National Central University

National Central University (NCU) is a public research university in Zhongli District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Long counted among Taiwan's leading universities, it traces its origin to the Nanking Higher Normal School established in Nanjing in 1915, was reestablished in Taiwan in 1962 on the basis of geophysics, regained its present name in 1979, and placed joint 659th in the 2027 QS World University Rankings.学校长期位列台湾顶尖大学之列，源于 1915 年创于南京的南京高等师范学校，1962 年以地球物理为基础在台湾复校，1979 年恢复现名，在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中并列第 659 位。

The university is organised into eight colleges containing 26 departments and 19 graduate institutes, together with six university-level research centres, and it enrolled about 12,600 students in the 2024-2025 academic year on a 62-hectare campus in the Shuanglianpo area.学校设有 8 个学院、下辖 26 个学系与 19 个研究所，另有 6 个校级研究中心；2024—2025 学年在校生约 12600 人，校址位于双连坡，占地约 62 公顷。

NCU is one of the national universities selected by Taiwan's Ministry of Education as a research-oriented institution, and OpenAlex records 44,630 research works and 3,008,861 citations associated with it.中大是台湾教育部遴选的国立研究型大学之一；OpenAlex 记录其科研产出为 44630 篇论文与 3008861 次被引。

History

• The modern predecessor of the university is generally traced to the Sanjiang Normal School, a teacher-training institution established in Nanking in 1902 during the Qing Dynasty and renamed the Liangjiang Higher Normal School in 1906.学校的近代前身一般追溯至 1902 年清朝于南京设立的三江师范学堂，1906 年更名为两江优级师范学堂。
• That institution closed in 1911 when the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, ending its first phase of development.该学堂于 1911 年清朝覆亡时停办，结束其第一阶段的发展。
• In 1915, after the Republic of China had been proclaimed, the Nanking Higher Normal School was established to replace the Liangjiang Higher Normal School, and that year is the one most often cited as the founding of the National Central University now based in Taiwan.1915 年，中华民国成立后，南京高等师范学校成立以替代两江优级师范学堂；现位于台湾的国立中央大学通常以这一年为创校年。
• In 1921 the National Southeastern University was founded on the basis of the normal school by the Beiyang Government.1921 年，北洋政府以该校为基础创办国立东南大学。
• After the success of the Northern Expedition and the establishment of the national capital in Nanking in 1927, the university was reorganised as the National Fourth Sun Yat-sen University, since Nanking was the fourth major city taken in the campaign.1927 年北伐成功、国民政府定都南京后，学校改组为国立第四中山大学，因南京是北伐中攻克的第四座主要城市。
• Early in 1928 it was renamed National Kiangsu University and then simply Kiangsu University in quick succession, before professors and students struck for a name bearing the word "national".1928 年初，学校先更名国立江苏大学，随后又简作江苏大学；师生不满校名缺少「国立」二字而发起争取。
• In May 1928 the institution became the National Central University, the name it kept on the mainland and later restored in Taiwan, at a time when the university was the leading academic centre of south-eastern China and people said that the North had Peking University while the South had Central University.1928 年 5 月，学校定名国立中央大学，此名在大陆时期沿用、日后又在台湾恢复；当时学校是中国东南地区首屈一指的学术中心，时人有「北大在北、中大在南」之说。
• Following the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 the Nationalist government moved west, and NCU relocated to Chungking (Chongqing), where Chongqing University granted it 200 mu of land and the two schools shared distinguished professors.1937 年日本侵华后，国民政府西迁，中大随之内迁至重庆，重庆大学拨给其 200 亩土地，两校共享名师。
• Among the scholars who taught at NCU and Chongqing University in that wartime period were the geologist Li Siguang, the painters Xu Beihong and Wu Guanzhong, the economist Ma Yinchu and the physicist He Lu.战时在中大与重庆大学任教的名师包括地质学家李四光、画家徐悲鸿与吴冠中、经济学家马寅初以及物理学家何鲁。
• During the rule of Wang Jingwei's Japanese-puppet regime in Nanking between 1940 and 1945, a small National Central University was also set up on the campus of the former Central Political Institute.1940 至 1945 年汪精卫伪政权统治南京期间，其又在原中央政治学校校址上另设了一所小规模的「国立中央大学」。
• After the Second World War the university reopened in Nanking in November 1946, with its main campus in the Sipailou area.二次大战结束后，学校于 1946 年 11 月在南京复校，主校区位于四牌楼一带。
• When the Nationalist government lost Nanking during the Chinese Civil War, that university was renamed National Nanjing University in 1949 and subsequently underwent further name changes and reorganisations.国共内战中国民政府失去南京后，该校于 1949 年更名国立南京大学，其后又历经多次更名与改组。
• After the Nationalists retreated to Taiwan, the Ministry of Education approved in 1958 the reestablishment of NCU on the island, with a preparatory committee chaired in turn by Mei Yiqi, Huang Jilu and Xu Baiyuan.国民政府退守台湾后，教育部于 1958 年同意中大在台复校，筹备委员会先后由梅贻琦、黄季陆与徐柏园担任主任委员。
• In July 1962 the Graduate Institute of Geophysics was formally established in Miaoli County, with Dai Yun-gui as its first director, initially borrowing the physics building of National Taiwan University.1962 年 7 月，地球物理研究所在苗栗县正式成立，戴运轨出任首任所长，初期借用台湾大学物理馆。
• The institute moved to a site at Erpingshan in Miaoli County in 1963.该所于 1963 年迁往苗栗县二坪山校址。
• Because that site proved too small for growth, the university relocated to Shuanglianpo in Zhongli, then part of Taoyuan County, in 1967.因该地过小、发展受限，学校于 1967 年迁往桃园县中坜双连坡现址。
• In 1968 it was renamed the National Central University College of Science, offering undergraduate physics and atmospheric physics and headed by Dai Yun-gui as dean.1968 年，学校改称国立中央大学理学院，设物理学与大气物理学两系，由戴运轨任院长。
• The vacated Miaoli site was used in 1969 under the leadership of the alumnus Li Kwoh-ting to found the private United Industrial Vocational College, today's National United University.迁校后留下的苗栗校地，于 1969 年由校友李国鼎主导集资创办私立联合工业技艺专科学校，即今日的国立联合大学。
• In 1979 the university was officially restored under the name National Central University and expanded into a comprehensive university, with Li Xin-min as its first president in Taiwan.1979 年，学校正式恢复「国立中央大学」校名并发展为综合大学，由李新民出任在台首任校长。
• The College of Earth Science and the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science were both approved in 1998, and in 2002 NCU was chosen among the Ministry of Education's first seven research-oriented universities.地球科学学院与资讯电机学院均于 1998 年获准成立；2002 年，中大入选台湾教育部最初 7 所重点研究型大学。
• The College of Hakka Studies was founded in 2003, the same year NCU joined three other national universities to form the University System of Taiwan.客家学院于 2003 年成立，同年中大与另外三所国立大学共同组成台湾联合大学系统。
• In October 2013 National Zhongli Senior High School was affiliated to the university and renamed its affiliated senior high school, the first such school since reestablishment.2013 年 10 月，国立中坜高级中学改隶中大并更名为国立中央大学附属中坜高级中学，成为复校后第一所附属中学。
• A College of Health Science and Technology was created in 2014 as the eighth college, and in 2020 the Department of Space Science and Engineering opened as the first and only space-related undergraduate department in Taiwan.2014 年整合成立生医理工学院的第八个学院；2020 年太空科学与工程学系成立，是全台独创且唯一的太空相关大学部科系。
• In June 2022 NCU joined the National Ocean Research Institute and Poland's Nicolaus Copernicus University to open a Taiwan polar research station in Svalbard, followed by a formal Taiwan Polar Research Center in August 2023.2022 年 6 月，中大与台湾海洋研究院、波兰哥白尼大学合作在冷岸群岛设立台湾极地研究站，并于 2023 年 8 月正式成立台湾极地研究中心。
• In November 2023 NCU was approved to establish the Graduate College of Sustainability and Green Energy, Taiwan's first such college, and in February 2025 Hsiau Shu-san became its ninth president.2023 年 11 月，中大获准设立永续与绿能科技研究学院，为台湾首间此类学院；2025 年 2 月，萧述三成为学校第九任校长。

Academics

• NCU's eight senior colleges are Earth Science, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Engineering, Hakka Studies, Health Science and Technology, Liberal Arts, Science, and Management, joined in 2023 by the Graduate College of Sustainability and Green Energy as a ninth, with each college hosting its own specialised research centres.中大原有的 8 个学院为地球科学、资讯电机、工、客家、生医理工、文、理与管理学院，2023 年再添永续与绿能科技研究学院为第九个学院，各学院均设有各自专门的研究中心。
• The colleges together contain 26 departments, 19 graduate institutes, six university-level research centres and one united research centre, besides the Office of Teaching Centres and the affiliated Zhongli Senior High School.各学院合计设有 26 个学系、19 个研究所、6 个校级研究中心与 1 个联合研究中心，另有总教学中心与附属中坜高中。
• In the 2024-2025 period NCU enrolled about 12,600 students with 631 full-time faculty members, giving a student-to-faculty ratio of roughly 20 to 1.2024—2025 学年，中大在校生约 12600 人、专任教师 631 人，师生比约为 20 比 1。
• Among the research units are the Centre for Space and Remote Sensing Research, the Centre for Hazard Mitigation and Prevention, the Centre for Taiwan Economic Development and the Centre for Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering.校内研究单位包括太空及遥测研究中心、灾害防治研究中心、台湾经济发展研究中心与生物技术与生物医学工程中心。
• The university operates the Lulin Observatory at 2,862 metres near Yushan National Park, the highest astronomical observing and teaching centre in East Asia, managed by its Institute of Astronomy.学校在玉山国家公园附近海拔 2862 米处设有鹿林天文台，为东亚最高的天文观测与教学中心，由天文研究所管理。
• Taiwan's first asteroid was discovered by an NCU astronomy graduate student in November 2002 and designated 259110 Lulin, and a second one followed three years later.台湾第一颗小行星由中大天文所研究生于 2002 年 11 月发现，永久编号 259110（鹿林），3 年后又发现第二颗。
• The Lulin Sky Survey, launched by NCU in March 2006, has since found about 800 minor planets, one near-Earth asteroid and one comet.由中大自 2006 年 3 月启动的鹿林巡天计划，迄今累计发现约 800 颗小行星、1 颗近地小行星与 1 颗彗星。
• NCU takes part in the Taiwan International Graduate Program in Earth System Science run with Academia Sinica, Taiwan's foremost academic research institution.中大参与与台湾最高学术研究机构中央研究院合办的「台湾国际研究生地球系统科学学程」。
• Taiwan's Consumer Confidence Index is released monthly by NCU, making the university a national source of economic measurement.台湾消费者信心指数由中大按月发布，使学校成为全国性经济指标的发布来源。
• The Department of Space Science and Engineering, opened in 2020, aims to train space scientists and astronauts for missions such as those of NASA, and in 2026 the NCU-led Taiwan Universities Lunar Investigation Project was admitted to NASA's SSERVI international collaboration.2020 年成立的太空科学与工程学系，旨在培育前往美国太空总署等机构执行任务的太空科学家与太空人；2026 年由中大主导的「台湾大专校院月球探测计划」获准加入美国太空总署 SSERVI 国际合作之列。
• NCU's polar programme operates a research station in Svalbard, established in 2022 with the National Ocean Research Institute and the Nicolaus Copernicus University of Poland.中大的极地研究项目在冷岸群岛设有研究站，2022 年与台湾海洋研究院、波兰哥白尼大学共同设立。
• The university hosts Taiwan's first Kunqu Museum, opened to the public in 2017 as a bridge between the humanities and the sciences.学校设有台湾第一座昆曲博物馆，2017 年对外开放，作为人文与科学之间的桥梁。
• Several campus buildings commemorate former presidents, among them the Bing-wen Hall, the Zhi-xi Hall, the Hong-jing Hall and the Guo-ding Library, while the Jian-xiong Hall honours the physicist Chien-Shiung Wu.校内多栋建筑纪念历任校长，包括秉文堂、志希馆、鸿经馆与国鼎图书资料馆，健雄馆则纪念物理学家吴健雄。
• The College of Hakka Studies is the only such faculty in Taiwan devoted to Hakka language, culture and society.客家学院是全台唯一以客家语言、文化与社会为研究对象的学院。
• A student body, the Associated Students of National Central University, has represented undergraduates since it was founded in 1991.学生自治组织「国立中央大学学生会」自 1991 年成立以来代表大学部学生。
• NCU maintains partnerships with institutions abroad, including a 2025 double-degree agreement on space engineering with the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom.中大与海外院校保持合作，其中包括 2025 年与英国萨里大学签署的太空工程双联学位协议。
• NCU researchers proposed radio-occultation theory for observing gravity waves in the upper atmosphere and applied it to the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC constellation, helping to build Taiwan's independent occultation capability.中大学者提出以低轨道卫星掩星观测高层大气重力波的理论，并应用于福尔摩沙卫星三号星系，助力建立台湾自主的掩星观测能力。

Campus

• The main campus stands on the Shuanglianpo plateau in Zhongli District, Taoyuan City, covers about 62 hectares, and was laid out by the architect Chen Chi-kwan on a grid pattern inspired by the ancient Chinese well-field system.主校区位于桃园市中坜区双连坡台地，占地约 62 公顷，由建筑师陈其宽依仿井田棋盘概念的网格格局规划。
• The campus lies about 35 kilometres from the capital Taipei, 3.5 kilometres from Zhongli railway station and 13 kilometres from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.校区距首都台北约 35 公里、距中坜火车站 3.5 公里、距台湾桃园国际机场 13 公里。
• The Lulin Observatory sits at 2,862 metres on the Lulin forepeak near the trailhead of Yushan, Taiwan's highest mountain, in the south of the island.鹿林天文台位于台湾最高峰玉山登山口附近的鹿林前山，海拔 2862 米，地处台湾南部。
• Among the "Ten Scenic Spots of NCU" are the Zhongda Road avenue, a lake modelled on Nanjing's Xuanwu Lake, a bronze Tai Chi sculpture by Ju Ming, the Baihua Stream and the 1.5-kilometre Lovers' Trail.「中大十景」包括中大路、仿南京玄武湖而建的中大湖、朱铭的太极铜雕、百花川以及全长约 1.5 公里的情人步道。
• At the centre of the campus stands the Chung-cheng Library, whose courtyard holds an ancient well symbolising the source of knowledge.校园中心矗立着中正图书馆，其中庭有一口古井，象征知识的泉源。
• Campus buildings named after former presidents include the Bing-wen Hall for Earth Sciences, the Zhi-xi Hall for Management, the Hong-jing Hall for Mathematics and the Guo-ding Library for Economics.以前校长命名的建筑包括地球科学院的秉文堂、管理学院志希馆、数学系鸿经馆与经济系国鼎图书资料馆。
• The Jian-xiong Hall, housing physics, astronomy and space science, commemorates the physicist Chien-Shiung Wu, an alumna of the university.容纳物理、天文与太空科学的健雄馆，纪念学校校友、物理学家吴健雄。
• The green, pine-planted campus is nicknamed the "Central Park" and is widely regarded as a popular location for Taiwanese television drama filming.绿草苍松的校园雅称「中央公园」，外界普遍视其为热门偶像剧取景地。

Reputation

• In the 2027 QS World University Rankings NCU was placed joint 659th.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，中大并列第 659 位。^[1]
• In the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings NCU stood in the 801-1000 band, having been in the 1001-1200 band in 2026.在 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名中，中大位列 801—1000 区间，2026 年则位于 1001—1200 区间。
• In the 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities ranking NCU was listed 1142nd.在 2026—2027 年《美国新闻与世界报道》全球最佳大学排名中，中大位列第 1142 位。
• In the 2026 ShanghaiRanking Academic Ranking of World Universities NCU appeared in the 901-1000 band.在 2026 年软科世界大学学术排名中，中大位于 901—1000 区间。
• NCU was one of the first seven universities picked by Taiwan's Ministry of Education as research-oriented institutions in 2002.2002 年，中大是台湾教育部首批遴选的 7 所研究型大学之一。
• In the 1111 Job Bank ranking of enterprises' favourite universities, NCU's Earth and Environment group took first place nationally in 2024.2024 年，在 1111 人力银行《企业最爱大学》调查中，中大的「地球与环境学群」位居全国第一。
• Its Lulin Observatory is Taiwan's largest and most advanced observatory and one of only two internationally certified observatories on the island.其鹿林天文台是台湾规模最大、技术最高的天文台，也是全台仅两座取得国际标准认证的天文台之一。
• OpenAlex records 44,630 research works and 3,008,861 citations associated with the university.OpenAlex 记录学校共 44630 篇论文与 3008861 次被引。
• NCU is the source of Taiwan's monthly Consumer Confidence Index, giving it a distinctive role in national economic measurement.中大是台湾每月消费者信心指数的发布机构，在全国经济衡量中具有独特地位。
• The university classifies itself as a comprehensive research university combining strong science and humanities, particularly in Earth sciences, astronomy, space science and Hakka studies, and its faculty include members of Academia Sinica and winners of national research awards.学校定位为兼具坚实理学与人文的综合性研究型大学，尤以地球科学、天文、太空科学与客家研究见长；其师资中包括中央研究院院士与国家科研奖项得主。

Student life

• NCU's motto, written as the two characters cheng pu, means "Sincerity and Simplicity" and reflects a genuine understanding of knowledge joined to practical action.中大校训为「诚朴」二字，意为「真诚与质朴」，体现对知识的真切理解与实践行动相结合。
• The university takes the pine as its spiritual symbol, recalling the Six Dynasties Pine at its former Nanjing campus that has stood for generations.学校以「松」为精神象征，其象征物是南京旧校园中历经世代的六朝松。
• The NCU school song was composed in 1947, with lyrics by Wang Dong and music by Cheng Mao-jun.中大校歌创作于 1947 年，由汪东作词、程懋筠作曲。
• The university emblem was designed by the art professor Chen Zhifo in the 1930s and shows the ceremonial gateway of the Nanjing campus, built in 1933 by Yang Tingbao.校徽由美术系教授陈之佛于 1930 年代设计，图案为南京校区牌楼门，该牌楼由杨廷宝于 1933 年建造。
• The annual inter-university athletic meeting known as the Four Zhong and Five Schools Competition groups NCU with other leading Taiwanese universities.年度校际赛事「四中五校联谊赛」将中大与其他台湾知名大学编在同一组竞赛。
• The Associated Students of National Central University, founded in 1991, organises student activities and represents undergraduates.1991 年成立的国立中央大学学生会组织学生活动并代表大学部学生。
• In October 2025 NCU hosted the fifth University System of Taiwan athletics meet, which brought together about 580 athletes from the four member universities.2025 年 10 月，中大承办第五届台湾联合大学系统运动会，四所成员大学约 580 名选手参赛。
• Student residential life is concentrated on the Shuanglianpo campus, where dormitories and the green "Central Park" setting shape everyday campus culture.学生住宿集中在双连坡校区，宿舍与「中央公园」般的绿意环境共同塑造日常校园文化。
• The campus hosts a Hong Kong and Macao cultural scene, an annual picnic and creative market, and a range of student clubs centred on its scientific and humanities faculties.校园设有港澳文化景观、年度野餐与创意市集，以及围绕理工人文各学院展开的各类学生社团。
• NCU marks its founding with a spring anniversary celebration, and in recent years the event has featured a picnic competition and a creative market known as the Pinecone Party, alongside alumni gatherings and open campus tours.中大每年春季举办校庆活动纪念创校，近年活动包括野餐竞赛与名为「松果派对」的创意市集，并有校友聚会与校园开放导览。

Notable people

• Chien-Shiung Wu, the experimental physicist known for her work on beta decay, is an alumna of the university, and the Jian-xiong Hall is named after her.以贝塔衰变研究闻名的实验物理学家吴健雄是学校校友，健雄馆即以她命名。
• Jiang Zemin, who later became the top leader of the People's Republic of China, was a student at National Central University.后来成为中华人民共和国最高领导人的江泽民曾在国立中央大学就读。
• Li Kwoh-ting, an economist and senior Taiwanese official, was an alumnus and is commemorated by the Guo-ding Library on campus.经济学家、台湾重要官员李国鼎是学校校友，校内的国鼎图书资料馆即纪念他。
• The diplomat and scholar Hu Shih taught at the university as a professor of philosophy during its mainland period.外交家与学者胡适在大陆时期曾任学校的哲学教授。
• The geologist Li Siguang taught at NCU and shared his expertise with Chongqing University during the wartime relocation.地质学家李四光曾在任教中大，战时西迁期间与重庆大学共享其学术专长。
• The painters Xu Beihong and Wu Guanzhong both taught at the university during its years in Chungking.画家徐悲鸿与吴冠中均在学校驻重庆时期任教。
• Ma Yinchu, an influential economist and educator, and He Lu, a prominent physicist, were among the distinguished teachers of that era.颇具影响力的经济学家与教育家马寅初、著名物理学家何鲁都是那一时期的知名教师。
• Peng Chi-ming, a meteorologist who served as Taiwan's Minister of Environment, is an alumnus of the university.曾任台湾环境部长的气象学家彭启明是学校校友。
• Dai Yun-gui, who served as the first director of the Graduate Institute of Geophysics and later dean of the College of Science, is a founding figure of the Taiwan-era campus.曾任地球物理研究所首任所长、后任理学院院长的戴运轨，是学校在台復校时期的关键人物。
• Li Xin-min became the first president of the university after its restoration in Taiwan in 1979.李新民于 1979 年学校在台恢复校名后出任首任校长。
• Hsiau Shu-san, the current president, took office as the university's ninth president in February 2025.现任校长萧述三于 2025 年 2 月就任学校第九任校长。
• The astronomer Ye Yong-xuan, an academician of Academia Sinica who leads NCU's lunar exploration project, is among the university's distinguished researchers.领导中大月球探测计划的中研院院士、天文学家叶永烜是学校的杰出研究者之一。