From a colonial-era technical college to a national research university.
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) traces its roots to January 1931, when it was founded under Japanese colonial rule as Tainan Technical College — making it one of Taiwan's oldest institutions of higher education. After 1945 it was reorganized twice, first as the Taiwan Provincial Tainan Junior College of Technology and then as the Taiwan Provincial College of Engineering, before being upgraded to provincial university status in 1956 under the name Cheng Kung University — honoring Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), the Ming-loyalist general who expelled Dutch colonial forces from Taiwan in 1662 and founded the Kingdom of Tungning at Tainan. The university became a national institution in 1971, taking its present name.
國立成功大學創校於1931年(昭和6年),日治時期名為臺南高等工業學校,是台灣歷史最悠久的高等教育機構之一。1945年後歷經改制,先後成為臺灣省立臺南工業專科學校、臺灣省立工學院,於1956年升格為省立成功大學——校名取自鄭成功,這位南明將領於1662年驅逐荷蘭殖民勢力,並在台南建立東寧王國。1971年改制為國立大學,沿用至今的校名。
What makes this university worth knowing.
🎓 Nine Colleges
九大學院
NCKU spans nine colleges — Liberal Arts, Science, Management, Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Social Sciences, Planning and Design, Bioscience and Biotechnology, and Medicine — across roughly 70 departments and 29 research institutes.
🏥 Teaching Hospital and Research Strength
附設醫院與研究實力
NCKU operates its own teaching hospital and is especially strong in engineering, semiconductors, and medicine, including facilities such as the Miin Wu School of Computing and an Academy of Innovative Semiconductor and Sustainable Manufacturing.
🌏 A Large Research University
大型研究型大學
With roughly 11,850 undergraduates, 8,700 master's students, and 1,850 doctoral students (2025 figures), NCKU is one of Taiwan's largest research universities.
🏆 Internationally Ranked
國際排名肯定
NCKU placed #203 globally and #3 in Taiwan in the QS World University Rankings 2026, and appears in the THE World Rankings 2026 (#501-600 band).
A campus named for Tainan's founding figure.
NCKU's name and main campus sit at the heart of the connection between Tainan and Koxinga, the historical figure most closely tied to the city's identity as Taiwan's first capital. The main campus is directly across from Tainan Railway Station, in the old city core, and the university also operates satellite campuses in Guiren and Annan districts. See the Tainan county page for more on the region.
Find the university.
No. 1, University Road, East District, Tainan City 701, Taiwan
701台南市東區大學路1號
University's Official English Website ↗
Last updated: July 2026 · Content adapted and condensed from the school's official Chinese-language website by the Taiwan Bilingual Hub team, not yet reviewed by the school. If you're from National Cheng Kung University and would like to correct or expand this page, please contact us.