Brief History
The predecessor of National Taiwan University was Taihoku Imperial University (TIU), established under Japanese rule in 1928. Its first president was Dr. Taira Shidehara. At the time of its founding, TIU comprised two faculties: the Faculty of Literature and Politics, and the Faculty of Science and Agriculture, with a total of 59 students. The Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Engineering were established in 1935 and 1943, respectively. In 1943, the Faculty of Science and Agriculture was further divided into the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Agriculture.
During the Taihoku Imperial University period, each faculty was organized into academic chairs (kōza), headed by professors and supported by associate professors, assistants, instructors and administrative staff. By 1945, the University had five faculties, 114 academic chairs, and 382 students.
After World War II and Taiwan's retrocession to Chinese Sovereignty, the R.O.C. government completed the taking-over work officially on November 15, 1945, with Dr. Tsung-lo Lo serving as the first president, and reorganized and renamed the school "National Taiwan University". The Faculty of Literature and Policitcs of TIU was divided into two colleges: the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Law. The University thus consisted of six colleges (Liberal Arts, Law, Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture) and had twenty-two departments with 500 odd students. The Night School, the College of Management, the College of Public Health, and the College of Electrical Engineering (renamed as the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2000) were established respectively in 1967, 1987, 1993, and 1997. In 1999, the College of Social Sciences replaced the College of Law, and the Department of Law was upgraded to become the College of Law. The Night School and the Center of Continuing Education were also combined into the Division of Continuing Education & Professional Development. In 2002, the College of Agriculture was renamed the College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture. In 2003, the College of Life Science was established. As of the academic year 2025–2026, the University has a total of 17 colleges (including International College, D-School, Graduate School of Advanced Technology, Center for Education, School of Professional Education and Continuing Studies), 3 professional schools (dentistry, veterinary medicine, and pharmacy), 61 departments and 154 graduate institutes (including 41 graduate programs). The number of students reached 34,935 in 2025, including 17,568 university students and 17,367 graduate students.
