XULA Study Abroad in Taiwan: 

Huayu BEST Scholarship Program

About the program: Xavier’s Study Abroad in Taiwan program, through the Huayu BEST Scholarship Program, offers Xavier students a unique opportunity to earn six credits toward the Chinese Minor and graduation and fully immerse yourselves in the Chinese language and Taiwanese culture while taking language and cultural enrichment courses of different levels at Xavier’s partner institutions, including National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan, a city of similar population as New Orleans. Huayu BEST, i.e., Chinese (Huayu) Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST), awards Xavier students 50,000 New Taiwanese Dollars (NTD, about US$1,500) to cover tuition and some living expenses during an 8-week summer study at NCKU. In addition to this short-term summer trip, Xavier students can study for a semester or a year and each month receive NTD25,000 to offset the fees and costs.

With Taiwan being a world-class high-tech hub and an open and welcoming education abroad destination, participation in the Huayu BEST Scholarship Program will enhance your Chinese language proficiency, heighten self-reliance and confidence, build broader professional relationships, expand cross-cultural and interpersonal skills through mutual learning and interactions with the host people, and strengthen your resume in preparation for future graduate/professional studies and job placement.

• Xavier University Faculty Leader: Professor Ssu-Yu Chang (schang@xula.edu) a full-time visiting faculty from National Cheng Kung University
  • Location: Taiwan
  • Dates: Summer Session 3: June to August (8 weeks; return one week before fall semester). Individual students can study a semester or a year at NCKU and receive additional Huayu BEST Scholarship funding.
  • Program Cost: total estimate for 8 weeks about $5,000, including international airfare, tuition, fees, lodging, and food
  • Eligibility Requirements:
  1) 18 years old
  2) Minimum 2.8 GPA
  3) Not having graduated from Xavier throughout the program participation period
  • Partner Institution: National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)
  • Funding Opportunities:
  1) Huayu BEST Scholarship: NTD25,000 per month
  2) U.S. federal Critical Language Scholarship, full-ride, around 9% selection ratio. Eligibility: U.S. citizen or national
  3) Combined Benjamin A. Gilman (up to $5,000) and Critical Need Language Award (up to another $3,000). Eligibility: U.S. citizen or national AND Pell Grant recipient
  4) An alternative is to apply for the Gilman-McCain Scholarship, for military families
  5) International Xavier study abroad scholarships