# Tunghai University

Tunghai University (THU; traditional Chinese: 東海大學; simplified Chinese: 东海大学; pinyin: Dōnghǎi Dàxué; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tang-hái Tāi-ha̍k; lit. 'East Sea University') is a private university in Xitun District, Taichung, Taiwan, established in 1955. It was founded by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA). The university is known for its liberal arts education.
Located at the foothills of Dadu Mountain, Tunghai University spans over a hundred hectares, making it the largest private university campus in Taiwan by land area. Its early campus architecture, which embodies both architectural aesthetics and historical significance was built to include modernism, traditional Chinese architecture along with locally indigenous elements. As a result, it has been designated as a cultural landscape by the Taiwan.
On the campus, the Luce Memorial Chapel (designed by architects Chen Chi-kwan and I. M. Pei) is a local landmark.
The university shares its name with Tokai University in Japan. The two universities have since entered a partnership agreement.

## History

Tunghai University was founded on the Dadu Plateau, west of Taichung City, in 1955 by Methodist missionaries. The then-US Vice President, Richard Nixon, had participated at the ground-breaking ceremony in 1953. The school was named "Tunghai" ("east sea") based on its position east of the Taiwan Strait. In 1950, the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA) established the university in Taiwan as spiritual successor of closed Mainland Christian universities: Fukien Christian University, Ginling College, Hangchow University, Huachung University, Hwa Nan College, Lingnan University, Nanking University, St. John's University, University of Shanghai, Shantung Christian University, Soochow University, West China Union University, and Yenching University.

### Timeline

* 1952 February William P. Fenn, Secretary General of the UBCHEA, travelled to Taiwan to discuss with educational and religious leaders on the conditions for establishing the university. Fenn recommended that the university should not be a replica of any church university in mainland China. He suggested the faculty and students should all be Christians, work full-time and live on campus.
* 1953 Tunghai University was established in Dadu Mountain, Xitun District, Taichung City. On November 11, former U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of Tunghai University. He delivered a speech to symbolize the educational cooperation and enhance military and economic exchanges between Taiwan and the U.S. After that, Ieoh Ming Pe, Chen Chi -Kwan, and Chang Chao-kang were invited to design and build the campus.
* 1955 The first class of new students was admitted, with Beauson Tseng as the first president. In the beginning, there were only two colleges, the College of Arts and the College of Science, with 200 students. Under the College of Arts, there were the Departments of History, Departments of Chinese Literature, and Departments of Foreign Language and Literature. The founding ceremony was held on November 2, which became the university's anniversary.
* 1958 The College of Engineering was established.
* 1963 The Luce Chapel was completed.
* 1972 The enrollment was expanded, and a night school was established.
* 1973 Tunghai Experimental Farm was established.
* 1976 The College of Business (now the College of Management) was established.
* 1980 The College of Agriculture and the College of Law (now the College of Social Sciences) were established.
* 2005 Construction of the second campus began.
* 2007 the College of Fine Arts and Creative Design was established. All departments of the College of Management were relocated to the second campus.
* 2008 Taiwan's first liberal arts education learning community, Poya College, officially began accepting students.
* 2009 The College of Law was established. 2010- The student dormitories on the second campus were completed. The Dairy Shop, supermarket, and Women's Club were renovated.
* 2014 The international business administration program was established in the International College.
* 2017 Master program of performing and creative arts, MPCA, was launched. The Cultural Heritage Department of Taichung City made the Luce Chapel and Priest Bell Tower city monuments.
* 2018 Joined Amazon.com AWS to create the first Cloud Innovation School in Taiwan.
* 2019 AI Center was established. The Ministry of Culture announced the upgrading of the Luce Chapel to a national monument.

## Academics

Tunghai has nine colleges: College of Science, College of Arts, College of Management, College of Social Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Agriculture, College of Law, College of Fine Arts and Creative Design, and International College, 34 departments and 35 master's programs (one independent master's program and 13 in-service master's programs) and 14 PhD programs.

### College of Arts

* Department of Chinese Literature
* Department of Foreign Languages and Literature
* Department of History
* Department of Japanese Language and Culture
* Department of Philosophy
* International Graduate Program of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language
* English Language Center

### College of Science

* Department of Life Science
* Department of Chemistry
* Department of Mathematics
* Department of Physics
* International Ph. D. Program in Biomedical & Materials Science
* International Graduate Degree Program for Biodiversity

### College of Engineering

* Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
* Department of Computer Science
* Department of Environmental Science
* Department of Industrial Engineering
* Department of Electrical Engineering

### College of Management

* Department of Accounting
* Department of Business Administration
* Department of Finance
* Department of Information Management
* Department of International Business
* Department of Statistics
* Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA)
* Global Master of Business Administration (Global MBA)

### College of Social Science

* College of Social ScienceDepartment of Economics
* Department of Political Science
* Department of Public Management and Policy
* Department of Social Work
* Department of Sociology

### College of Agriculture and Health

* Department of Animal Science
* Department of Food Science
* Department of Hospitality Management

### College of Fine Arts and Creative Design

* Department of Fine Arts
* Department of Music
* Department of Architecture
* Department of Industrial Design
* Department of Landscape Architecture

### College of Law

* Department of Law

### International College

In 2014, the university established its English-taught International College, offering three bachelor's degree programs: international business administration (IBA), sustainability science and engineering (SSE), and an interdisciplinary program.
In 2020, the International College began accepting international students who would like to learn Chinese without declaring a major in the first two years. In their junior and senior year, students can declare a major in either programs within the International College or other colleges at Tunghai University.

### Center for General Education

The university puts emphasis on liberal education. The center offers courses in the fields of natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and Western classics.

### Library

The Tunghai University Main Library is located at the end of the Campus Mall. Library holdings include, approximately, 600,000 volumes, 6,515 current serials, 21,523 electronic serials, nonprint formats, and rare books.

## Ranking
### Ecological and social responsibility

Tunghai University is ranked in third place among all the universities in Taiwan, and first among private universities, in Times Higher Education's University Impact Rankings, 2020, which assesses universities against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In the 2020 Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Award (TCSA), Tunghai University scored high in the categories of Sustainability Model University.
Tunghai also won USR's Best Sustainability Project Awards. Tunghai University and National Taiwan University both won Golden class honors.

## External Affiliations

The university is member of the following international organizations and consortia:
* Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia
* Alliance of Asian Liberal Arts Universities
* Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

## Campus life and traditions
### The Luce Memorial Chapel

The Luce Chapel is a Christian chapel at Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan. Henry R. Luce, the founder of Time Magazine and Life Magazine, funded its construction to commemorate his father, Henry W. Luce. It is the work of Taiwanese architect Chen Chi-Kwan and Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. It is a landmark of Tunghai University and Taichung City. On April 25, 2019, it was declared a national monument by the Ministry of Culture.

### Priest Bell Tower

Built in 1966, the Priest Bell Tower is located in front of the entrance of the Luce Memorial Chapel in Tunghai University. In 2017, the Taichung City Cultural Assets Office registered it as a municipal monument. The Bell Tower is named in honor of Elsie Priest, who was invited to Taiwan by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA) in early 1955 to assist Tunghai University as the chief accounting officer and general secretary. Priest made many contributions to the university in its early years.

### Tunghai Experimental Farm

The farm is the largest farm for education and student internships in the country. Covering 50 hectares (120 acres), there are about 200 dairy cows on the farm, which produces Tunghai's dairy products, including milk and ice cream.

### Wenli Boulevard (Arts and Science Boulevard)

With the red bricks and gray tiles of colleges on both sides and the dense shade of the trees, Wenli Boulevard serves as the main line of movement between the colleges.

### Christmas Eve at Tunghai

The university regularly holds cultural events at its campus, including concerts, choirs, and parties.

## List of presidents

* Beauson Tseng [zh], 1953–1958
* Wu Teh Yao, 1958–1972
* Ming-Shan Hsieh [zh], 1972–1978
* Mei Ko-wan [zh], 1978–1992
* Ta-Nien Ruan [zh], 1992–1995
* Kang-Pei Wang [zh], 1995–2004
* Haydn Chen [zh], 2004–2012
* Ming-Jer Tang [zh], 2013–2015
* Mao-Jiun Wang [zh], 2016–present

## Notable alumni

Tunghai University alumni are well represented across various fields, including politics, where several have served as Premier of the Republic of China and President of the Legislative Yuan. The academic community also boasts numerous distinguished scholars. As of 2025, the university's alumni include one academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, one honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects, two members of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, two fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and fourteen academicians of Academia Sinica, ranking third in Taiwan in terms of the number of Academia Sinica members.
* Giddens Ko, Blogger, Author and Film Director
* Chen Long-bin, sculptor
* Chiu Ching-chun, Magistrate of Hsinchu County (2009–2018)
* Chung Ling, writer, critic, educator and translator
* Pei-yuan Chia (1961), retired Citicorp executive
* Ho Min-hao, member of Legislative Yuan (2002–2008)
* Ho Ping, film director
* Huang Teng-hui, artist and entrepreneur
* Kolas Yotaka, spokesperson of Executive Yuan
* Che-Ming Ko, nuclear physicist
* Liau Huei-fang, Deputy Minister of Labor (2016-2017)
* Ping-hui Liao (1976), professor of Taiwan studies
* TC Lin (1988 exchange student), filmmaker, photographer, and writer
* Pan Shih-wei, Minister of Labor (2014)
* Tien Hung-mao, Minister of Foreign Affairs (2000–2002)
* Tsai Chi-chang, Vice President of Legislative Yuan
* Kevin Tsai (1985), television host on Kangxi Lai Le
* Tu Weiming (1961), ethicist and New Confucian, Harvard-Yenching Professor Emeritus of Chinese History and Philosophy, Harvard University
* Ben Wang, professor of materials engineering
* Yang Mu, poet
* Kris Yao (1975), architect
* Yu Shyi-kun (1985), Democratic Progressive Party politician
* Yang Yao, member of Legislative Yuan
* You Si-kun, Premier of the Republic of China and President of the Legislative Yuan