Student Life
 Campus Map (download)
Housing
(1) Dormitory
Foreign students will be offered dormitory rooms; there are no co-ed dormitories at NCCU. Graduate students are housed in double rooms, while undergraduate rooms house 4 students. Rooms are furnished, although you will have to buy a mattress, bedding, linens, etc. Dormitories are equipped with laundry facilities and television rooms. Cooking is prohibited in NCCU dormitories.
(2) Off-Campus Rental
You can find the off-campus rental information from NCCU's website. http://www.nccu.edu.tw/students/ . You can search for apartments according to a variety of parameters, including price, gender, location, phone number. Ma-Ma Tsuei Housing Service Association (崔媽媽基金會) is an excellent, affordable apartment-finding resource. Their office is near Kungkuan (公館) / NTU (台灣大學). They can help find apartments anywhere in Greater Taipei. Bring ID, and a few hundred NT to cover registration and an initial print-out of customized apartment leads. For more information:
Tel: 2365-8140; website: http://www.tmm.org.tw ; email: tmm@tpts5.seed.net.tw
Banking
There are ATMs (自動提款機) at two locations on campus, both are on the Plus, Cirrus and Visa networks. Many ATMs in Taiwan are not on these systems.
Taiwan's postal office (郵局) provides banking service; foreign students can open an account with a valid passport and a name chop (印章) (easily obtainable at shops which carve chops - there is one on campus). There is a postal office across from the NCCU main gate, and postal office ATMs can be found throughout the island- look for the green postal service sign.
Health (Help)
There is a NCCU health clinic across the street from NCCU on Chih-nan Road (指南路) which is free for NCCU students- simply present your student ID for medical treatment.
Telephone
Dormitory rooms are equipped with telephones On-Campus phone call is free. To make off-campus calls, you need to apply for a "099" number.
A 099 number is basically a calling card account, and allows you to make calls from any phone (dormitory phone, pay phone, etc), with the charge billed to your personal account. There will be booths around NCCU during the first few weeks of classes where you can apply for a 099 number.
Payphones can be found everywhere and accept either coins or one of two telephone cards; a dian-hua cah (電話卡) or an IC cah (IC卡). Cellular phones in Taiwan use the international (not the U.S.) standard. You can apply for a cellular phone service through one of many service providers (中華電信, 台灣大哥大, 遠傳, 和信, 泛亞) , or you can buy a pay-as-you-go chip/card at most convenience stores. For English directory assistance dial 106, Chinese service is available at 105.
Computer Facilities
There are desktop computers available on computer center (電算中心) for students to use. The hours are:
Computer Classroom: Mon.-Fri. 8:10 - 21:50.
B1 Computer Classroom: Sat.-Sun. 8:10 - 16:50.
The basement classroom will be closed on national holidays. Please contact the service desk of Computer Center for more information. Dormitory rooms have free internet connections.
Language courses
The Language Center offers Mandarin courses. Classes are 10 hours per week. One-on-one classes can be scheduled. The Language Center does not privilege NCCU students, so if you wish to attend their courses you must follow their application procedures, which means acting early.
Please note: credits earned from language courses cannot be counted in the total credits required for the MTS degree.
For more information about Chinese language courses, please go to the website of the NCCU Language Center at: http://mandarin.nccu.edu.tw/english/
Visa Application
(1) Applying for a visitor Visa
Before coming to Taiwan , it is important to apply for a Visitor Visa . This is because a landing visa is only valid for two weeks, and the process of changing a visitor visa to a resident visa may take up to a month. Most of Taiwan 's overseas visa offices will issue two month visitor visas within 24 hours. On your visa application form, in the section ‘reason for visit' check the ‘tourism' box. Once you are in Taiwan , changing a visitor visa to a resident visa is a strait forward process that involves a visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with documents provided to you by the university.
Alternately, NCCU will send a letter of Admission to all admitted students. Using this letter, students can apply for a resident visa at a Taiwanese embassy or diplomatic mission. However, this process is more complicated, and may take over a month. Some students have been asked to submit detailed financial accounts and certified documents of admission from the university before being considered for a resident visa in an overseas visa office.
(2) Changing a Visitor Visa to a Resident Visa
One may apply to change a Visitor Visa (single or multiple entries) to a Resident Visa after you get a student ID card. This process involves the following steps:
Step 1:Pay the incidental fee.
Step 2:Obtain your student ID card from Office of Academic Affairs Registration Section.Please photocopy the both side of your student card and has the official Chengchi University stamp on it, as copy without this stamp may be rejected when applying for an Alien Resident Certificate.
Step 3:Ministry of Foreign Affair at least 2 weeks before one's current visa expires with the following documents to get a Resident Visa: student ID card, passport, a duly completed application form with one photo.
Step 4:Apply for an Alien Resident Certificate ( 外僑居留證 ) at local National Immigration Agency (移民署) with application form, one's passport, Resident Visa, student card, NT$1000 and one 2*2 photos. Resident Visa holders are required to apply for an Alien Resident Certificate at the city/county police headquarters nearest to their residence in the ROC within 15 days after their arrival. In practice, most people go to the central office in Xi Man Ding. You may stay in the ROC as long as the Alien Resident Certificate remains valid.
NOTE:
•Aliens who have changed their domiciles during their residence shall register the change with Taipei City (or County) Police Headquarters. Otherwise, one will be fined NT$3.000~5,000.
•Aliens who have Resident Visa for more than four months should apply for National Health Insurance with Alien Resident Certificate at the local District Office. Otherwise, one will be fined NT$3,000~15,000 and be charged with the insurance fee from the date one is qualified for application.
•If you can't get your student ID card before visitor visa expires, you can use tuition receipt instead. A letter (not e mail) from the University may also be required.
(3) Extending an Alien Resident Certificate
One should begin preparing to apply for an extension at least two weeks before one's Alien Resident Certificate expires:
Step 1:One may need to pay tuition and fees for the upcoming term.
Step 2:Go to Taipei City (or County) Police Headquarters with one's passport, Alien Resident Certificate, student ID card.
(4) Leaving the Country
You must leave the country on or before the date the visa expires. If you overstay, you must pay a fine and leave the country within a limited time, and may have problems receiving new visas in the future.
If one's Visited Visa has been extended to the maximum of six months without obtaining a Resident visa, it is required that one leaves the country on or before the date the visa expires.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.iee.nccu.edu.tw/english/info/visa.php
About Taipei (Source: Taipei City Government)
Taipei is the capital city of Taiwan , R.O.C. with a population of over 2 millions. It is a big city with a dynamic and modern atmosphere. Taipei is located in the northern part of Taiwan and covers an area of 27,177 hectares. The city is situated in a basin surrounded by spectacular mountains. Many students ride scooters, and it is only a 20 minute ride from almost any part of Taipei to dramatic mountain scenery.
Most overseas students find Taipei an excellent place to live. The nightlife here is excellent, the food delicious, and the people genuinely helpful and friendly. There are several excellent museums, a host of excellent libraries, superb shopping (both modern and traditional) and vibrant night markets.
(1) Location
Located in northern Taiwan , Taipei is the political, economic, financial, and cultural center of the Republic of China. It has thriving arts and academic scene and countless modern commercial buildings. With its vibrant cultural and economic growth, it has become a modern international metropolis.
It also has an excellent Metro and Bus system. From downtown Taipei to the university campus only takes about 30 minutes.
(2) Geography
Taipei is nestled in a basin with mountains on all sides and covers an area of 27,177 hectares. Two beautiful peaks rise up steeply in the northeast: Mt. Tatun ( 大屯山 ) and Mt. Chihsing ( 七星山 ), both just over 1,000 meters high. Being 女 volcanic formations, they are gently in shape, contrasting with Taiwan's other harsh, jagged peaks. By virtue of this unusual topography, the area was made into Yangmingshan National Park ( 陽明山國家公園 ).
There are also several beaches in easy reach of Taipei . Fu-lung beach is only an hour by train from Taipei and Da-xi in Ilan is only a little further.
(3) Population
2.63 million (approx.)
(4) Language
Mandarin Chinese is the official language. Taiwanese ( 閩南話 ), Hakka ( 客家話 ), and other dialects are also spoken. However, after you arrive, you will find that almost everyone here speaks some English, and a lot of younger people are semi-fluent, so don't worry if you speak no Mandarin when you arrive. Road signs, road names, as well as tourist information are usually written in both Mandarin and English.
(5) Climate
Taipei has a subtropical climate. Summer is from May until September and is characterized by scorching heat and high humidity. Average temperatures range between 25.2 and 28.6 degrees centigrade. Autumn is from October to November, with average temperatures ranging between 22.2 and 24.2 degrees centigrade.
(Source: Central Weather Bureau, 1997)
In summer it is preferable to live somewhere with air conditioning. This is worth considering if you are looking to rent or share an apartment in Taipei . Mid January to mid February it gets chilly at night, but Taipei never gets really cold.
☆ If you want to know more information about Taiwan, please visit the website: Taipei City Government ( 台北市政府 )
http://english.taipei.gov.tw/TCG/index.jsp
☆ If you want to know more about the life in Taiwan , you could visit the websites we recommend:
Taipei Travel Net
http://ezgo.taipei-elife.net/Homepage/english/eng_index.htm
☆ Tourism Bureau Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Rep. of China ( 交通部觀光局 )
http://www.tbroc.gov.tw/
☆ Two other x-pat web sites that are useful when looking for accommodation or teaching jobs are:
www.tealit.com
www.forumosa.com
Transportation
Transportation is very convenient as there are bus stops located right outside the gates of NCCU. Furthermore, the closest MRT station (Taipei Zoo station) is just five minutes away by bus. Buses that reach NCCU are: 236, 237, 611, 530, and 282.
☆ Bus Routes Information: (content in Chinese)
http://ezgo.taipei-elife.net/Homepage/emap/program/html/bus.asp
☆ MRT Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (content in English)
http://home.trtc.com.tw/ehome/
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