Ministry of Education & the University of Chicago Establish the Taiwan–UChicago Graduate Fellowship Program
On January 27, 2022, the Ministry of Education and the University of Chicago signed an agreement to establish the Taiwan–UChicago Graduate Fellowship program to encourage outstanding students from Taiwan to undertake Ph.D. programs at the University of Chicago. The agreement was signed by Prof. Ka Yee C. Lee, Provost of the University of Chicago, and by Dr. Nicole Yen-Yi Lee, Director General of the Department of International and Cross-strait Education of the Ministry of Education in a virtual signing ceremony, Johnson Chiang, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Chicago, and John Lin, Director of the Education Division of TECO both participated in the ceremony for the signing of this milestone agreement.
Over the years, the Ministry of Education has worked with universities ranked in the top 100 in the world to establish scholarships to encourage Taiwanese students to pursue doctorate programs at these prestigious institutions. With the signing of this agreement, the University of Chicago has become the 10th university in the United States, and one of 18 leading universities in the world, with which the Ministry has such a partnership in place.
In her remarks at the signing, Director General Lee said that the Ministry of Education is very happy that the establishment of the Taiwan–UChicago Graduate Fellowship program will enable more outstanding students from Taiwan to join the academic community and pursue their studies at a world-class university. This will broaden their international outlook and further strengthen academic cooperation between Taiwan and the United States. She thanked the people at the University of Chicago and at the Education Division of TECO in Chicago who worked together to set up the Fellowship program.
TECO Director General Johnson Chiang described the University of Chicago as a world-renowned universities, and he is glad to see more Taiwan students pursue their dreams there. He looks forward to seeing the future collaborations between UChicago and Taiwan, which will be enhanced by the newly-established Taiwan–UChicago Graduate Fellowships.
Prof. Ka Yee Lee spoke of the long history that the university has with Taiwan. Dr. Lien Chan, an alumnus of the university, was the first foreign national to be elected to the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago, at the time when he was premier. He said that the university values this partnership with Taiwan immensely.
The University of Chicago is a private research university located in Chicago, Illinois. In 2022, the university ranked 19th in both the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE) and in the QS World University Rankings. The university enjoys a reputation for excellence in many fields of study, including economics, social science, natural sciences, life science, and law.
