The antecedent of NTU was Taihoku (Taipei) Imperial University founded by the occupying Japanese in 1928. There was a chair in mathematics in charge of all core mathematical courses and a classroom for mathematics from 1929. Following Taiwan’s retrocession to Chinese sovereignty in 1945, the R.O.C. government renamed the university as National Taiwan University and the department of Mathematics was established in 1946. The Master and the Ph. D. programs were created in 1960 and 1976, respectively. In 1965, the Mathematics Research Promotion Center was initiated at NTU under the guidance of the National Science Council.

This act recognized the central role of the department in mathematical research for the entire Taiwan Island. As the leading institution in Taiwan, which conducts mathematics teaching and research, the department has trained numerous outstanding alumni who have made significant contributions both within Taiwan and at the international level in past 70 years.

Mathematics is the foundation of all modern sciences. A thorough understanding mathematics is indispensable for every scientist and engineer. In our present society, mathematics and its many applications have become ubiquitous in nearly every professional sector. Since the department believes that the ability to reason analytically is crucial for every successful career, its curricula are designed to provide the students an environment to develop their analytical talents to the fullest. Besides the traditional pure mathematics courses, the department also offers many courses in applied mathematics. The department is proud to count among its alumni many distinguished leaders in academia, business and industry today. Among them, eight are Academicians of the Academia Sinica.

Major developments of Mathematics Department in recent years.

1. The department together with the Institute of Mathematics of Academia Sinica and the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics moved into the new Astronomy and Mathematics Building in by the end of 2010.
2. The department established the Institute of Applied Mathematical Sciences in 2013 to promote the unity of mathematics and its applications and to make a direct contribution to the development of science in general. This new institute launched a master program for students in the fall of 2013.
3. The department currently is in charge the activities of the National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Taipei Office. The current director is Professor Jung-Kai Chen.
4. In 2006, the university established Taida Institute of Mathematical Sciences with Academician Chang-Shou Lin as the first director. The current director is another Academician Jing Yu. The main mission of the Institute is to promote interdisciplinary activities in the mathematical sciences extending across different research fields and research units.