A total of 112 Taiwanese university and college programs reported that they enrolled no new students this academic year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday amid concern over the nation’s aging population.
The ministry published the latest college enrollment statistics on its public information platform of higher learning institutions at https://udb.moe.edu.tw/udata.
National Taiwan University’s theater, geography, oceanography, plant pathology and microbiology graduate programs were among the 35 doctoral and master’s degree programs that did not enroll any students this year, the data showed.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
National Tsinghua University’s quantum technology and advanced materials, electronic and photonic engineering programs, and National Central University’s economics, human resource management, applied geology and material sciences programs were also bereft of new students, it said.
Seventeen master’s programs did not enroll students, including eight regular programs and five night-school programs, the ministry said.
The remaining programs without new students were predominantly bachelor’s programs or their equivalent offered at private universities or college-level vocational institutions, it said.
A National Taiwan University spokesperson said that its theater and microbiology graduate programs had seven and three applicants respectively whose test scores did not meet standards.
No doctoral-seeking applicants expressed interest in geology, oceanography, plant pathology or microbiology, the spokesperson said.
A National Central University spokesperson said the doctoral programs with zero enrollments were seeking one to three students and most of them received one application each.
These applicants were either rejected for failing to meet test score standards or ended up attending the master’s degree version of the program due to the latter’s perceived advantage in job opportunities, they said.
The university is to discuss the design of its doctoral programs to boost competitiveness, the spokesperson said.
According to ministry data, 19 institutions of higher learning reported having enrolled less than 60 percent of their capacity for new students, with all but one being private institutions, ministry data showed.
Kao Yuan University, which is based in Kaohsiung and filled 15.7 percent of available spots, had the lowest enrollment rate in the nation, while National Taitung Junior College was the sole public institution with an enrollment rate of less than 60 percent.
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