Introduction

    The Department of Health and Welfare is the first under-graduate program in Taiwan dedicated to multidisciplinary education and research in the field of health and welfare. Following the trend of the reorganization of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2013, as well as emerging needs for medical services, welfare, and long-term care resulting from the rapidly aging population in Taiwanese society, the urgent demand for a sufficient quantity of high quality professionals who majored in health and welfare is indeed a crucial challenge for both the public and private sectors. As a response to this demand and the inevitable challenge, the Department was approved by the Ministry of Education and founded on September 12, 2014. In the autumn semester of 2015, we began to admit high school graduates.

    The mission of the Department is to educate and train students to possess the capability of diverse insights, multidisciplinary teamwork, and competence in both research and practice. We assume that at the stage of undergraduate training, basic knowledge and skills in the fields of health and welfare will put the students at a great starting point and foster a sound environment for their career development in health and welfare qhile also promoting the health and well-being of all citizens in Taiwan.

    The design of the curriculum scheme for the Department aims to keep a balance between building expertise and provoking the interests of each individual student. In addition to the college-wide required courses arranged by the College of Municipal Administration Management, all the enrolled students of the Department must take required departmental courses and complete internship programs. As to the optional courses, we provide a variety of courses in the following two main areas: ‘Health Administration and Big-Data Analysis’ and ‘Long-Term Care and Welfare Services’. These courses are designed to enhance the core ability of students in policy-making, field practice, and analytic skills of big data with further applications.