NTU Graduate Entrance Exam for foreign students

[bluepoppy]

Is there anyone out there who has studied in Taiwan for a graduate degree?

Or who is planning on doing so?

Having read the NTU website about this, it *seems* like sometimes you only need a letter from a Professor saying that your Chinese is adequte for the course...But for the course I'm interested in you have to sit an entrance exam for foreigners.

Has anyone sat (or thinking or sitting for) this entrance exam? Could you tell me anything about it? At the moment I can't tell if this is something I can do or if it's byond reach...

Absolutely any information is welcome, I emailed the international office but so far no reply... and it's the registration time soon...

[marcopolo79]

I'm currently enrolled in the History department at NTU for a MA, I didn't have to take an exam, but there was an interview. Which department are you applying for? The exams and requirements vary with the department

I think part of the reason why I was admitted was because I received an award (The Ordinary Scholarship from the Ministry of Education) and presented myself very well during the interview.

If you have any concrete accomplishments that can attest to your Chinese proficiency, such as HSK scores or grades from advanced Chinese coursework, then these will definitely help your admission chances in addition to your entrance exam scores.

[bluepoppy]

Thanks Marcopolo 79

I've now found out that there isn't an entrance exam after all for the subject I'm applying for, which is law (the Taiwanese equivalent of a JD). I suppose that means I will just apply and see what happens. I will take your advice though and sit an HSK exam when I can.

Does the requirement to take classes outside your subject continue for a Masters?

Also, how many essays and exams per term does the average student have? I am not sure whether my written Chinese actually would be adequate or not.

[marcopolo79]

Make sure the program you're applying to is a graduate program, Law in Taiwan is given to undergraduates, a graduate degree in Law would be equivalent to an LLM, not a JD (at least according to the American system).

For my classes, I have to write 1-2 summaries each week, with about 1-3 research papers of decent length per term. My written Chinese ability has improved a lot (not to mention my Chinese typing skills), but it still leaves a lot to be desired. The professors are very understanding and accomodating, unless you intend to publish what you write, you can hand in work that would be considered unacceptable for native students (this is especially true of ordinary coursework, term papers ought to be more polished). More important than your writing ability is your reading ability and listening comprehension, you can always get a tutor or a friend to help revise your written work, but if you're unable to understand the lectures or the reading material, then you're truly screwed.

I don't know what the Law program is like, but if you're determined to complete the whole program, be prepared to devote several years to the endeavor, the History MA will take about 3-4 years if I complete all the requirements, MA programs in general here are much more intense and long term than anywhere else, the typical MA thesis is often comporable to a US PhD thesis.

[bluepoppy]

I'm still trying to find out the exact details of the degree, just waiting for a reply to my email. What's slightly confusing is that while says on the English website that the degree is like a JD (a second degree for people holding a non-law first degree?), it doesn't seem to be mentioned in Chinese.

England+Wales are like Taiwan in that we also study law as undergraduates, so a graduate degree is an LLM, if you have a non-law first degree you can do a 'conversion' course at law school, and we don't have a JD really.

Wow, I was surprised at the whole course being three to four years, I thought it was two. I'll probably have to think about funding in that case, I might have to work for longer first to be able to afford it. It's also a difficult decision in that I would have to re-qualify in England to be able to come back and work here later on.

Thanks for the information, it's really useful ^__^

[marcopolo79]

I think only the liberal arts degrees might take up to four years to complete, since the law cirriculum is more standardized, if they say 2 years than it proabably takes 2 years, I looked at their website, according to the Chinese page, the MA degree is suitable for people who don't have a law background but who have an undergraduate degree in social sciences, commercial law (I think, I'm not sure what 法商 is), any degree from a business/management school, and people who have attended Taiwanese police college. Additionally, the MA program is divided into 7 groups, each group's entrance exam tests different subjects, but in general they are Taiwanese Civil Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, etc. (check http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/5_2.htm)

The English site describes a completely different program which is solely for foreigners ("Graduate Institute of Interdisciplinary Legal Studies "). You have to be very careful if you intend to use this degree to further your legal education back in the U.K., I have a few friends who are doing their M.B.A. at NCCU, they say that their degree will count in certain countries, but most European coutnries and America might not give it the same weight as a degree completed elsewhere. Since the advertise the program as a non-traditional, interdisciplinary program, I'm almost certain that this degree will not be equivalent to a law degree.

I really wouldn't worry about funding, there are ample opportunities for scholarships and assistantships (I'm a TA, my TA salary each term is basically equivalent to tuition), additionally, as a native English speaker, you can earn a decent salary by teaching or tutoring English, with just a little bit of capital, you can become financially self-sufficient relatively quickly, especially if you live in the dorms. The tuition rates for foreigners are no higher than for Taiwanese, it's not like the U.K. system where they are extremely reliant on foreign student rates to subsidize the education system, so you take advantage of your high earning potential while paying the same rate that everyone else does.

[marcopolo79]

I think only the liberal arts degrees might take up to four years to complete, since the law cirriculum is more standardized, if they say 2 years than it proabably takes 2 years, I looked at their website, according to the Chinese page, the MA degree is suitable for people who don't have a law background but who have an undergraduate degree in social sciences, commercial law (I think, I'm not sure what 法商 is), any degree from a business/management school, and people who have attended Taiwanese police college. Additionally, the MA program is divided into 7 groups, each group's entrance exam tests different subjects, but in general they are Taiwanese Civil Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, etc. (check http://www.law.ntu.edu.tw/5_2.htm)

The English site describes a completely different program which is solely for foreigners ("Graduate Institute of Interdisciplinary Legal Studies "). You have to be very careful if you intend to use this degree to further your legal education back in the U.K., I have a few friends who are doing their M.B.A. at NCCU, they say that their degree will count in certain countries, but most European coutnries and America might not give it the same weight as a degree completed elsewhere. Since the advertise the program as a non-traditional, interdisciplinary program, and given the fact that it is rather new and probably unknown, I'm almost certain that this degree will not be seen as being equivalent to a law degree, at least back in America.

I really wouldn't worry about funding, there are ample opportunities for scholarships and assistantships (I'm a TA, my TA salary each term is basically equivalent to tuition), additionally, as a native English speaker, you can earn a decent salary by teaching or tutoring English, with just a little bit of capital, you can become financially self-sufficient relatively quickly, especially if you live in the dorms. The tuition rates for foreigners are no higher than for Taiwanese, it's not like the U.K. system where they are extremely reliant on foreign student rates to subsidize the education system, so you take advantage of your high earning potential while paying the same rate that everyone else does.

[bluepoppy]

It's lucky for me that you worked it out, thanks... It didn't occur to me that the course in 'Interdisciplinary Legal Studies' is just for foreigners, it's not really the kind of thing I'm looking for.

I don't know what 法商 is, could it be 'legal theory' as in 商兌?

I will have to contact them and see whether they usually admit foreigners onto the usual LLM/MA. I had a look at the courses online, and they look really interesting, apart from 'Engineering and law' which, for some reason, is a compulsary course

I also will need to find out what the criteria are for being accepted into the various groups, only 7 or 8 people are accepted for some groups. It must be difficult for people to sit entrace exams in law when they haven't studied it formally. Maybe there's buxibans for that.

It is a diffiult question re：the value of law degree overseas. I looked at their information online and it seems that the majority of their staff trained abroad...someone said to me yesterday "If Taiwan lawyers value foreign law degrees more than their own, and England values English law degrees more than degrees from non common law countries, then why on earth are you trying to do this?"!Plus would Taiwanese law degrees become meaningless in the event of Taiwan coming under Mainland jurisdiction? oh dear oh dear...