Located alongside the Kaohsiung Harbor and a military base, the NSYSU main campus is surrounded on three sides by mountains and also faces the open waters of the Taiwan Strait, thus making it a natural fortress. The Sizihwan beach (one of Eight Views of Taiwan) is located directly on campus which makes the university campus a very attractive location in Taiwan. The environmental characteristics are unique in the country, including the nature of the montane ecosystem, marine ecosystem, and coral reefs. In addition to the university buildings on the campus, there also is a seaside resort, a stadium constructed by land reclamation, Sizihwan Tunnel, and historic places remaining from the Japanese ruling era.
The campus is close to the downtown area but far away from congestion and noise of the city. There are only four roads connecting the campus to the outside city, all the lanes are close to the mountains and the sea, and the terrain is challenging. NSYSU faculty and students who residing on campus live amongst a variety of wildlife. There are a large number of Formosan rock macaques, cockatoos, Pallas's squirrels, and Reeves's muntjacs, and the campus area is rich in natural ecology. However, a near-daily occurrence involves macaques snatching food from students and breaking into dormitories and classrooms. In addition, the Sizihwan waters are inhabited by the endangered coral species Polycyanthus chiashanensis, with only about 50 remaining.
From April 21 to 22, 1923, Prince Hirohito visited the Takao Port to inspect Kongō Maru. He lived in the Takao Mountain Guesthouse (打狗山賓館) a.k.a. Takao Imperial Guesthouse (高雄泊御所), which was newly-built. To celebrate the birthday of Prince Hirohito on April 29, Den Kenjirō, the Governor-General of Taiwan, renamed the Kotobuki-yama Hotel (寿山館). After the Government of the Republic of China took over Taiwan, Kotobuki-yama territory became a military control district, and then Guesthouse was dismantled. The site is now a dormitory for faculty and staff of National Sun Yat-sen University.
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Sizihwan Tunnel
Sizihwan Tunnel was completed in October 1928, and at that time it was called Kotobuki-yama Do (寿山洞), connecting (at that time) Sizihwan and downtown Takao. Currently, it connects National Sun Yat-sen University and Hamasen.
Sizihwan Guesthouse of Chiang Kai-shek
In 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy built a two-story building named Takao Sightseeing Hall (高雄観光館). After the R.O.C. government took over Taiwan, it became one of Guesthouses of Chiang Kai-shek. President Chiang Kai-shek and his madame lived at the Guesthouse each time they traveled to southern Taiwan. In 1980, the building was transferred to National Sun Yat-sen University, and in 1999 it was given another name, Sizihwan Art Gallery. In 2004, the gallery was designated as a Kaohsiung City Historic Site.
Renwu Campus
In 2022, NSYSU opened the Renwu campus, built on 24 hectares of land, with three areas of focus planned: AI medicine, intelligent health care, and ecological recreation. The campus will provide research space for the Institute of Precision Medicine, the Institute of Biotechnology and Medicine, the Institute of Medical Technology, and the Institute of Biomedical Research.
In December 2020, this Campus completed 24 hectares of land preparation operations, including base elevation adjustment, drainage facilities for detention ponds, tree clearing and greening, etc. The medical teaching building is planned to be a 1-floor underground building and 6-floor above ground building, covering an area of 3,160 pings.
Lingya Campus
The Lingya Campus is located in the center of Kaohsiung City. This campus is primarily used by NSYSU's school of Medicine and is currently under construction.
Pratas Island
In 2012 NSYSU Dongsha Atoll Research Station (DARS) was established for biology, biogeochemistry, and oceanography research.
Baltic States
NSYSU and University of Latvia have had a successful scientific cooperation for years. The joint team jointly established the Taiwan and Baltic States Physics Research Center (TBRCP), which aims to specialize in physics.
Sri Lanka
The Taiwan and Sri Lanka Environmental Change Sciences and Technology Innovation Center (TS/ECSTIC) is located in Sri Lanka. The Western Long-term Observation Station is located at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in the capital; the Southern Long-term Observation Station is located at the University of Ruhuna in Matara.
Tuvalu
In cooperation with the government of Tuvalu, NSYSU establishes the Taiwan and Tuvalu Center on Marine Science and Engineering (TTCMSE).
Research
Despite its small-to-medium size, National Sun Yat-sen University has always had outstanding research capabilities. The "Asia Pacific Ocean Research Center" at NSYSU is a world-class Kuroshio research center, it possesses the most advanced marine current power generation technology worldwide. The "Electronic Commerce and Internet Society Research Center" at NSYSU is the only social science research center in Taiwan that has been selected for the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme (FP7) SSH-NCP.
NSYSU manages one of Taiwan's three Marine research vessels, the Ocean Researcher 3. In 2019, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) built a new generation of research vessels for it.
As of 2024, NSYSU had 45 research centers, including the following most important key centers:
Higher Education Sprout Project Featured Research Center
Intelligent Electronic Commerce Research Center
Center of Crystal Research
Center for Strategy and Human Capital Research
Assessment Research Center
6G Communication and Sensing Research Center
Center of Excellence for Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver (CEMAFLD)
Tier-1 Certified Research Center
Sun Yat-sen Research Center for Social Science
Multidisciplinary and Data Science Research Center (MDSRC)
Management Studies Research Center
Engineer Technology Research & Promotion Center
Frontier Center for Ocean Science and Technology
Center for the Humanities
Academia Research Center of Underwater Vehicles(ARCUV)
International Cooperation
NSYSU has established 307 partners in 44 countries across Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. At the same time, it has signed dual /accelerated degree agreements with 30 overseas universities. Some of the sister relationships are listed below: the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, UCSD, UC Riverside, Case Western Reserve University, Temple University, Texas A&M University System in the US.Australian National University, Queensland University of Technology in Australia. University of Bristol, University of Essex in the UK. Linköping University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Linnaeus University in Sweden. LMU Munich, University of Hamburg, University of Cologne, University of Freiburg in Germany. McGill University, University of Ottawa, University of Victoria in Canada. Sapienza University of Rome, Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy. Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University in the Singapore. The University of Tokyo, Hokkaido University, Kyoto University, Kyushu University, Tohoku University, Hiroshima University, Waseda University in Japan. Korea University, Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea. Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University in Thailand. University of Malaya in Malaysia. Peking University, Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhejiang University in the Chinese mainland. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong in HK. University of Macau in Macao. Moscow State University in Russia.
NSYSU has been chosen by the Ministry of Education as one of Taiwan's four landmark bilingual universities. NSYSU signed the Taiwan Huayu BEST Program partnership with West Virginia University, George Mason University, University of Kansas, and Utah State University.
NSYSU and Middlebury College have formed an alliance to establish "Middlebury School in Taiwan." The College of Management at National Sun Yat-sen University, in collaboration with the University of Victoria and JKU Linz, jointly organizes the ACT Global Program. Additionally, NSYSU has established the Cross-strait EMBA (CSEMBA) program in collaboration with Tongji University. NSYSU is a member of Open Society University Network (OSUN).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the U.S. think tank East-West Center, organizes the Pacific Islands Leadership Program (PILP). NSYSU is responsible for part of the training program during the Taiwan phase.
The Ministry of Education entrusted NSYSU with the responsibility of operating the Taiwan Education Center in the Philippines.
NSYSU has an active International Student Association. In 2009-2010 well over 250 international students were members of the ISA association at NSYSU, participating in over 20 student events. ISA has five key points: Student Services, Public Services, Social Events, Sports, and Scholarship. The 2010-2011 International Student Executive Board will tentatively be elected in the fall of 2010 at NSYSU. The Office of International Affairs at NSYSU traditionally has monitored the election process.
Taiwan's first P.R.C. and Burkina Faso student to receive a doctorate are both graduates of the NSYSU Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies.
