Tunghai University (THU; Chinese: 東海大學; pinyin: Dōnghǎi Dàxué; lit. 'East Sea University') is a private Christian research university in Xitun District, Taichung, Taiwan. It was established in 1955 by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia as the successor to the Christian colleges that were closed in mainland China following the Chinese Civil War.
The university is organized into nine academic colleges, which collectively consist of 34 academic departments which host undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. It is known for its emphasis on a liberal arts education. Its 329-acre (134 ha) campus is located near the foothills of Dadu Mountain and is designated as a cultural heritage site by the Bureau of Cultural Heritage. It is the largest private university campus in the country by land area, and houses landmarks such as the Luce Memorial Chapel, designed by I. M. Pei.
Contents
History
After the Chinese Civil War (1929–1949) and the closing of Christian higher education institutions by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Christian officials in the Nationalist government appealed to the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia to establish a new Christian institution of higher education in Taiwan. The board affirmed in 1953 that "a Christian university should be a permanent element in Taiwan," and the Taichung City Government subsequently donated 345 acres for the founding of Tunghai University, which was conceived as the successor to the twelve Christian universities that had operated in mainland China before 1949. The planning for the university's campus, layout, and architecture began in 1953 and was overseen by prominent architects I. M. Pei, Chen Chi-kwan, and Chang Chao-Kang, with Pei as the chief architect.
The university was formally established in 1955 by Methodist missionaries and was located on the Dadu Plateau of Taichung. The university's name, Tunghai (pinyin: Dōnghǎi; Wade–Giles: Tung¹-hai³; lit. 'East Sea'), referred to its position east of the Taiwan Strait. Time magazine described it as "the first Christian university in Formosa's history." It was also the first private university founded in the country. U.S. vice president Richard Nixon participated in the ground-breaking ceremony on November 11, 1953. I. M. Pei designed the university's original three terraced quadrangles and four student dormitories. Beauson Tseng, a professor of English literature at National Taiwan University, became its first president.
Tunghai originally housed 35 faculty members, comprising mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and American scholars. Its first class of students were selected in the summer of 1954 from a pool of 5,800 applicants. The student body was predominantly mainland Chinese and had a male-to-female ratio of 3:1. By 1995, the university had 12,971 students and a student-to-professor ratio of 18:1.
Academics
Tunghai has nine academic colleges: the College of Science, the College of Arts, the College of Management, the College of Social Sciences, the College of Engineering, the College of Agriculture, the College of Law, the College of Fine Arts and Creative Design, and the International College. The colleges are subdivided into 36 total academic departments. As of 2022, the university has 36 undergraduate degree programs, 35 master's degree programs, 15 doctoral degree programs, and 16 dual degree programs.
College of Arts
Department of Chinese Literature
Department of Foreign Languages and Literature
Department of History
Department of Japanese Language and Culture
Department of Philosophy
International Graduate Program of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language
English Language Center
College of Science
Department of Life Science
Department of Chemistry
Department of Mathematics
Department of Physics
International Ph. D. Program in Biomedical & Materials Science
International Graduate Degree Program for Biodiversity
College of Engineering
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
Department of Computer Science
Department of Environmental Science
Department of Industrial Engineering
Department of Electrical Engineering
College of Management
Department of Accounting
Department of Business Administration
Department of Finance
Department of Information Management
Department of International Business
Department of Statistics
Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA)
Global Master of Business Administration (Global MBA)
College of Social Science
Department of Economics
Department of Political Science
Department of Public Management and Policy
Department of Social Work
Department of Sociology
College of Agriculture and Health
Department of Animal Science
Department of Food Science
Department of Hospitality Management
College of Fine Arts and Creative Design
Department of Fine Arts
Department of Music
Department of Architecture
Department of Industrial Design
Department of Landscape Architecture
College of Law
Department of Law
International College
In 2014, the university established its English-taught International College, offering three bachelor's degree programs: international business administration (IBA), sustainability science and engineering (SSE), and an interdisciplinary program.
In 2020, the International College began accepting international students who would like to learn Chinese without declaring a major in the first two years. In their junior and senior year, students can declare a major in either programs within the International College or other colleges at Tunghai University.
Center for General Education
The university puts emphasis on liberal education. The center offers courses in the fields of natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and Western classics.
Library
The Tunghai University Main Library is located at the end of the Campus Mall. Library holdings include, approximately, 600,000 volumes, 6,515 current serials, 21,523 electronic serials, nonprint formats, and rare books.
Ranking
Ecological and social responsibility
Tunghai University is ranked in third place among all the universities in Taiwan, and first among private universities, in Times Higher Education's University Impact Rankings, 2020, which assesses universities against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In the 2020 Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Award (TCSA), Tunghai University scored high in the categories of Sustainability Model University.
Tunghai also won USR's Best Sustainability Project Awards. Tunghai University and National Taiwan University both won Golden class honors.
External Affiliations
The university is member of the following international organizations and consortia:
Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia
Alliance of Asian Liberal Arts Universities
Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
Campus life and traditions
The Luce Memorial Chapel
The Luce Chapel is a Christian chapel at Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan. Henry R. Luce, the founder of Time Magazine and Life Magazine, funded its construction to commemorate his father, Henry W. Luce. It is the work of Taiwanese architect Chen Chi-Kwan and Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. It is a landmark of Tunghai University and Taichung City. On April 25, 2019, it was declared a national monument by the Ministry of Culture.
Priest Bell Tower
Built in 1966, the Priest Bell Tower is located in front of the entrance of the Luce Memorial Chapel in Tunghai University. In 2017, the Taichung City Cultural Assets Office registered it as a municipal monument. The Bell Tower is named in honor of Elsie Priest, who was invited to Taiwan by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA) in early 1955 to assist Tunghai University as the chief accounting officer and general secretary. Priest made many contributions to the university in its early years.
Tunghai Experimental Farm
The farm is the largest farm for education and student internships in the country. Covering 50 hectares (120 acres), there are about 200 dairy cows on the farm, which produces Tunghai's dairy products, including milk and ice cream.
Wenli Boulevard (Arts and Science Boulevard)
With the red bricks and gray tiles of colleges on both sides and the dense shade of the trees, Wenli Boulevard serves as the main line of movement between the colleges.
List of presidents
Beauson Tseng, 1953–1958
Wu Teh Yao, 1958–1972
Ming-Shan Hsieh, 1972–1978
Mei Ko-wan, 1978–1992
Ta-Nien Ruan, 1992–1995
Kang-Pei Wang, 1995–2004
Haydn Chen, 2004–2012
Ming-Jer Tang, 2013–2015
Mao-Jiun Wang, 2016–present
Notable alumni
Tunghai University alumni are well represented across various fields, including politics, where several have served as Premier of the Republic of China and President of the Legislative Yuan. The academic community also boasts numerous distinguished scholars. As of 2025, the university's alumni include one academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, one honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects, two members of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, two fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and fourteen academicians of Academia Sinica, ranking third in Taiwan in terms of the number of Academia Sinica members.
Giddens Ko, Blogger, Author and Film Director
Chen Long-bin, sculptor
Chiu Ching-chun, Magistrate of Hsinchu County (2009–2018)
Chung Ling, writer, critic, educator and translator
Pei-yuan Chia (1961), retired Citicorp executive
Ho Min-hao, member of Legislative Yuan (2002–2008)
Ho Ping, film director
Huang Teng-hui, artist and entrepreneur
Kolas Yotaka, spokesperson of Executive Yuan
Che-Ming Ko, nuclear physicist
Liau Huei-fang, Deputy Minister of Labor (2016-2017)
Ping-hui Liao (1976), professor of Taiwan studies
TC Lin (1988 exchange student), filmmaker, photographer, and writer
Pan Shih-wei, Minister of Labor (2014)