The Taiwan Scholarship Program - All levels

The Taiwan Scholarship Program Guidelines

1. Purpose of the Taiwan Scholarship Program

Thepurpose of the Taiwan Scholarship Program is to provide foreignstudents with opportunities to pursue their studies in Taiwan and toincrease their understanding of Taiwan's development, culturalheritage, and customs. It is also hoped that through this scholarshipprogram, Taiwan will be able to broaden its foreign relations,strengthen its existing international friendships - especially with itsallies - enhance educational and academic exchanges, and be supportiveof fostering cooperation with foreign governments, institutions,cultural and educational organizations, and other associations.

2. Types of Scholarships

(1)Chinese Language Scholarships: These scholarships will allow foreignstudents to enroll at university-affiliated Chinese language centers inTaiwan for the purpose of studying Mandarin Chinese. A stipend ofNT$25,000 per month will be provided, over the course of one year.

(2)Undergraduate Scholarships: Foreign undergraduate students will be ableto receive a stipend of NT$25,000 per month, over the course of oneyear, in order to assist them in pursuing undergraduate studies atuniversities and colleges in Taiwan.

(3) PostgraduateScholarships: Scholarships in the amount of NT$30,000 per month will begiven to qualified postgraduate foreign students in order to allow themto pursue their master's degrees or doctoral degrees at universitiesand colleges in Taiwan. Master's degree students will be able toreceive their scholarships for up to two years, doctoral students forup to three years.

(4) Diplomatic Scholarships: Thisscholarship program is administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairsand the Ministry of Education for the purpose of fostering stronginternational friendships and bilateral relations. Scholarshiprecipients will be provided with monthly stipends of NT$30,000 andreturn trip economy-class airfare.

The Taiwan Scholarship Program Guidelines

1. Purpose of the Taiwan Scholarship Program

2. Types of Scholarships

Recipients will be able tochoose to study Mandarin Chinese or to pursue undergraduate or graduateprograms, at institutions in Taiwan.

Distribution of funds willbe allocated according to the nature of the scholarship. Primarilyapplicants from allied or developing countries will be eligible.

(5)University and College Scholarships & MOE Subsidy Programs:Individual universities and colleges will be able to use subsidiesprovided by the Ministry of Education (MOE) together with other fundingto establish scholarship programs. The universities and colleges willdetermine the number of scholarship recipients and the amount of eachscholarship.

(6) International Cooperation & DevelopmentFund Scholarships: The establishment, of the ICDF Scholarships, are inaccordance with the Plan for International Training Programs in HumanResources.

Scholarship recipients are responsible for all housing, tuition fees, health insurance and travel costs.

3. The Scholarship Selection Process

Scholarshipapplications for individuals who want to study Mandarin Chinese atuniversity-affiliated Chinese language centers in Taiwan, pursueundergraduate and postgraduate studies at Chinese universities andcolleges in Taiwan, or for diplomatic relations, will be evaluatedaccording to the following guidelines:

(1) The Number ofScholarship Recipient Awards: The number of scholarship awards will bedetermined on an annual basis by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs andthe Ministry of Education.

(2) Qualification Requirements: Applicants must meet the following requirements:

A.They must submit academic records of outstanding performance, be ofgood moral character, and in excellent mental and physical health.
B. They should neither be overseas Chinese nor ROC nationals.
C. They may not be scholarship recipients from other ROC government agencies or institutions in Taiwan.
D. They may re-apply for scholarship awards but must do so through the original ROC overseas mission.

(3) Application & Selection Process: The submission of applications will be subject to the following guidelines:

A.The Acceptance of Applications: All applicants must send theirapplications to the overseas mission of their citizenship. The ROCoverseas missions will be responsible for establishing their mission'sindividual guidelines, which in turn will be sent to the Ministry ofEducation and, when applicable, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Inaddition to these guidelines, application packets must include acompleted MOE Taiwan Scholarship Application Form, an officialcertificate showing the highest academic level and ranking an applicanthas obtained, an official academic transcript, letters ofrecommendation, and other documents that may be necessary.

B.The Selection of Recipients: The ROC overseas missions will review,rank, and select candidates' applications. Award recipients will benotified in writing, with the instructions that they must beresponsible for directly contacting the institutions where theythemselves will be studying.

Once they have been accepted, theymust submit to the ROC overseas mission that issued them theirscholarship an official letter of acceptance to study in Taiwan fromthe institution, along with a written letter informing therepresentative at the mission of their intended arrival date in Taiwan.Those who fail to complete this process within a set period of timewill be notified by the ROC overseas missions that they have forfeitedtheir scholarship awards.

C. Important Deadlines: The ROCoverseas missions' deadline is set by each mission for the receipt ofeach scholarship recipient's letters of acceptance/commitment to studyin Taiwan. However, the Ministry of Education must receive from all theoverseas missions the application forms of all recipients, the signedterms of agreement form, and the name lists of scholarship recipientsby June 30th. (For Diplomatic Scholarships, the deadline is April 30).

Thisinformation, along with the application forms for Taiwan Scholarshipsand terms of agreement for Taiwan Scholarships will be sent to theMinistry of Education for processing. Those scholarships that areregulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as in the case ofdiplomatic scholarships, will be sent to said ministry.

In thecase of special circumstances, such as deadline restrictions, the ROCmission will notify the Ministry of Education beforehand.

D.For individuals applying for Diplomatic Scholarships, the Ministry ofForeign Affairs has regulated the following guidelines:
1. All overseas missions must submit a list of the names of candidates for scholarships to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. All scholarship recipients will be announced after being approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will reimburse overseas missions fortheir purchase of round-trip economy class airline tickets for theirmission's scholarship recipients, upon submission of the paid airlinereceipts.

(4) Scholarship Time Limitations: Scholarships mustbe used, with the exception of summer and language course scholarships,between September and August of the following year.

A. Chinese Scholarships: Language students may have this scholarship up to one year.

B.Undergraduate and Postgraduate Scholarships: For undergraduatestudents, scholarships must be used within one year; for master'sdegree students the time limit is two years, and for doctoral degreestudents the time limit is three years.

The Scholarship Awardperiod will begin the month the recipient enrolls for study and willcontinue until the last day of the duration of the course's term; oruntil the month that the recipient graduates, completes the course,interrupts the schooling process, or discontinues studying.

C.Diplomatic Scholarships: The duration of the scholarships will dependupon whether or not the recipient is undertaking language training,undergraduate or postgraduate studies, however, in most cases, theserecipients will be subjected to the designated guidelines for allscholarship recipients.

(5) The Suspension and Revocation of Scholarships

A.Suspension: If a student is taking Chinese language instruction and isabsent for more than ten hours of class within a single month, then thestudent's scholarship will be suspended for that month.

B.Revocation of Scholarships: If a student's academic average is lessthan 60% in any given semester while undertaking undergraduate studies,or is less than 70% while undertaking postgraduate studies, or if thestudent chooses to discontinue studies, her/his scholarship status willbe revoked once the institution where the student is studying hasinformed the Ministry of Education of the student's status.

(6) The Allocation and Verification of accounts of Scholarship Stipends

A.Allocation: Scholarship stipends will be allocated two times a year, inJanuary and September. Universities, colleges, and Chinese languagecenters may apply to the Ministry of Education in order to receiveallocations. They must supply invoices and student rosters with theirrequests.

Each institution will pay a monthly stipend directly into students' bank accounts or to the students directly.

B.Verification of accounts: Scholarship verification will be conductedtwice a year, in August and December. The Ministry of Education willinstitute the process of verification of accounts for the institutionsand language centers once they have provided scholarship studentrosters and student signed receipts which show that money has beentransferred into student bank accounts.

(7) Additional Information

A.ROC overseas missions will be responsible for organizing briefings inorder to provide scholarship recipients with relevant informationbefore they travel to Taiwan.

B. Scholarship recipients willregister at their designated language centers, universities or collegesprior to and including the official day of enrollment. Failure willresult in the notification to the Ministry of Education by theirinstitution, university, or college. If the student is receiving adiplomatic scholarship, the student's name will also be submitted tothe Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ROC overseas mission will replacethis student with another scholarship recipient.

C. The ROCoverseas mission offices will ask scholarship recipients to providethem with official academic transcripts, records of achievement,reports, and postal and email addresses within one month of thecompletion of their studies and return to their respective countries.

D.The ROC overseas mission offices will send each year before October31st a comprehensive evaluation, which will include each student'sacademic study completion records to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs orthe Ministry of Education.

E. If the scholarship recipientsfind that they need to change their institution, university, or collegestudy program due to health, psychological state, or physicalsurroundings, recipients must apply to the Ministry of Educationthrough the original ROC overseas mission with a request to transfertheir scholarship award to another academic program of study. They mustalso submit a written statement of their situation;, a certificate ofqualifying scores issued by the original university, college, orlanguage center; and an offer of invitation for admission by the newuniversity, college, or language center. Only one transfer ispermitted.

F. Scholarship recipients who would like tointerrupt their academic studies and take a leave of absence must applyto their schools, along with providing the necessary supportingdocuments. The school will then forward their documents and request tothe Ministry of Education. Any remaining scholarship money will beforfeited.

G. Undergraduate and postgraduate students who findthat they are not competent in their areas of study due to languagedifficulties will be able to apply to the Ministry of Education for asubsidy to study Mandarin Chinese for one term. The amount of thesubsidy will be the value of half the fees for the language center.This subsidy will not exceed two semesters.

H. Diplomaticscholarship students will also be subject to the same terms as theother scholarship recipients. However, if special circumstances shouldarise, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Educationwill be consulted for their approval regarding any forthcomingscholarship adjustments.

URL Link: The Taiwan Scholarship Program
The Taiwan Scholarship Program Guidelines