| Legislative： |
1.Promulgated on March 10, 2026 |
| Content： |
1.The Ministry of Education (hereunder referred to as “the Ministry”) has formulated these Directions to attract outstanding teaching personnel at the lecturer level or above in universities and colleges in Southeast Asian and South Asian countries to
undertake a master’s degree or doctorate program in Taiwan (giving priority to doctorate programs), with the expectation that the New Southbound Elite Scholarship recipients will promote studying in Taiwan, after they complete their studies and return to their
respective home countries.
2.Potential scholarship recipients: Members of full-time teaching staff at lecturer or higher level at a public or private university or college in a country in Southeast Asia and South Asia. The university and college at which they are teaching shall be listed
in the Ministry’s reference list of foreign universities. Any university or college not listed in that reference list shall have been accredited by the local government authority for such educational institutions or by the professional accreditation agency
for education, or by the recognized professional accreditation agency for education in the country where it is located.
3.Application eligibility criteria:
(1)For a public or private university or college to apply:
(i)Its departments, graduate institutes, and/or degree programs shall offer programs fully taught in English, in which all the courses are conducted in English, and not only offer a sufficient number of courses taught in English to meet course credit requirements
or conditions for graduation.
(ii)The university or college had a total number of more than twenty foreign students enrolled in master’s degree or doctorate programs in the previous academic year.
(2)Any person in the category of potential subsidy recipients referred to in the previous Point who is in any one of the following categories will not be subsidized:
(i)A person who is an overseas Chinese student or has nationality of the Republic of China.
(ii)A person who is already a registered student at a university or college in Taiwan or who has already enrolled in and is attending a university or college in Taiwan. However this restriction does not apply to a student in the final year of their current
degree program who is applying to undertake a degree at the next level.
(iii)A person who has previously studied in Taiwan for a degree at the same level as the degree program they are currently planning to apply to enroll in.
(iv)A person who is an exchange student, or a dual or joint degree student, at a university or college in Taiwan who has been admitted in accordance with an academic cooperation agreement between that university or college and a university or college overseas.
(v)A person who has already received New Southbound Elite Scholarships to undertake a degree program at the master’s degree and/or doctorate level in accordance with these Directions for a total period of three years.
(vi) A person who will receive any form of financial assistance from any agency or organization of the Taiwan Government or any educational institution in Taiwan during the time they are studying in Taiwan.
4.Subsidy directions and items subsidized are as follows:
(1)Subsidy directions:
(i)The Ministry will provide a monthly subsidy of NT$25,000 for each scholarship recipient. Any shortfall will be paid by the university or college where the scholarship recipient is studying with its own funds.
(ii)The subsidy period is two years for master’s degree programs, and three years for doctorate programs. The total period for which each scholarship recipient is subsidized is not permitted to exceed three years; any period beyond three years will be paid
by the university or college with its own funds.
(iii)The period referred to in the previous item commences from the month in which the scholarship recipient begins their degree program and ends when the subsidy period for their degree level ends, or the scholarship recipient graduates, suspends or withdraws
from their studies, or if their scholarship is revoked or suspended.
(iv)If a scholarship recipient requests leave to travel abroad for some reason and obtains approval from the Ministry through the university or college where they are studying, it is permitted to not revoke their scholarship; however, it shall suspend the person’s
scholarship payments for the period while they are absent from Taiwan, and if the student is absent after the fifteenth day of the month, the scholarship for that month will not be paid.
(2)Subsidized expenses related to studying in Taiwan are tuition, and miscellaneous expenses (course-credit fees and miscellaneous study-related fees), thesis supervision fees, insurance, accommodation and internet usage costs, and living allowances.
5.Application method: To apply for a scholarship quota, universities and colleges shall complete the application form and submit this and supporting documents to the Ministry between November 1 and November 30 each year. Late applications will not be accepted.
6.Review mechanism:
(1)The Ministry will convene review meetings to review the applications and allocate a scholarship quota to each university and college that has its application approved. The determination of the quotas is handled in accordance with the following procedures:
(i)The Ministry will notify each university and college of its approved quota by January 31 each year and it will provide a copy to its overseas education divisions in countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia to make people working in universities in the
areas within their jurisdiction aware of the scholarships.
(ii)By October 15 each year, each university and college shall send the Ministry a list of the scholarship recipients it has already been enrolled within its initially allocated quota, and any request it has for an increase to that initial quota.
(iii)By October 31 each year, the Ministry will conduct a second review and reallocate any unfilled quotas remaining after the initial allocation and announce the total quota allocated to each university and college.
(2)Reviews examine:
(i)Key details of how the university or college has implemented scholarship subsidies in previous years (including the academic year in which the application was made, the approved quota, the actual number of scholarship recipients who undertook a degree a
program, and the reputation of the overseas universities and/or colleges where the scholarship recipients were employed as teachers).
(ii)The knowledge that the university or college where the scholarship recipients studied has of the career paths of the scholarship recipients after they graduated, and the measures undertaken by the university or college to stay in contact with those graduates,
and the plan of the university or college for the funds it would provide in the academic year when the application was made.
(iii)The proportion of the total number of students at the university or college constituted by foreign students enrolled in master’s degree and doctorate programs in the previous academic year, and the proportion of all the programs offered by the university
or college constituted by programs fully taught in English (department, graduate institute, and/or degree programs).
(iv)An analysis of the benefits of receiving the subsidies, and key details of the internationalized university or college environment, and its support systems for international students (with supporting documentary material attached).
7.Approval, appropriation, and settlement of subsidy funds, and evaluations:
(1)After a university or college receives written notification from the Ministry of its final scholarship quota, it shall submit a request for appropriation of the subsidy funds for the period from September to December and related documents to the Ministry
by November 30 each year; the university or college shall request the subsidy for the period from January to August in the following year in January or February of the following year.
(2)By October 31 of the year in which its subsidy is approved, each university and college shall submit a report on the scholarship recipients of the previous academic year with related documents and a balance sheet to the Ministry for settlement of the account.
Each university and college shall return any unused funds to the Ministry at the same time as it submits the account finalization documents, and it shall retain all the original copies of all receipts for inspection by the National Audit Office and related
units.
(3)Appropriation requests for New Southbound Elite Scholarship related expenses, payments, verification, and finalization of accounts shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the Operation Directions Governing the Disbursement and Settlement of
Ministry of Education Subsidy (Donation) and Commissioned Project Funds.
(4)Each university and college shall strengthen its management of New Southbound Elite Scholarship funds and establish highly effective control mechanisms. The Ministry may conduct random inspections at regular time or unscheduled times each year and incorporate
the results of such inspections into reference material for the allocation of quotas and subsidy funds in the following academic year.
(5)If any one of the following circumstances pertains to a scholarship recipient, the university or college shall revoke that person’s scholarship with effect from a specified time and inform the Ministry in writing for future reference:
(i)The person’s academic performance while undertaking their degree program fails to meet the standards of the university or college.
(ii)A scholarship recipient violates Taiwan’s laws.
(iii)The person has been subject to serious disciplinary action from the university or college where they are studying, or has to withdraw from or is expelled by the university or college as a disciplinary measure.
(iv)The person goes abroad to study as an exchange student or as a dual or joint degree student.
(v)The person leaves Taiwan without prior approval from the Ministry.
(6)Each university and college shall set up a specific unit or assign dedicated personnel to maintain contact with scholarship recipients while they are undertaking their studies in Taiwan, properly arrange accommodation for them, and provide academic and general
support and assistance. The Ministry may conduct random inspections of the universities and colleges and visits to scholarship recipients at regular or unscheduled times each year, and it will incorporate the results of such inspections and visits into the
evaluation of the implementation of this scholarship program by each participating university and college, to use for reviews and assigning assessment points in the following academic year.
(7)If it has been verified that a university or college has used subsidy funds in a way that is not in accordance with regulations, that university or college is not permitted to apply for a New Southbound Elite Scholarship subsidy for two academic years. |