Cultural Studies, which had already flourished in the local context of Taiwan by the late 1990s, began as a unique academic entity. While it resisted the potential limitations and rigidity of institutionalization, individual researchers also faced various pressures and constraints within the framework of their established disciplines. Serendipitously, three predominantly science and engineering-oriented national universities in the geographically close Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli area—National Tsing Hua University, National Chiao Tung University, and National Central University—were home to a number of scholars engaged in cultural studies. Through increasingly frequent interactions, a consensus and atmosphere for collaboration began to form among them.

Coincidentally, in the 2000s, higher education in Taiwan began to promote various models for academic advancement. These included encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration to open new intellectual frontiers and perspectives, and the formation of university systems to share resources and enhance collective strength. Seizing these opportunities, the cultural studies scholars from these three universities accelerated their discussions on how to break through institutional constraints and foster concrete academic integration.

After two years of autonomous organization and meticulous planning, the three universities launched Taiwan's first inter-university Master's credit program formed by scholars from the humanities and social sciences. This program not only transcended the boundaries of universities and disciplines but also jointly promoted teaching, research, and academic activities centered on cultural studies. Structurally, National Chiao Tung University was the first to establish the UST Cultural Studies Program Office in 2003, followed by National Central University and National Tsing Hua University in 2004. In 2009, colleagues from National Yang-Ming University also joined this inter-university framework and established their own program office. The Inter-Asia Cultural Studies program within the University System of Taiwan has attracted over 70 faculty members, forming a comprehensive collaborative framework.

The University System of Taiwan provided administrative and resource support for this inter-university structure, allowing cross-campus course enrollment to flourish, and many dedicated graduate students joined the program. However, students enrolled in the Inter-Asia Cultural Studies credit program had to manage their original Master's program requirements in addition to the extra cross-campus credits, which was a heavy burden. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education's regulations on the length of Master's studies were not extended for students taking credit programs. This institutional bottleneck directly constrained the program's development.

Faced with this predicament, the program began to consider enrolling degree-seeking students to overcome this structural limitation, providing them with comprehensive intellectual training and preserving and developing the local character of cultural studies. Scholars cultivating cultural studies across the four universities began to specifically plan the establishment of an inter-university research center and a degree program to institutionally support the academic development of the field. At the same time, seizing the historic opportunity of Asia's rise, they engaged in dialogue with peers from universities and research institutes across the continent, building a transnational cooperative framework to expand collaboration and vitality.

Establishing a new institutional concept within the existing disciplinary landscape always presents various challenges. This was especially true for a degree program formed across four universities, as it had to navigate the distinct proposal processes and administrative requirements of each institution. The degree program proposal faced delays of varying degrees throughout these processes. Even after being approved by all four universities in 2009, its review by the Ministry of Education was unjustifiably deferred. In 2011, a revised proposal for the Master's Program in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies once again completed the internal processes at each university and was finally approved by the Ministry of Education. In 2012, the program officially began recruiting international and local students, paving the way for the academic reproduction of Inter-Asia Cultural Studies.

On this website, we do our best to document the program's gradual growth and efforts over the past decade. It is our hope that the history of this new discipline's birth not only actively contributes to the vision of transforming higher education but also spurs us forward through continuous self-reflection.

Milestones