Credit & Typical Schedules

Credit

All Undergraduates

A normal course load in Taiwan is four courses. Students enroll in 16 hours of class per week. All coursework is completed in Chinese. Substantial amounts of time are required for class preparation.  Students can expect to spend at least one hour outside of class preparing their lessons for each hour in class.  All courses have frequent quizzes, as well as midterm and final examinations to monitor students’ progress.  After the final examination, there is a graduation ceremony that all students must attend.

Middlebury College considers a semester or academic year abroad equivalent to a semester or academic year in the United States.  Students are not permitted to carry either lighter or heavier than normal loads, even if their home schools would allow it.

Middlebury Undergraduates

Middlebury College students wishing to obtain transfer credit for a major and/or minor should complete and submit the “Transfer Credit Application Form” to respective academic department chairs and then to the Office of International Programs and Off Campus Study (IPOCS) for final approval. The department chair will likely want to see a copy of the work you did for the class that you are requesting credit for, so bring these back to the US with you.

Students from Other Colleges and Universities

Because an undergraduate student’s home institution determines the number of credits awarded for work abroad, students are urged to consult with their advisers well ahead of time.

Direct Enrollment

Academic year students may choose to enroll directly in a course offered by the host university during the spring semester, pending the approval of the Director. Academic year students must tell program staff of their interest in this option by the middle of the fall term. Students that do so will receive a list of spring semester course options as soon as the university’s spring course registration begins.  Students who choose this option must be prepared for the fact that the professor’s approach to teaching may be very different than what they are accustomed to.

Because the Taiwanese academic calendar includes semesters that are longer than U.S. semesters, students direct-enrolling in university courses will be required to remain in Kaohsiung which may be a week or two after the end of the Middlebury in Taiwan term, in order to complete the course and final exam.

Typical Academic Schedule

Single semester students and first-semester academic year students:

  1. Taiwan Studies: 4 hrs/wk
  2. One-on-one tutorial on an academic subject: 4 hrs/wk
  3. Mandarin elective course: 4 hrs/wk
  4. Mandarin elective course: 4 hrs/wk

Second Semester (academic year students will choose four of the five courses below):

  1. Mandarin elective course: 4 hrs/wk
  2. Mandarin elective course: 4 hrs/wk
  3. One-on-one tutorial on an academic subject: 4 hrs/wk
  4. (Optional) Internship: 12-16 hrs/wk
  5. (Optional) Direct Enrollment in a class at the university (at Director’s discretion.)