The College of Life Science at National Taiwan University (NTU) was founded in 2003 with the goal of keeping pace with global trends and future developments in the biological sciences. In the 2010-11 academic year, the undergraduate Department of Biochemical Science & Technology and the Graduate Institute of Microbiology & Biochemistry were merged to form the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs of the Department of Biochemical Science & Technology. In the same year, the College was approved by the Ministry of Education to establish a new degree program in Genome and Systems Biology. Proceeding this, in the 2013-14 academic year, the undergraduate Department of Life Science and the Graduate Institute of Zoology were merged, forming the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs of the Department of Life Science. The College of Life Science now consists of two undergraduate departments, five graduate institutes, and one degree program. 

    Our two undergraduate programs are offered in the Department of Life Science and the Department of Biochemical Science & Technology. The former is based on and focuses on biology, while the latter explores life science from the perspective of chemistry. Such organization has resulted in a rich and diverse College of Life Science. The Department of Life Science is composed of faculty from the Department of Zoology, Department of Botany, and the Institute of Fisheries Science of the former College of Science. Colleagues of these three departments also formed our five original graduate institutes: the Institute of Zoology, Institute of Plant Biology, Institute of Fisheries Science, Institute of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Institute of Molecular & Cellular Biology. In the 2013-14 academic year, the College consisted of four graduate institutes, namely, the Institute of Plant Biology, Institute of Fisheries Science, Institute of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Institute of Molecular & Cellular Biology, while the Department of Biochemical Science & Technology was formed through the reorganization of the Agricultural Production division of the Department of Agricultural Chemistry in the College of Agriculture, with the Institute of Biochemical Science & Technology transferred from the College of Science. The duration of our master's and doctoral programs in the five graduate institutes and degree program is one to four years and two to seven years, respectively. The Institute of Fisheries Biology, which was established under the auspices of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Committee on Fisheries Promotion, which was formerly under the College of Science, were also integrated into the College of Life Science. 

    Our Center for International Academic Exchanges was established in 2006, providing support and assistance for international exchange activities to strengthen international relations and promote international scholarship. In addition, to provide a quality research environment and enable the sharing of resources, a core laboratory, the Technology Commons (TechComm), was set up in 2007, accelerating the growth of research and academic collaboration. 

    Although each department has its own faculty, teaching and research in the College are closely linked. Professors who are full-time faculty members of graduate institutes and joint faculty of undergraduate departments all teach undergraduate level courses, and full-time faculty of undergraduate departments also teach and train graduate students in one graduate institute. Undergraduate curricula are designed by College faculty, so our departments and institutes, though differently named, work as a collective. 

With more than 80 full-time faculty members responsible for teaching and research in molecular biology, cell biology, systems biology, biochemical sciences, biotechnology, and ecosystems science, the College of Life Science is the most comprehensive and strongest modern biology teaching and research institution in Taiwan. Current vacancies allow for additional instructors in emerging life science fields which have great potential for the future. The academic performance of our faculty members is also excellent. Awards received by our faculty include Academia Sinica fellowships; the Executive Yuan Award for Outstanding Science and Technology Contribution; the National Chair Professorship and Academic Award of the Ministry of Education; the Outstanding Research Award, Outstanding Research Fellow Award, Merit Research Fellow Award, and Outstanding Technology Transfer Contribution Award of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ta-You Wu Memorial Award, the Academia Sinica Junior Research Investigators Award, the Corresponding Membership Award of ASPB, the Ten Outstanding Young Persons in Medical Research award, the National Innovation Award, and laboratory recognition from OIE animal health experts. We have had more than 10 current and former convenors in the Department of Life Sciences of the Ministry of Science and Technology, have trained researchers who have gone on to serve in local and international science, technology, and research organizations, and have made remarkable achievements in teaching, research, and service. In other words, College of Life Science members are the nation's leaders in the fields of life science, biochemical technology, and biochemical sciences. 

    The undergraduate divisions of the Department of Life Science and Department of Biochemical Science & Technology enroll 100-120 new students each year and are the top life science-related departments in the country in terms of application and test scores. The total number of students in graduate divisions is about 700, with a desirable teacher-student ratio, abundant research resources, and excellent quality of students. 

    In terms of research achievements, the quality of faculty publications is difficult to match, with the number of patents and highly cited articles increasing year by year. Their extent of collaboration with industry, technology transfer, and cooperative education projects is outstanding, and research from College members has been selected for cover features in top-ranking journals such as Science, Nature, Cell, and PNAS. 

    The main building of the College is the Life Science Building, which consists of 12 floors above ground and one floor below. We also boast a Fisheries Science Research Building, a Graduate Institute of Biochemical Science building, and occupy a part of the Agricultural Chemistry Building, which have good hardware foundations and are well-equipped with scientific instruments and facilities. In addition, we operate Taiwan's best fish specimen center and herbarium. 

    The Life Science Building offers comprehensive facilities including animal rooms, electron microscope and confocal microscope rooms, and laboratories for molecular biology, cellular biology, genetics, tissue, physiology, aquarium husbandry, ecology, etc. It also features a core laboratory, TechComm, which consists of a number of platforms and technicians who provide consultation and other services. The building is structured to contain many individual faculty research rooms and shared instrumentation rooms for teaching and research development. E-enabled classrooms, real-time feedback systems for teaching and learning, distance learning equipment, and high-quality student study and activity spaces are also available. 

    Additionally, College of Life Science faculty have a rich and diverse array of specialized areas of expertise. Each of our graduate institutes is unique: covering animals, plants, and microorganisms in the field of life science, we range from the microscopic to the macroscopic, from our Institute of Molecular & Cellular Biology to our Institute of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, which explores the interactions between life and geography and the environment. Basic scientific theory is also covered, as well as industrial science and technology research. In the coming years, the College of Life Science will also be actively involved in various types of research with a view to taking its place in the mainstream of the post-genomic era. 

Educational Objective

To cultivate outstanding scholars with a broad foundation in the life sciences, an understanding of the trajectory and logical flow of life science development, and the ability to innovate and apply life science knowledge in practice.

Core Competencies

1. Foundational knowledge of life science
2. Understanding of the scientific method and the ability to implement it
3. Fluency in the history and trends of life science development
4. Exploration of the phenomenon of life with an interdisciplinary and innovative spirit
5. Utilization of life science knowledge to improve social well-being
6. International outlook and altruism

Research in the College of Life Science emphasizes the application of molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, functional genomics, proteomics, genetic engineering, bioinformatics, and other technologies and methods exploring the basic life sciences of animals, plants, and microorganisms in their morphology, physiology, metabolism, function, genetics, regulation, aging, and environmental adaptation, as well as applied fields including marine biology and animal or plant cell culturing as a tool for industry. 

    College of Life Science faculty have a rich and diverse array of specialized areas of expertise. Each of our graduate institutes is unique: covering animals, plants, and microorganisms in the field of life science, we range from the microscopic to the macroscopic, from our Institute of Molecular & Cellular Biology to our Institute of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, which explores the interactions between life and geography and the environment. Basic scientific theory is also covered, as well as industrial science and technology research. 

Research in the College of Life Science emphasizes the application of molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, functional genomics, proteomics, genetic engineering, bioinformatics, and other technologies and methods exploring the basic life sciences of animals, plants, and microorganisms in their morphology, physiology, metabolism, function, genetics, regulation, aging, and environmental adaptation, as well as applied fields and research and development of the production of important proteins using cell cultures for industrial applications. We are Taiwan's leading university in biochemical technology-based research and in the development of upstream, midstream, and downstream biotechnology products. 

    In the future, we will collaborate on several of the most important areas in the life sciences, such as cell and developmental biology, biological resistance/disease models, evolution and ecological change, and applied biochemistry. Several subfields have also been developed, including genomics and proteomics, as well as integrative biology such as neuroscience, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, and ecology.