Host institution

Since the establishment of the Taiwan Studies Programme in 1999, and its subsequent development into the Centre of Taiwan Studies (CTS), the School of Oriental and African Studies has become one of the leading centres for Taiwan Studies in the world. It is also where the European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) was founded in 2004.

SOAS-CTS now offers the only MA in Taiwan Studies outside of Taiwan. It provides an unrivalled programme of advanced interdisciplinary courses on Taiwan's society, culture, politics, language and economics. It also runs short courses on Taiwan at the Summer School and at other European universities. The School has also become one of the most important centres for Taiwan Studies academic events in the world. During term time, CTS holds regular public seminars, in which scholars working on Taiwan present their research.

In addition, CTS hosts at least one international Taiwan Studies conference a year. It supports PhD research on Taiwan supervision in a wide range of disciplines. The Centre’s contribution to the development of European Taiwan Studies was recognised by the award of the French Taiwan Culture Prize in 2008. Furthermore, in October 2012 Professor Robert Ash, Founder of the Centre of Taiwan Studies at SOAS, was awarded the Friendship Medal of Diplomacy by the Government of the Republic of China, Taiwan. The award recognises Professor Ash’s efforts in promoting the academic study of Taiwan in the UK and Europe.