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The Department of Land Economics does have a proud history for its establishment in the National Chengchi University. In 1932, the National Government founded ¡§the research class of land economics¡¨ in the Central Political School, which was the forerunner of the National Chengchi University. Renowned Dr. Tseng Hsiao was head of the research class, which tutored students to become experts in the areas of land reform and land administration. Shortly afterward, the research class was transformed into ¡§the college of land economics,¡¨ which was the first graduate Institute in the whole country. However, because of the Sino-Japanese war, the college was temporarily closed in 1940 and changed its title to ¡§the expertise class of land economics.¡¨ The expertise class modified its name again in 1943, and the new title of it was the department of land economics, which was the direct birthplace of the department. Unfortunately, it was forced to suspend its operation in 1947 because of civil war in China.
After the fall of mainland China in 1949, the National Government moved to Taiwan, and the department did resume its operation in 1963 because of the intensely demand for special talent in this area. Nevertheless, it should be noted that many experts trained in Mainland China did devote themselves in the successful story of land reform in Taiwan between 1949 and 1953. In addition, the department has been cooperating with the Research Institute of Land Economics since 1968 to establish the graduate institute specialized in the master level. The graduate institute started in 1981 to recruit doctoral level graduate students for academic research. Therefore, the department is the only research institute of land economics in Taiwan to possess the undergraduate, master, and doctor programs. At this moment, there are approximately 490 undergraduate students, 70 master level graduate students, and 20 doctoral level students in the department.
The department does emphasize on interdisciplinary study, and concentrates its research on the areas of theory of land economics, land management, land resource planning and practice, and land surveying. In order to meet students¡¦ interests and academic development, undergraduate students are divided into three tracks: one is land management, one is land resource planning, the other one is geometric information. All three groups do have some common ground and some courses should be taken by all of the students. But they do have some differences and unique features in these three tracks, separately. The department does reexamine requirement courses that it offers every three years, and it endeavors to educate students to meet social development and to become experts both on the public and private sectors. At this moment, there are 19 faculty members in the department. Within them, 17 hold doctoral degree and 2 own master degree. They are all special in some distinctive research areas, for example: land use and control, real estate appraisal, urban planning, urban renewal, land and environmental laws, theory of land economy, urban growth management, real estate investment and development, land surveying, public policy analysis, and etc. Most of them have very good reputation and receive prestige in the society.
Graduates from the department do receive good employment opportunities both in the public and private sectors. For example, many graduates work for central and local governmental agencies, state-owned enterprises, and financial institutions. Some graduates are employed in private corporations, such as areas of construction, urban planning, real estate investment and development, real estate appraisal, land surveying, and etc. Some graduates found teaching jobs in vocational schools, public and private colleges. Their excellent achievements assist the department to build up its eminent position in Taiwan.
Based upon its distinctive history, the department will make efforts to meet the challenges in the next century. It decides to have closely contact or cooperation with distinguished research institutes or universities in foreign countries in order to exchange research experiences. International conferences will be held, and some well-known scholars will be invited in these occasions. In addition, academic exchanges between Taiwan Strait are also important, and the department does have many experiences to work together with Chinese institutes specialized in China¡¦s land problems. The department will continue to exchange research results with them henceforth. It is also important to comprehend that the structure of the department has been altered because a new track named geometric information has been approved by the Ministry of Education. It means that undergraduate program of the department will enlarge from two to three tracks since 2000. With its three tracks and graduate institute, it is hope that the department will grow to become a college in the near future.
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