About us
Mountain-minded.
Ocean-hearted.
We are based in Hualien, where mountains meet the sea.
This convergence of land and ocean shapes how we think,
driving an integrated approach to exploring how people and nature can sustainably coexist.
Positioning
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Sustainability
We ground our work in research and real-world action, training environmental sustainability professionals who think in systems and act with public purpose. By connecting knowledge across mountains and sea, we confront the climate crisis and ecological crisis head-on — in pursuit of solutions that are concrete and actionable.
History
Where It All Began
NDHU was founded in Shoufeng, Hualien in 1994, with environmental sustainability studies among its earliest academic programs. Hualien's coastline opens onto the Pacific, backed by some of Taiwan's most intact terrestrial ecosystems — a singular natural setting that has shaped our teaching and research ever since.
College Site Orthophoto (2001)
© 2026 Aerial Survey and Remote Sensing Branch, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, Ministry of Agriculture
College Building Under Construction (2011)
© 2026 Office of General Affairs, National Dong Hwa University
Timeline
1994 ●
Graduate Institute of Natural Resources Management
One of Taiwan's first academic programs dedicated to natural resource management and conservation research.
1999 ●
Graduate Institute of Environmental Policy
A pioneer in bringing interdisciplinary approaches to environmental governance and sustainable development.
2009 ●
College of Environmental Studies & Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies
Formed through institutional merger, consolidating teaching and research expertise in ecology and conservation, earth sciences, environmental education, and environmental policy.
2022 ●
College of Environmental Studies and Oceanography
Incorporating the Institute of Marine Biology to strengthen integrated research across terrestrial and marine social-ecological systems, in response to pressing global environmental and sustainability challenges.
The College Today
Three Decades of Growth
Thirty years on, the College comprises three academic units and five research centers. Our faculty span ecology and conservation, earth sciences, environmental education, environmental policy, and marine science — a tight-knit, wide-ranging academic community.
Research Centers
Research That Reaches Beyond the Lab
The College runs five research centers spanning ecology, marine science, seismology, disaster prevention, campus sustainability, and environmental education. They serve as hubs for specialized research and platforms connecting academia with government, society, and educators. Through interdisciplinary research, long-term monitoring, policy engagement, and public outreach, we bring our research findings back to where they matter — addressing Taiwan's environmental sustainability challenges.
Academic Units
Diverse Pathways of Knowledge Between Mountains and Sea
The College comprises the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, the Institute of Marine Biology, and the Master’s Program in Humanities and Environmental Studies. Each approaches environmental change, resource governance, and sustainability from a different angle — terrestrial ecosystems, marine science, and the humanities. From the forests, watersheds, and communities of Taiwan to coral reefs and coastal ecosystems in the tropics, and from scientific research and environmental governance to humanistic reflection and civic action — students follow distinct disciplinary paths while learning, through collaboration, to see the full picture of environmental sustainability challenges.
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Learning from Real-World Environments
About the Dean
Specializes in environmental governance, natural resource governance, social-ecological resilience, net-zero transition, and energy transition. His interdisciplinary research bridges social and ecological systems, with a long-standing focus on Taiwan's sustainable development and environmental issues.
Successive Deans
Guo-Shi Hsu
1994/8/1
Founding Director of the Graduate Institute of Natural Resources Management
Yue-Joe Hsia
2010/8/5~2015/7/31
Founding Dean
Jia-Chi Fei
2015/8/1~2018/7/31
2nd Dean
Zue-Er Chen
2018/8/1~2019/1/31
3rd Dean
Wen-Yen Chang
2019/2/1~2025/7/31
4th Dean