In August 2000, the MA program in Taiwanese Literature was established. By 2002, it had expanded into the first comprehensive Department of Taiwanese Literature in Taiwan, offering BA, MA, and Ph.D. programs. The department emerged as a significant outcome of Taiwan's democratization and decolonization struggles, with the aim of exploring Taiwan’s history, culture, languages, and identity.

The Department of Taiwanese Literature fosters the study of Taiwanese literature, culture, and languages in intensive and inclusive ways. Our aim is to "world" Taiwan by bringing Taiwan to the world and the world to Taiwan. We offer a wide array of courses in literature, fiction, languages, popular culture, film, history, digital media, and theory.

At the undergraduate level, all of our courses emphasize the development of students' skills in writing, speaking, critical thinking, textual analysis, and argumentation. At the graduate level, we encourage students to engage in comparative and relational analyses of Taiwan's "worlding" project, particularly in relation to other East Asian and Southeast Asian countries.

We provide a creative and vibrant environment for academic exchange internationally. We offer and hold international conferences, seminars and workshops with scholars coming from various countries with different interdisciplinary academic backgrounds. Our graduate program ensures that students have access to an ample selection of English or bilingual (English-Chinese/Taiwanese) courses to fulfill their graduation requirements. For international students interested in learning Taiwanese, we provide introductory courses specifically tailored to meet their needs.

Our graduate program (MA & PhD) for international students is divided into two divisions:

A) Division for Taiwanese Literature Studies: This division focuses on courses primarily conducted in Chinese and Taiwanese.

B) Division for Taiwan and Southeast Asian Studies: This division offers courses mainly in English or bilingual format (English alongside Taiwanese or Chinese). Students have the opportunity to enroll in courses from all departments within the College of Liberal Arts as well as limited courses from other colleges. In collaboration with the Center for Vietnamese Studies at NCKU, we particularly encourage prospective students interested in researching Southeast Asia or conducting comparative studies of Taiwan and Southeast Asia to apply for this division. The research areas covered are extensive, including linguistics, cultural studies, migration studies, literature, gender studies, history, anthropology, archaeology and more.