[Reporter: Ying-Jung Chang] In its commitment to promoting interdisciplinary and diverse learning, National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) has established the “Exploration and Learning Center” and will launch a new “Personalized Exploration Program” this August. The program aims to help students discover their interests and chart individualized academic paths.

NTHU Academic Affairs Dean Yung-Hsien Wu stated that over 70% of last year’s graduates had engaged in interdisciplinary learning. The new program, set to begin this August, allows students to receive counseling from the second semester of their first year. After applying to join the program, students can transfer their enrollment to the NTHU Interdisciplinary Bachelor Program. They can then choose a primary major from outside their original department and combine it with a second major or various credit programs.

Wu gave an example: a chemical engineering student could switch to economics as their primary major and complement it with credit programs in AI or law, forming an interdisciplinary specialty such as “AI and Law.”

As students face more academic choices, how to select and combine them becomes increasingly important. To support this, NTHU has officially established the Exploration and Learning Center, which offers structured exploration courses, academic counseling, and resource matchmaking. It will also launch a “Life Design” course to help students better understand their personal traits and future direction.

Shih-Long Lo, director of the Interdisciplinary Bachelor Program, noted that peer guidance can often resonate more with students than traditional faculty mentorship. The center has therefore invited trained senior students to mentor underclassmen.

Hsin-Yi Peng, coordinator of the center’s task force, said about 50 peer mentors have been trained so far. Due to their similar age and shared experiences, these mentors understand the challenges faced by younger students and help build supportive learning communities.

Peng added that her team conducted a survey of around 200 NTHU students and found that 60–70% fell into two categories: “purpose-driven but unsure how to act” and “action-oriented but unclear on direction.” The Personalized Exploration Program is designed specifically to support these students in discovering their path in a flexible academic environment.

For students seeking even more flexibility, NTHU also offers the “Experimental Education Program,” launched in 2018. Under the guidance of academic advisors, students in this program can design their own curricula, including courses not available at NTHU, and even earn credits through international study, making true cross-disciplinary and cross-border learning possible.

News source: The Merit Times, April 24, 2025.