Taiwan
Taiwan
Comparing Media Systems in Taiwan
Program Summary
Taiwan is a vibrant democracy with a diverse and hybrid cultural landscape shaped by Indigenous heritage, Chinese diasporic histories, Japanese colonial modernity, and ongoing global exchanges, making it a key site for understanding contemporary East Asian societies. Its dynamic media and cultural industries—spanning independent cinema, television dramas, pop music, and everyday political cultures—operate within one of Asia's freest yet most contested media environments, increasingly supported by cultural policies and institutions that seek to project Taiwanese voices onto regional and global platforms.
The trip focuses on the island's political and cultural history, media and creative industries, and environment and sustainability. You will visit historical and cultural sites, explore neighborhoods in Taipei, bike along the Tamsui waterfront, sample local cuisines in night markets, tour media companies and creative industry parks, and interact with media professionals and university students.
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an East Asian island off the southeastern coast of mainland China, with Taipei as its political, economic, and cultural capital. It is a vibrant democracy with competitive multiparty elections and an active civil society. Mandarin is the official language, alongside widely spoken Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and multiple Austronesian Indigenous languages that reflect the island's diverse communities and histories.
Taiwan's Indigenous peoples and their cultural traditions remain an important part of contemporary public life, while the island's media and creative sectors—spanning news, entertainment, music, and design—are increasingly visible across Asia and beyond. Taiwan is also known for its convenient, safe, and generally tourist-friendly transportation systems and public spaces.
Course Information
Participants will be enrolled in COMM 419H: Comparing Media Systems (3 credits).
This honors course trains you to be a critical thinker equipped with analytical tools to compare and assess media systems across countries, with particular attention to how political, economic, and socio-cultural environments shape media ownership, the news industry, and digital transformation—and, in turn, everyday life and the broader social world. We use an interdisciplinary analytic framework that intermixes media studies, history, politics, and sociology.
University Park students must attend all regularly scheduled class meetings in person. Students at Penn State Commonwealth Campuses can participate through Zoom in real time while engaging alongside their University Park peers. Commonwealth campus students may be required to attend 1-2 gatherings at University Park.
Estimated Costs
| Schreyer Scholars | Non-Scholars | |
|---|---|---|
| Program Fee * | $950* | $2,450 |
| Flight ** | $1,700 | $1,700 |
| Miscellaneous † | $850 | $850 |
| Total | $TBD | $5,000 |
* Program fee covers hotel accommodations (double occupancy) in Taipei, daily breakfast, three lunches, ground travel, and select cultural and program site visits. Schreyer Scholar cost accounts for a refund via scholarship.
** Estimated cost of round trip travel from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).
† Site visits not covered by the program fees, meals, passport, visa, optional travel insurance, and personal expenses.
Airfare and Explanation of Costs
Students purchase their own airfare. The program fee includes double occupancy hotel accommodations, daily breakfast, welcome and farewell dinners, airport transfer upon arrival and departure, bus transfer for select site visits, select cultural site visits, and public transportation cards. Out-of-pocket expenses include round-trip airfare to Taipei, visa, site visits not covered by the program fees, meals, passport, optional travel insurance, and personal expenses. Additional need-based funding may be available for Schreyer Scholars.
How to Apply
Complete the application form below by 5:00 p.m. on October 16, 2026. We will schedule an interview before making final decisions. Accepted students will have until the end of regular drop/add for the spring 2027 semester (January 17, 2027) to finalize their participation.
Tentative Itinerary
Funding & Questions
Additional need-based funding may be available for Schreyer Scholars. To explore funding or for question about this trip, contact Sarah Lyall-Combs.
Sarah Lyall-Combs
- Coordinator of Academic and International Programs
Make an appointment to discuss: Study abroad