Situated in the heart of the beautiful and tranquil Cheng Kung Campus, the Department of Mathematics was founded in 1956. In this celebrating year, the former school, then known as Taiwan Provincial Engineering College, was upgraded to a national university, called Provincial Cheng Kung University, now called National Cheng Kung University. In order to lay down a firm and stable foundation of our science and technology for future development, the actual work of the Department is to train students in both pure and applied mathematics. In response to the urgent needs of the rapid growth of our society, the Department has offered an evening program since 1973. In 1978, the evening division was renamed the Department of Applied Mathematics in contrast to that of the day school. In order to upgrade the foundation of research in Mathematics of the southern part of the country, the Graduate School of Applied Mathematics was founded in 1980, offering M.S. degree. In 1992, due to the maturity of the research atmosphere, the Graduate School started Ph.D. programs in both pure and applied mathematics. Since 1997, the Bachelor program offered by the adult education division has replaced the degree program in the night division.

The knowledge of mathematics is indeed the most precious treasure in all mankinds. Mathematics is not only the crystallization of abstract logical thinking but is, in fact, the key for the foundations of natural science, engineering, management and life science. In other words, mathematics permeates almost every discipline of sciences and technology, so the Department does not make any distinctions between pure and applied mathematics because modern research really mathematicians, even those specializing in the purest of mathematics, find themselves sought after by computer companies, biotechnology institutions, and financial corporations. Thus al the courses in our Department are designed for both pure and applied areas with a spirit of interdisciplinary interaction. NCKU has been traditionally strong in both Engineering and Management. Thus the Department encourages all the math students to select courses from other departments, say, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Consultant Engineering, Industrial Management, Statistics and so on. This is in the hope that students in our Department, after long training in mathematics, should find, ways to apply mathematics in various directions. It is under the very well-organized plan integrating coursework and research projects that the department will continue in its pursuit of excellence.