 60 programs are available for undergraduate studies. Students can independently choose subjects at all levels of study.
The academic year in universities consists of two semesters and winter and summer holidays. Most universities admit applicants twice a year. Applications for programs starting in the fall semester must be submitted in late winter or spring, and for spring semesters in summer or autumn.

Bachelor’s studies last 4 years, master’s – 2 years, and doctoral studies – 4 years.
For programs in English, applicants from non-English speaking countries must provide an IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC certificate. Applicants who want to study in Chinese must take the Taiwan Chinese TOECFL exam, either prior to application or during the first semester of study at a level not lower than the third (category B). The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) certificate is not suitable as the main document of language proficiency, it comes as an additional advantage.

Since Taiwan has not signed the Hague Convention, the country’s universities do not accept documents certified by an apostille. Therefore, the authenticity of the documents needs to be confirmed at the regional representative office of Taiwan. Applicants are required to certify copies of certificates, diplomas and transcripts. The process is not fast, so it takes some time.

Scholarships

The receipt of the government scholarship is through the embassy or representative office of Taiwan.

Taiwan Scholarship scholarship holders pursuing an undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate study at any of the Taiwan universities are provided with the following conditions:

Tuition and payment of academic fees, including credit fee: up to 40 thousand NTD per semester (if the tuition fee exceeds the specified limit, then these costs must be covered by the student himself, however, there are some universities that in this case offer their grants in addition to Taiwan Scholarship).

Subsistence allowance: for undergraduate students – monthly stipend of NTD 15000; Master’s and doctoral students – montly stipend of NTD 20000.

Expenses not covered by the scholarship and paid by the student (or partially from the monthly stipend – at the discretion of the scholarship holder): administrative fees, support by a supervisor, insurance, accommodation, Internet access. The term for obtaining a scholarship for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies is 4, 2 and 4 years, respectively. The total duration of the scholarship should not exceed 5 years.

There are also university scholarships. Different conditions are offered: monthly stipend for a year, tuition coverage or tuition coverage and monthly stipend. Every semester or at the end of the year, you need to confirm a high GPA in order to extend the scholarship.
You need to carefully monitor the deadlines for submitting documents. All universities have different application deadlines, the government scholarship has its own application deadline.

Application documents

The standard package of application documents consists of:
1) Application form – a form that must be filled out on the website or by hand and then scanned;
2) Copy of passport;
3) Certificate/diploma of previous education and transcript;
4) Language proficiency certificate;
5) Bank statement with the presence of $ 2000-8000. If the student is applying for a scholarship, then this must be indicated and then a bank statement is not needed.
6) 1-2 letters of recommendation. Contact details must be provided, as a confirmation email will be sent to the recommender;
7) Motivation letter;
8) CV;
9) Self-introduction video.

Cost of living

Accommodation is a significant part of the cost of living. A student can live in a dormitory or rent an apartment. The cost of renting a dormitory room depends on the number of people living in the room, there are rooms for 1, 2, 3 and 4 students. Students have to pay for electricity. The number of dorm rooms is limited, so before you go to Taiwan, you need to check the availability of rooms at the international office at the university. If there are no available rooms, it is worth booking a hotel for a few days to find suitable accommodation.

When renting housing, it should be borne in mind that the rent will be from 7000NTD / month and above. The rent is affected by the location, the age of the building, the size of the room, the availability of furniture, etc. You can rent an apartment and live alone or rent a room and live with roommates. If you look for an apartment through an agency, then the agent also receives about 50% for one month of rent.

There are a few things to keep in mind when renting an apartment:

1) Regardless of how long the apartment will be rented – most often rented for six months or a year – you need to sign a contract, because if the landlord suddenly asks you to move out before the end of the rental period, then you will need evidence to claim compensation.

2) When signing the contract, be sure to ask the landlord for an identity card, proof of ownership of the property, property tax, or official confirmation of all of the above to verify that he is the landlord.

3) When you first move in, be sure to take pictures of the property so that when you move out, you can return the room to its original appearance and avoid any disputes.
It is worth counting on about $ 400-500 for living expenses per month, but more is possible, it depends on the student’s expenses and the city of residence. The student has the right to work no more than 20 hours per week and full time during vacations, but permission must be obtained from the university and the work must be related to the student’s specialty. Also, the university often offers part-time jobs.

Students can eat in the student canteen and cafes or cook at home. The student canteens have a large selection of dishes, there is a choice not only of Taiwanese food, but also of other Asian cuisines. Meals are paid using a student card, which is issued for all students upon registration at the university. At the university, you can not only have lunch and dinner, but also breakfast. It costs NTD 30-150, while prices for European dishes in cafes start at NTD 300.

Medicine in Taiwan is not cheap. Many foreigners take out state insurance. If you have insurance, when you visit a doctor and receive a prescription for medicines, you can purchase medicines at the hospital under insurance. You can submit an application 4 months after obtaining residency, and if the next semester of study is paid. The insurance covers treatment in the hospital and during the doctor’s appointment, the insurance holder pays 158NTD, this cost includes the doctor’s appointment, medicines and tests. The insurance also covers dental treatment. The cost of insurance is 800NTD/month.

Due to its location, Taiwan is a great place for outdoor enthusiasts. Mountains cover about two-thirds of the island’s surface.Therefore, there are many well-equipped mountain trails for lovers of hiking. Taiwan is washed by both the seas and the ocean, so you can go diving and surfing. Camping is also popular with the locals.