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Tzu Chi University

Buddhist university in Hualien City, Taiwan

Tzu Chi University
Traditional Chinese慈濟大學
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinCíjì Dàxué
Wade-GilesTz’u² Chi⁴ Ta⁴-hsüeh²
Tongyong PinyinCíhjì Dàsyué
Southern Min
Hokkien POJChû-chè Tāi-ha̍k

Tzu Chi University (TCU; Chinese: 慈濟大學; Wade-Giles: Tz’u2 Chi4 Ta4-hsüeh2; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chû-chè Tāi-ha̍k) is a private university in Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan. It was founded by the Tzu Chi Foundation (NGO). TCU has strong ties with Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation as well as five teaching hospitals in other parts of Taiwan.

In 2024, Tzu Chi University of Science and Technology was merged as Jinanguo Campus.

01History

The institution was established as the Tzu Chi Medical College in April 1994. Humanities and social science students have been accepted since 1998, when the name was changed to Tzu Chi College of Medicine and Humanities. In July 2000, the name was changed to Tzu Chi University.

The Buddhist Tzu Chi University as seen from the main gate.
The Buddhist Tzu Chi University as seen from the main gate.

02Rankings

Tzu Chi University rankings
Global, Overall
THE World1201-1500 (2023)
Regional, Overall
THE Asia401-500 (2023)
National, Overall
THE National18-29 (2023)
The Da Ai building (Great Love building)
The Da Ai building (Great Love building)

03Organization

Tzu Chi University is headed by a president and a board of trustees. The university is organized into four colleges that contain 18 research institutes and 17 academic departments.

College of Medicine

  • School of Medicine
  • Master Program in Biochemistry
  • Master Program in Microbiology and Immunology
  • Master Program in Physiological and Anatomical Medicine
  • Master/PhD Program in Pharmacology and Toxicology
  • Graduate Institute of Medical Science
  • Department of Nursing
  • Department of Medical Informatics
  • Department of Public Health
  • Department of Laboratory Medicine & Biotechnology
  • Department of Physical Therapy
  • Department of Life Science
  • Graduate Institute of Life Science
  • Department of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics
  • Graduate Institute of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics

College of Humanities & Social Science

  • Department of Human Development & Psychology
  • Department of Social Work
  • Institute of Religion
  • Institute of Social Work
  • Department of Oriental Philology

College of Education & Communication

  • Department of Communication
  • Department of Child Development and Family Studies
  • Institute of Education
  • Center for Teacher Education
  • Center for General Education
  • Center for Physical Education

International College

  • Department of English Language and Literature
  • Bachelor Program in Management of Service Industries
  • Foreign Language Education Center
  • Chinese Language Center
  • Media Production and Education Center
  • Department of Business Administration
  • International Service Industry Management Bachelor's Degree Program
  • Department of Information Technology and Management
  • Department of Medical and Health Management

The university also runs the Affiliated Senior High School of Tzu Chi University, a daughter institution for secondary-school students in Taiwan.

Academic centers

  • Medical Simulation Center
  • Doping Control Center
  • Animal Experimentation Center
  • Continuing Education Center
  • Tzuchi University Radio Station (FM 88.3 MHz)
The Jing Si Hall
The Jing Si Hall

04Campus facilities

  • Library: Around 350,000 volumes and Internet connection to other libraries in Taiwan.
  • Information System Center: Computer training courses for students, staff, and faculty and a multimedia room.
  • Gymnasium: Indoor facilities for badminton, basketball, table tennis, aerobics, and fitness, an indoor Olympic standard swimming pool, and outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, and a jogging track.
  • On-campus dormitories: Four students share one room with a bathroom.
  • Cafeteria: vegetable meals, NT$15 for breakfast, NT$25 for lunch and dinner.

Extracurricular activities

The university had 56 student clubs or societies in 2010.

Tradition

  • 10 km Road Race: Before students graduated, every undergraduate had to run the race in 80 minutes biyearly. Starting from 2013, however, it is no longer required for students to participate.

05Presidents

  • February 1993-May 2000, Lee Ming-liang (李明亮), MD-PhD: Minister of the Department of Health of the Republic of China, 2000-2002
  • March 2001-July 2002, C.-F. Lan (藍忠孚), PhD.
  • December 2002-November 2005, Jye, Siung Fang (方菊雄), PhD.
  • March 2006-July 2019, Pen-Jung Wang (王本榮), MD-PhD.
  • August 2019- , Ingrid Y. Liu (劉怡均), PhD.
College of Humanities & Social Science
College of Humanities & Social Science

06International academic exchanges

The sports complex
The sports complex

07Transportation

The university is within walking distance west from Hualien Station of Taiwan Railway.

Watch videos about Tzu Chi UniversityExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Tzu Chi University, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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