I attended National Chengchi University on a direct exchange for one academic year in 2009-2010. As an undergraduate, I was placed in the Department of Diplomacy and also took graduate-level classes in the International Communication program and Asia-Pacific Studies program since they were taught in English. I also took Mandarin language classes at the Language Center five days a week.
The Mandarin instruction was excellent; the English-taught classes were not so great. As a native English speaker--and usually the only one in the classroom--I could often get away with writing anything. This was unfortunate because I didn't feel like I really had a change to grow my critical thinking skills. That said, the language classes more than made up for it--I was constantly challenged and frequently exhausted by the end of the three-hour class.
The program in NCCU has, since I left, really bolstered its support for international students. The year I arrived, they had just hired an international student counselor. There is now also an International Student Association and the local Student Ambassadors provide great assistance to new students and ultimately become very good friends.
The university is situated on the bottom of a mountain and is located out the outskirts of Taipei City. While it takes a little while to get downtown, I appreciated being away from it all. I could frequent traveling up the mountain either by foot, bus, or gondola and loll around for hours in the many tea shops on the mountainside. It was nice to have the green space in a very urban city.
In the time I was there, I saw nearly all of Taiwan. It is fairly easy to travel around; the metro is easily accessible and can take you to all parts of the city. There are also numerous buses, trains and a new high-speed rail to take you to all parts of the country.
To find out more about my experience, check out: http://crackingtheegg.wordpress.com
