Table of Contents
About National Chung Cheng University …...……………………. / 1Campus Environment ……………………………………………. / 2
About the Program ……………………………………………….. / 3
Our Goal ………………………………………………………...... / 3
Curriculum Plan and Requirements ………………………………. / 4
Course Descriptions …………………………………………….... / 6
PhD DegreeRequirements ……………………………………….. / 17
List of Participating Faculty Members …………………………… / 18
Laboratories Managed by Participating Faculty Members……… 22
Vision and Career Prospects ……………………………………… / 23
Eligibility: Who can Apply? ……………………………………. / 23
ApplicationProcedure and Required Documents ……………..... / 24
Scholarship and Financial Aids …………………………………… / 24
Detailed Information about Participating Faculty Members ..…… / 25
Campus Life ………………………………………………………. / 63
Contact Us ……………………………………………………..... / 71
The PhD Program in Cognitive Sciences at National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan
(All-English Curriculum)
About National Chung Cheng University
National Chung Cheng University (CCU) was ranked among the best 100 universities in Asia by Times Higher Education and voted as the most beautiful campus by Yahoo Taiwan in 2012. CCU was the first public university to be established after Taiwan's economic boom in the 1980's. In 1986, in order to commemorate one of the famous presidents in Taiwan, CHIANG Kai-Shek, and to develop higher education in the Yun-lin, Chia-yi, and Tainan areas, the Executive Branch (Yuan) passed a plan to establish National Chung Cheng University. It was officially founded on July 1, 1989 with Dr. LIN Ching-Jiang as the first University president. Dr. Lin set up the original five colleges of the University: the College of Humanities, the College of Sciences, the College of Social Sciences, the College of Engineering, and the College of Management.
The second President of the University, Dr. Kuo-ShungCHENG, served a term of three years from October 21, 1996 to October 21, 1999. During his tenure, the College of Law was founded in 1998, and the College of Education in 1999. Altogether, the University currently consists of seven colleges which feature 29 Undergraduate Programs , 44 Master Programs, 29 Ph.D. Programs, and 17 executive master Programs, with more than 960 faculty and staff members, and about 12,000 graduate and undergraduate students (according to the survey conducted in the Fall Semester of 2012).
CCU was founded to be a research-oriented University that aims to provide students with the advanced skills in humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, technology, law, and management. It is the comprehensive liberal arts education that allows students to effectively deal with the complexity of life in the 21st century. Building upon the foundation of the more than two decades, the current and 4th President, Dr. Jyh-Yang WU, thrives on leading the university to achieve the goals of academic excellence, internationalization, and active involvement with the community.
Campus Environment
The campus is located in the central part of Chiayicountry, 15 kilometers from the City of Chiayi, which is approximately 250 kilometers south of Taipei, Taiwan’s capital. The campus occupies an open landscape of 132 hectares on a hillside, with a variety of more than 200,000 trees planted over the years. On a campus tour, one cannot help but be struck by the awe and elegant buildings of different architectural styles, surrounded by tall trees, open green spaces, and winding roads flanked with flowering trees and bushes which blossom in different seasons. The campus itself is a beautiful park with serenity and openness and is constantly filled with fresh air in comparison to Taiwan’s other more urban campuses. Viewed from the plains below, the University looks like a splendid palace on a hill, but the ivory tower image is only physical, as the university serves the community in many ways.
The Administration Building at the center of campus is built with the gracefulChinese style step-pyramid, acting as a grounding focal point for the activity taking place around it. In front of the Administration Building is a wide brick road leading to the main entrance of the campus. The road is blocked to motorized traffic and is for walking and bicycling, a main route for students entering and leaving the campus. On the opposite side one finds another brick walkway bordered by trees and green spaces. This walkway leads to the impressive brick piazza situated in front of the campus's main Auditorium, and opens to a circular water fixture, a common landmark and meeting place.
Facing the Auditorium is the Library and Information Building, an impressive, towering landmark of the University. It has more than 1,334,861 books, 78,556 periodicals and more than 580,402 microfilms, microfiches and CD-ROMs (2015.10.01 updated). Its Computer Center supports academic research, computer assisted instruction, on-line registration services, video-conferences, long distance learning, and other multimedia services. The library's Audio-Visual Center boasts the most updated, high-tech AV equipment. In the Main Library, the sun-roofed inner court adds natural light to the reading areas. It is a great pleasure to study and research in this spacious and tranquil environment.
The Gymnasium was one of the most splendid and expensive constructions in southern Taiwan. It has two Olympic-sized swimming pools (one indoors and one outdoors), a roller-skating rink, bowling alleys, and indoor courts for basketball, volleyball, and badminton. In addition, it has rooms for Judo, weight-lifting and circuit training, indoor rock climbing walls, an outdoor Olympic track and field stadium, and of course, ping-pong facilities. Last, but not least, the sprawling campus even has a golf course with 20 fairways.
The Student Activity Center is situated beside Tranquility Lake. The structure itself is very unique with different elevations in the interior. From these floors one can have a gorgeous view of the beautifully arched bridge crossing the Lake. The ground floor is spacious and bordered on one side by the Lake, on another by one of the various cafeterias in the center, and on another by a wide staircase. This area is often the stage for various student group performances and activities.
The Lake is a favorite spot for visitors and members of the University community. On a sunny day one will find families and children strolling along its stone walkways. Soon-to-be married couples, in full wedding attire, are often seen posing for their wedding portraits. Swans, ducks, quail, turtles, and fish of various species form their own community on the lake. They make this beautiful part of the campus an attractive family retreat for neighboring towns and counties, as well as a place for romantic walks on the path around the lake.
The buildings for the seven Colleges are interspersed in the park-like campus, each with its unique architectural style, symbolic of its purpose and individuality. They all house various resting areas, student run cafes, and small courtyards.
About the Program
The all-English PhD program in Cognitive Sciences (CS) at National Chung Cheng University (CCU) is a new doctoral program, formally established in 2013,created by the joint efforts among faculty members of Center for Research in Cognitive Sciences, Department of Psychology, Graduate Institute of Linguistics, Department of Philosophy, Graduate Institute of Education,Department of Electrical Engineering, and Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering.CCU has been playing a leading role in fostering and promoting cognitive sciences for more than a quarter of century in Taiwan, and we are excited to announce the new degree-awarding PhD program, which represents an interdisciplinary integration across many well-developed academic institutes and departments at CCU.
Our goal
The main objectives of the CS program are to explore the nature of human mind and intelligence, the brain mechanisms underlying mental functions, and the behaviors that derive from the mental faculties. More specifically, the program covers areas encompassing psychology (especially cognitive psychology), linguistics,philosophy (especially philosophy of mind), artificial intelligence, image processing, machine learning, and neuroscience. We not only anticipate to make contributions to the study of mind, brain, and behaviors from our own disciplines, but also to benefit from closely interacting and communicating with colleagues from other disciplines that share the same intellectual interests, both at the level of theory construction and the level of empirical inquiry. To those ends, we have organized the CS program into four core areas in accordance with the expertise of participating faculty members. The four core areas are as follows:
- Cognitive neuroscience—including visual cognition, developmental neuroscience, emotional development, reading and language development, cognitive modeling, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, etc.
- Linguistics and language processing—including syntax, phonology, semantics, psycholinguistics, language and cognition, computational linguistics,language acquisition,reading comprehension, etc.
- Mind and cognition—including the basis of logic and artificial intelligence, mental representation, consciousness, etc.
- Applied cognition—including cognitive aging, human factors, education and learning, human-computer interface design, artificial intelligence, image processing, and machine learning,etc.
Curriculum Plan and Requirements
All courses offered in the CS program will be taught in English, and hence CS is an all-English PhD program. The students accepted by our program will be required to take 18 credits of course work before they can apply to take the doctoral qualification exam and become PhD candidates. More specifically, the course work requirement include (a) takingtwo common required courses, namely “Introduction to Cognitive Sciences” (3 credits) and “Research Methodology in Cognitive Sciences”(3 credits), for a total of 6 credits, and (b) taking four elected courses for a total of 12 credits. For the elected courses at least two (6 credits) should be from a chosen major area, and at least one interdisciplinary course(3 credits) from the remaining areas.
Common required courses (6 credits)Introduction to Cognitive Science (3credits)
Research Methodology in Cognitive Sciences (3credits)
Elected courses (12 credits)
(All courses listed below are of 3 credits each.)
Cognitive
neuroscience / Linguistics and language processing / Mind and cognition / Applied cognition
Introduction to Developmental Neurosciences
(S.-T. Tina Huang) / Foundation of Linguistics Theory
(James Myers) / Consciousness and qualia
(Kevin P.Kimble) / Introductory to human factors
(Min-Ju Liao)
Special Topics on Emotional Development
(S.-T. Tina Huang) / Phonology
(James Myers) / Consciousness and Intentionality
(Kevin P. Kimble) / Seminar on Reading Development and Instruction
(Yuh-TsuenTzeng)
The Psychology of Visual and Auditory Perception
(Gary C.-W. Shyi) / Psycholinguistics
(James Myers)
(Shu-Ping Gong) / Mental Causation
(Kevin P. Kimble) / Seminar on Brain, Cognition,& Learning (Yuh-TsuenTzeng)
An Introduction to Vision Science
(Gary C.-W. Shyi) / Computational Linguistics
(Jiun-ShiungWu) / Mental Representation
(Kevin P. Kimble) / Digital Signal Processing
(Ching-Chun Huang)
Advanced Seminar on Visual Cognition
(Gary C.-W. Shyi) / Formal Semantics
(Jiun-ShiungWu) / Perceptual Experience
(Kevin P. Kimble) / Machine Learning
(Ching-Chun Huang)
Neuropsychopathology
(Feng-Bin Wang) / Syntax
(Niina Ning Zhang) / Theories of Mind
(Kevin P. Kimble) / Machine Learning and Neural Networks (selected topics)
(Michael Mayer)
Neuroanatomy
(Feng-Bin Wang) / Seminar on Text Comprehension
(Yuh-TsuenTzeng) / Formal Epistemology
(Ren-June Wang) / Neuropsychopathology*
(Feng-Bin Wang)
Seminar on Brain, Cognition, & Learning*
(Yuh-TsuenTzeng) / Cognitive Neurolinguistics (Shu-Ping Gong) / Seminar on Brain, Cognition, & Learning*
(Yuh-TsuenTzeng) / Introduction to Developmental Neurosciences*
(S.-T. Tina Huang)
Cognitive Linguistics (Shu-Ping Gong) / Psycholinguistics*
(James Myers) / Special Topics on Emotional Development*
(S.-T. Tina Huang)
Seminar on Language and Cognition (Shu-Ping Gong) / An Introduction to Vision Science*
(Gary C.-W. Shyi) / Computational Linguistics*
(Jiun-Shiung Wu)
Cognitive Linguistics*
(Shu-Ping Gong)
Seminar on Language and Cognition*
(Shu-Ping Gong)
Cognitive Neurolinguistics*
(Shu-Ping Gong)
Formal Epistemology*
(Ren-June Wang)
Notes:
- The courses listed above are considered corecurriculum of Cognitive Sciences. Participating faculty members, however, may offer other related courses in their respective departments and/or graduate institutes, albeit not listed here.
- The courses marked with ”*” are those cross-listed over different areas.
Course Descriptions
Common required coursesInstructor / Course title / Course description / Remarks
Faculty members of the CS program. / Introduction to Cognitive Science / This course is designed for graduate students who are interested in gaining general knowledge in cognitive science and to understand why it is so important that cognitive science as a discipline to study the mind requires an interdisciplinary approach. No special background is required, but students from philosophy, linguistics, and psychology departments are especially welcome.
Faculty members of the CS program. / Research Methodology in Cognitive Sciences / The goal of this course is to provide a broad survey of research methods widely used in different areas of cognitive sciences, including behavioral (psychophysical), brain imaging (for both neurophysiology and neuroanatomy), and computational (simulation and modeling) approaches. In addition, we will also include discussion from philosophy of science, philosophy of cognitive sciences in particular, to highlight some of the fundamental methodological issues when the subject matter for research entails human mind and brain.
Area: Cognitive Neuroscience
Instructor / Course title / Course description / Remarks
Shih-Tseng Huang / Special Topics on Emotional Development / The goal of the course is to discuss the issues of emotional development, including identification of emotion, emotional expression, and emotional regulation. The age range will cover from infancy to adulthood. / This course is cross-listed in the area of Applied Cognition.
Introduction to Developmental Neurosciences / The goal of the course is to explore the basic neurosciences of human development, including the methodology of neuroscience, neuroscientific approach in studying cognitive and social development and cutting-edge findings. / This course is cross-listed in the area of Applied Cognition.
Gary C.-W. Shyi / The Psychology of Visual and Auditory Perception / The main goal of this course is to provide a systematic introduction to the system and processes of perception. The course will emphasize the basic concepts and ideas about perceptual processes, the relationship between the organization of the brain (and central nervous system) and perception. It will further divide the perceptual system into the visual system and auditory system because these are the two main sensory/perceptual abilities among humans. For vision, we will cover in details perception of objects, color, depth and size, and motion. For hearing, we will discuss the basic structure of auditory system and the neuronal basis for hearing, frequency analysis, timbre, sound localization, and auditory scene analysis. We will also emphasize principles that are common to the visual and auditory systems.
An Introduction to Vision Science / Vision plays a large and important role for humans as well as other animals to know about their physical environment and social world. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the basic concepts, research methods, and major findings that vision scientists in the past few decades have offered for us to understand how the visual system works in order for us to see. The topics that will be covered in the course are: (1) introduction to vision science, (2) theoretical approaches to vision, (3) eye and brain: the neurophysiological basis of visual processing, (4) color vision: a microcosm of vision (5) processing image structure, (6) perceiving surfaces oriented in depth, (7) object processing and recognition, and (8) face processing and recognition. Collectively, these topics will show, as a model for cognitive science, how vision science benefits from a variety of different scientific disciplines to understand how the visual system works. / This course is cross-listed in the area of Mind and Cognition
Advanced Seminar on Visual Cognition / In order to better understand and function effectively in the world around us, information extracted and processed by the visual system ultimately will have to be linked to the larger cognitive system. The main purpose of this course is to offer an advanced introduction to high-level visual processing, from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience, where behavioral (psychophysical), neuroscientific, and computational approaches will be highlighted. Topics to be covered in the course include object recognition, visuospatialattention, face processing and recognition, visual working memory and scene perception.
Feng-Bin Wang / Neuropsychopathology / The goal of this course is to offer the basis of the clinical Neuropsychology and to explore the mental illness by introducing the basic structure and function of the brain. / This course is cross-listed in the area of Applied Cognition.
Neuroanatomy / This course offers students to explore the basic and complete anatomical knowledge of the nervous systems. Student registered in this class should report the assigned chapters, be involved in the discussion, and hand in a term paper to review the neural pathway that is to be the focus of the student’s graduate study.
Area: Linguistics and Language Processing
Instructor / Course title / Course description / Remarks
James Myers / Foundations of Linguistic Theory / You have already had experience with linguistic theory and linguistic analysis. Now we'll put
this experience into philosophical and historical context, and practice the logic of linguistic argumentation at a higher level.
Psycholinguistics / Psycholinguistics is the study of language processing by human beings (adultnative speakers, second language learners, and children). In this class you will learn to understand classic and current theories of psycholinguistics, critique current psycholinguistic research on Chinese and other languages, and design and run original psycholinguistic experiments on a topic of your choice, so that youcan contribute to the development of psycholinguistics and apply its results to your own research. / This course cross-listed in the area of Mind and Cognition
Phonology / Phonology is the study of the interface between grammar and physical signals, in spoken language and sign language. In this class you will learn to analyze phonological data, understand classic and current theories of phonology, design and run laboratory phonology experiments and corpus analyses, and read and write phonology papers, so that you can contribute to the development of phonological theory and apply its results to your own research.