The Department of Chinese Language and Literature offers B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in Chinese language and literature. The dedicated faculty members of the Department are engaged in research and publication and committed to excellence in many areas of the discipline, including Chinese classical literature, modern literature, philosophy, linguistics, and folk literature. This unique “Chinese-folk literature” dual structure enables the Department to open up a diverse range of perspectives and insights on Chinese studies.

The curriculum design of the Department incorporates major classics in Chinese language and literature and emphasizes both theoretical and practical training. The module programs in Chinese Language and Literature, Narrative and Application of Language, and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, integrate classics and modernity and empower global mobility. Furthermore, by connecting the cultural characteristics in Eastern Taiwan, the Department is also actively dedicated to fulfilling the humanistic spirit and social responsibility.

The Department of Sinophone Literatures, previously the Department of Chinese Language and Literature founded by the three distinguished literary scholars, Cheng Ching-mao, Yang Mu (Wang Ching-hsien), and Yan Kun-yang, is the first university department that focuses extensively on modern and contemporary works of Sinophone literature in the Chinese-speaking world. Since 2010, with Taiwan as the hub and the Department’s inclusive tradition to cover classical and modern literature, creative writing, communication, and creative industries, we have continued to engage in conversations of Sinophone literature with various parts of the world. Academically, the Department aims to explore and research literature from a cross-disciplinary perspective, an integrative approach, and a liberal attitude by bringing together contemporary literary criticism, cultural studies, social sciences, and so on. In addition, we also provide students with practical courses in creative writing and cultural and creative industries to enhance their employability and, at the same time, consider the essential relationship between literature, self, and society.

The Department of English offers courses in three categories at both undergraduate and advanced levels. In language training courses, students are taught in small class sizes. Courses of literature focus on the critical reading of literary classics in English as well as comprehensive knowledge of drama and theater, films, and Western thought. Students may also take courses in practical English or in teaching English as a foreign/second language. Moreover, the Department provides opportunities for students to choose diverse courses from other departments or colleges in the university.

At the graduate level the Department currently offers an M.A. degree in TESOL. The TESOL program aims to train professional English teachers in primary and secondary schools. Students of the TESOL program take courses in language teaching as well as those in the application of literature and mass culture to English teaching.

Studying history can be fun! The Department of History at Dong Hwa emphasizes interdisciplinary learning and its three crucial characteristics: application, practice, and creativity. As a precursor offering courses in applied history in Taiwan, the Department works vigorously in the curriculum design to balance professional knowledge and methods in the study of history through various creative and practical approaches to teaching and learning, such as lecturing, discussion, field trips, guided tours, non-print media, drama, and games. The Department trains students to investigate, collect, organize, compile, sift, interpret, analyze, create, and discuss textual and non-textual historical materials so as to acquire essential humanistic qualities and independent critical thinking skills. We believe that students will benefit from the intellectual journey in the Department and ultimately prepare for success in many fields like academia, education, cultural and historical affairs, cultural industries, digital humanities, and public service.

With a core focus on the research and application of Taiwanese and regional culture, the department aims to cultivate interdisciplinary professionals in areas such as regional literature and history research, community development, local revitalization, and the cultural and creative industries. Their faculty is diverse, integrating expertise from fields such as human geography, local historical practices, and digital humanities technology, to provide comprehensive interdisciplinary education.

Furthermore, the department is recognized by the Ministry of Education as a teacher training program for "Secondary School Social Studies with a Focus on Geography" and for "Language Studies with a Specialization in Taiwanese Hokkien." Over the years, they have deeply rooted ourselves in the local community, offering intensive summer courses that combine the unique features of Eastern Taiwan and field investigations. They also consistently collaborate with domestic and international counterparts on joint workshops and youth exchange programs, fostering talents in the humanities and social sciences with both a strong Taiwanese identity and a global perspective.

The Department of Economics, founded in 1994 as the Graduate Institute of International Economics offering an M.A. Program, is one of the first four academics when Dong Hwa was established. At present, the Department is the only one of its kind in Eastern Taiwan offering a B.A. Program, beginning in 1997, an M.A. Program, and a Ph.D. program, in 2001. The key features of the Department are:
(1) Flexible undergraduate modules creating both in-breadth and in-depth learning
(2) Well-balanced in theory and practice for the graduate curriculum
(3) Interdepartmental and cross-university collaboration in the curriculum
(4) Committed and dedicated faculty with excellent research capacities
(5) Ample funding for research and teaching assistantships

Sociology, rooted in humanistic solicitude, aims to develop the respect of people and society, establish a civil society, and foster the ability to gather public opinions and understand local needs. Thus, the Department of Sociology at Dong Hwa emphasizes social concerns and social participation by paying careful attention to social issues, analyzing and thinking about social phenomena, and highlighting local connection as well as global perspectives.

The Department’s curriculum design is built on courses of professional knowledge of sociology and centered on social engagement. By integrating theory and practice, we are dedicated to developing our students’ independent and critical thinking and training them to collect, analyze, and interpret data for practical application and problem solving.

The curriculum structure of the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology evolves around three pathways for the training of relevant personnel in helping-related professions: basic research in psychology, clinical psychology, and counseling psychology. The Department offers courses ranging from fundamental to advanced practice in many branches of the discipline.

Distinctive features of the Department include:
(1) Integrative training of counseling and clinical psychology that enables professional knowledge-action synthesis
(2) Emphasis on humanistic concerns, community connection, and creative application that demonstrates local care and executive force
(3) Diverse international all-English program that promotes cross-border and interdisciplinary mobility

The core mission of the Department of Public Administration is to prepare and train public administration personnel for leadership and research positions in the public or private sectors through studying the theory and practice of public governance. Since its founding in 2013, the Department has emphasized the learning of both fundamental theories in public administration and practice-oriented internship courses. We encourage students to participate in cross-disciplinary liberal learning so as to strengthen professional knowledge and develop humanistic concerns and disciplinary viewpoints. Our faculty members have been actively devoted to research on state theory, public governance, sustainable development, and international affairs and contributed their great achievements in the related fields. By integrating teaching and research resources, we ultimately hope to play a positive role in cultivating excellent public affairs talents that are equipped with both theoretical and practical abilities and a local as well as global vision.

The Graduate Institute of Financial and Economic Law has offered a Master’s Program since 2001 and started the Department of Law since 2019. Affiliated with the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Institute and the Undergraduate Program is thus able to incorporate legal studies within the broad community of humanities and social sciences scholars. Such an academic environment allows our students to avert the technical ruts due to the over-early specialization in traditional legal training and attain the humanistic spirit of caring about locals and seeking truth from facts. It is such insistence on the humanistic spirit that the Institute and the Undergraduate Program thrives and stands out under the increasingly competitive higher education industry and secularized legal education. We aim to provide students with strong education and train tomorrow’s legal professionals to possess knowledge of law, think independently, fulfill social expectations and responsibility, and care about people and locals.

One of the unique features of our International TCSL Ph.D. Program is that it is the first one of its kind in Taiwan that is exclusively for international students. Since then, the courses in the Program, designed and tailored based on the learning conditions and needs of international students, are country-specific in contents and teaching formats.

Placing much emphasis on practice in teaching and comparisons across nations, the program is inclined to create an arena where scholars from different cultural backgrounds may come together to study and put theories into practice so that the ultimate goal of examining the subject of teaching practices, language acquisition in different nations may be achieved.

Faculty members in the program hope to meet each individual student’s need. Those entering the program with some teaching experiences will be offered opportunities to teach while those without will get internship. The program is a flexible, diverse learning environment with great freedom and autonomy.

The Asia-Pacific Regional Studies has been well-developed on both theoretical and empirical success. The College-level Ph.D. Program integrates facuty members from Department of Taiwan and Regional Studies, Department of Public Administration, Department of History, Department of Economics, and Department of Sociology to include studies of culture, social-economics and environment in the regions of Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, as well as adjunct pacific countries such as United States, New zealand, and Australia.

The International Master’s Program in Teaching Chinese and Calligraphy is implemented by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences to recruit students from all over the world and to cultivate both domestic and overseas Chinese teaching professionals.

The Program is the teaching research is specifically designed for international students to meet their learning conditions and needs. In addition, the Program combines the theories related to Chinese calligraphy education and the conventional practice for Chinese calligraphy teaching to not only develop approaches for learning Chinese characters and aesthetics but also enhance the writing competence of international students in Chinese calligraphy.