Accompanied by two colleagues, the director of the Office of International Affairs of Temple University Dr. Olga Vil-ceanu came to TKU to discuss the continuation of 3+2 dual mater’s degree programs. Except the existing 24 master’s degrees, two universities have agreed to add more mater’s degrees in physical kinematics, marketing, English teaching (TEASL), tourism management. Meanwhile both encouraged students to try to apply for master’s degree programs of cross-academic- disciplines. In other words, students are not limited to apply for master’s degree programs in their own previous majors.

Temple University was founded in 1884, so it has a history of more than 120 years. It is a public comprehensive university with a good variety of academic fields. It signed a cooperative agreement with TKU to offer 3+2 dual degrees in April this year. This time the visiting delegation would have a symposium with faculties and students at the Lanyang Campus on Oct. 14, informing them of the cooperative plans. The so-called 3+2 dual degree system is that TKU students can apply to study for a two-year master’s degree at Temple University after studying at TKU for three years. If the student is successful in both, he/she can obtain a bachelor’s degree from TKU and a master’s degree from Temple. Last August TKU chemistry senior student Juan-yuan Chen went to Temple University to study for a MS degree in molecular biology & genetics. Juan-yuan Chen said that he adjusted himself well at Temple University although he would have to work hard on his English and technical jargons in his studies.

The requirements of the 3+2 dual degree programs are that TKU students should be juniors or seniors with TOEFL IBT 79 or above and GPA 3.0 (75) or above. Temple University has emphasized that if students cannot meet the English requirement, they offer condensed summer English courses to help them. Interested students can apply through Temple University’s website: http//www.temple.edu/cst/dbmd or inquire about it at TKU’s Office of International Exchanges and International Education. Vice President for International Affairs Wan-chin Tai encourages freshmen and sophomores to go to Temple University to study the condensed summer English courses to strengthen their English proficiency and familiarize themselves with the environment. This is a great help for them to apply for the 3+2 dual degree programs in the future! ( ~Dean X. Wang )