Core Competency 1: Understanding of Contemporary Theories in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Familiarity with major contemporary theories in the humanities and social sciences and their historical contexts. A clear understanding of the dialogues and debates within these fields, as well as their respective implications and limitations.

Core Competency 2: Literacy in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies
A broad knowledge of and practical ability to engage with issues and academic traditions related to cultural studies in specific Asian regions. A comprehensive grasp of relevant topics and scholarly traditions in the field.

Core Competency 3: Interdisciplinary Textual Analysis
Excellent ability to cross-reference, sensitively analyze, and compare texts produced across different historical periods, geographical locations, cultures, and media.

Core Competency 4: Literature Collection, Organization, and Interpretation
The ability to efficiently and effectively collect relevant literature from diverse sources, demonstrating sharp skills in interpretation and analysis, and the capacity to proactively organize and review materials to fully command the scope of a specific field of knowledge.

Core Competency 5: Global Perspective and Social Concern
Possession of a well-developed and broad capacity for thinking within international contexts, a strong sense of social justice and humanitarian concern, and the initiative to actively engage with issues affecting marginalized groups to promote social progress.
 

Interdisciplinary research is a prevailing trend in international academia, and the humanities and social sciences are no exception. Dialogue and the sharing of intellectual resources between different fields can stimulate more forward-thinking and innovative academic research and knowledge production. Moreover, it allows for a profound understanding of new phenomena emerging within different social structures in the context of globalization. "Cultural Studies," which first emerged in Europe and America in the latter half of the 20th century, is a vital interdisciplinary academic space developed within the humanities and social sciences. It not only fosters dialogue and debate among traditional disciplines but also, through its interdisciplinary perspective and integrated professional foundation, keenly grasps changes in the global situation and contemporary intellectual issues, yielding research outcomes of great academic vitality and analytical creativity.

"Cultural Studies" has developed academic systems with different characteristics around the world in response to local historical environments and social structures. In Asia, facing the complex and volatile historical process of modernization in the 20th century and drastic cultural, political, economic, and social changes, numerous interdisciplinary cultural studies units and departments have been established. Universities in South Korea (Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea National University of Arts), Japan (University of Tokyo, Ritsumeikan University, Kyushu University), mainland China (Peking University, Tsinghua University, Shanghai University), Hong Kong (University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University), Singapore (National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University), Indonesia (University of Indonesia), India (Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences), and Australia (University of Sydney, University of South Australia), among others, have actively founded academic units for cultural studies. These developments indicate that cultural studies is not only thriving but also that its interdisciplinary approach is highly valued within the Asian context, which currently receives significant international attention. By effectively proposing discourses with theoretical depth and analytical insight on transforming Asian societies and cultures, cultural studies enables Asian humanities scholarship to stand on equal footing with its European and American counterparts.

Cultural Studies in Taiwan emerged and rapidly developed within the context of the dramatic social changes following the lifting of martial law. In 1997, it was recognized by the National Science Council as an interdisciplinary field and assigned its own sub-disciplinary code (HO). The Cultural Studies Association (CSA) in Taiwan was formally established in 1998, quickly becoming one of the most vibrant and productive academic communities. Over more than a decade, through the efforts of seven successive executive teams, eleven major annual conferences have been held, hosted in rotation by universities such as Tsing Hua, Chiao Tung, Central, National Taiwan, Soochow, Chinese Culture, and National Taiwan Normal University, with attendance growing to as many as a thousand participants. The dynamic *Cultural Studies Monthly* e-journal has published 130 issues, and the academic journal *Router: A Journal of Cultural Studies* has released 8 issues. The international academic journal *Inter-Asia Cultural Studies* was launched in 2000, published by the world-renowned Routledge, actively connecting cultural studies communities across Asia and promoting transnational and transcultural academic exchange. Its editorial office, located at National Chiao Tung University and led by Prof. Kuan-Hsing Chen, has not only built a vast academic network in Asia but also brought Taiwanese cultural studies onto the international stage.

The cultural studies team organized by the University System of Taiwan (UST) integrates the research talent of National Central University, National Chiao Tung University, National Tsing Hua University, and National Yang-Ming University. It boasts a faculty lineup in cultural studies that is unparalleled in Taiwan's academic community, built upon a stable decade-long foundation of collaboration through the "UST Inter-University Credit Program in Cultural Studies." The UST cultural studies team holds a leading academic position in Taiwan; the first four presidents of the CSA were all senior professors from the UST system, which is also well-represented among the association's directors and supervisors.

Led by senior and mid-career faculty who mentor junior colleagues, the UST cultural studies team has, over the years, established research labs and centers with a global perspective, accumulating significant international exchange networks and academic achievements. These include the Center for Asia-Pacific/Cultural Studies and the Center for Emerging Cultural Studies at National Chiao Tung University; the Center for the Study of Sexualities and the Center for Visual Culture at National Central University; the Asia-Pacific/Cultural Research Center at National Tsing Hua University; and the newly established Visual Culture Studies Lab at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. The synergistic effects of these academic clusters have multiplied their scholarly strength and productivity.

Leveraging the rare advantages of this team and its established international networks, and to further expand the academic influence of cultural studies in Taiwan while connecting with thriving cultural studies communities in Asia and internationally, the UST system formally established the "International Master's Program in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies" in 2013. This program fulfills the goal of cultivating advanced interdisciplinary talent in the humanities and social sciences and accumulating a body of thesis research.

Currently, interdisciplinary graduate programs in the humanities and social sciences are still rare in Taiwan, and an international doctoral program that combines research talent from multiple universities is unprecedented. The "International PhD Program in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (University System of Taiwan)," designed as an inter-university and interdisciplinary program, will cultivate top-tier talent in the field. It will address the rapidly changing international situation and the evolving knowledge structures of the humanities and social sciences, providing research that engages with cutting-edge issues. By leveraging the program's strong connections to the international academic community, it will concretely and rapidly enhance the internationalization of academic research in Taiwan's humanities and social sciences.