About Kaohsiung Medical University

Kaohsiung Medical University (originally known as Kaohsiung Medical College) was formally established in 1954. After Kaohsiung Medical College became a university in the summer of 1999, it seized this opportunity to move faster and further and attain to the highest standards in teaching, research and service. The shared vision of everyone at Kaohsiung Medical University is to make the university a modern, forward-looking institution striving for excellence in both academics and medical care.

Kaohsiung Medical University has all the strengths of a well-established university. There are wide range of medical related courses and the standard of teaching is very high, the facilities both for basic and clinical research are varied and of a good quality. The University is located in city center of Kaohsiung, the second biggest city in Taiwan, which has all the attractions and excitement of city life.

After its first half-century, Kaohsiung Medical University is sparing no effort on keeping pace with international pace. Our aim is to raise the status of Kaohsiung Medical University as a leading institution of Teaching, Research and Medical Service and then come up to one of the research-oriented Universities in Taiwan by fulfilling President Hsin-Su Yu’s ideal of “Teaching Excellence, Innovative Research, Quality Humanism and Social Caring”.

Being the most prestigious institution of medical education in southern Taiwan, Kaohsiung Medical University needs to further recruiting leading experts, establishing advanced medical education system, improving teaching resources, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration in research and inspiring young faculty for research in order to reach our terminal goal on medical education .

Hardware

The campus of Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) covers an area of 125,527 square meters, excluding an affiliated hospital that sits adjacent to the campus. The university has seventy classrooms equipped with personal computers and projectors, and fourteen general laboratories. Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH), a 1670-bed affiliated hospital, is a well-established research medical center and offers a professional practical training environment for university students. There are three student dormitories on campus--the New Student Dormitory, the South Dormitory and the North Dormitory, with enough rooms to house 1360 students. All classrooms and dormitories are centrally air-conditioned, providing relief from Kaohsiung’s often hot sub-tropical climate and a comfortable study environment. While KMU has around 3,000 cable network outlets spread throughout campus, it also has a campus-wide wireless network connection, making internet immediately available both indoors and outdoors to faculty and students.

There is an Alumni House on campus built with donations from the KMU alumni. This facility provides lodging for alumni and their family members as well as the students’ parents, if they should need to stay overnight on campus.

On KMU’s carefully landscaped campus can also be found various athletic fields, tennis and volleyball courts, and gathering places promoting student health and social interaction.  There are four computer classrooms offering instructional software and hardware, plus printers and internet access.  The University library, with new building completed in 2005 and the original facility, now has approximately 3,600 square meters of floor space plus significantly more advanced computers, collection management equipment, and study and reading facilities.  Users may also employ the library’s online databases to retrieve full-texts and article abrtracts.

Software

This university has many facilities for student activities including those for:

1. Leisure and Sports, consisting of multi-functional meeting areas, running track and field for track activities, basketball courts, volleyball courts, a football field, tennis courts, table tennis rooms, a gymnasium, and fitness centers.

2. We are doing our utmost to encourage students to take part in charity work for the community.  In addition, we also organize students to participate in “Taiwan Students without Borders” to provide less developed countries with overseas medical services.

3. Student Association and Club Activities: KMU currently has 87 academic, music, recreational, sports, service and social associations and clubs for students. The social service clubs form teams that serve rural areas during winter and summer vacation. There are clubs that form medical service teams to provide medical service and promote health through education in the rural areas surrounding Kaohsiung. KMU has several music and athletic clubs, some winners of nationwide competitions. Others give performances at the end of the semester.

4. An auditorium, performance hall, restaurant, social activity hall, computer lab, study hall, student gallery as well as two outdoor areas for rest and relaxation.