The sustainable planning and design would directly contribute to the human-wellbeing. While insisting on its goal of training “generalized professionals”, GIBP will purse the development and application of interdisciplinary knowledge in response to the challenges brought by the economic globalization and sustainable development. In the short term, GIBP will undertake course reforms and seek to improve closer integration between theories and practices. In the middle and long terms, GIBP will promote the establishment of Planning and Design School for Sustainable Development in the NTU to make greater contributions to the sustainable development of Taiwan and the world.

1.Careers for Ph.D Graduates

Graduates from our Ph.D. program are outstanding in their field. Most graduates join various teaching and research units of tertiary institutions and hold prominent positions in their respective departments. There is a considerable number of our alumni who hold or have held the position of head of the faculty of architecture and planning at various institutions. Furthermore, previously when universities were adding on new faculties, some of our alumni participated in the preparatory work of establishing architecture and planning faculties at their current institutions of employment. Such as Hsiao Pai-Hsing and Shi Chang-An who established the Department and Graduate School of Architecture at Huafan University, and Hung Chi-Yung who planned the establishment of the Department of Urban Planning and Disaster Management at Ming Chuan University. From these achievements, our fore-mentioned institute educational objective that “Ph.D. candidates must be able to conduct research independently as well as be capable of professional teaching responsibilities” has indeed been accomplished.

In addition, from the employments in the public sector, the outcome of our institute in the cultivation of leaders in society can also be seen. During the careers of our alumni, many of them step from the education sector into the public sector and become key policy and decision makers in both central and local governments. For example, Chang Jing-Sen who was a former vice chairman of the Executive Yuan Council for Economic Planning and Development, Tseng Shu-Cheng who was a former deputy mayor of Tainan County, and Kau Moung-Ding who was a member of the Legislative Yuan. The accomplishments of these policy-makers are an indication of the institute’s emphasis on public participation and the influence that a comprehensive professional education has on our graduates’ career development.

2. Career and further studies for master’s student

Many of our master’s students choose to further their studies. Some of the graduates enter Ph.D. programs of other faculties and some others study abroad. Moreover, many of our graduates go into the public or education sectors to pursue their careers. The departments in the public sector include research institutions of the central government (Ministry of National Defense, Academia Sinica, Industrial Technology Research Institute) as well as local governments (Tainan City, Taipei County). Educational institutions include research assistant positions in graduate institutes and research centers of various tertiary institutions. Those in the private sectors include engineering consulting firms, architectural firms, real estate agencies, research departments in foundations, and local and international organizations (NGO). Apart from careers in the public and private sectors, in the recent years, many of our graduates have also chosen to freelance or work independently to undertake jobs related to planning and design. This has become a newly emerged career trend for our master’s program graduates. Overall, the employment rate of the master’s program graduates is high with diverse career choices. This is a reflection of the cross-disciplinary training received by our graduates. The core objective of the comprehensive education covered by our master’s program is to nurture leaders in all disciplines to form a civil society, participate in international affairs, and develop economic and social enterprises.