The short version
Most music, art and physical education programs use scores from the university practical exams (大學術科考試). For the 116 school year, registration closes at 5 p.m. on 10 November 2026. The exams run 26 to 28 January 2027 for music, 29 to 30 January for art and 29 to 31 January for PE, and score reports are sent on 2 March. Other programs run their own written tests, computer tests or hands-on tests in stage two of Personal Application. In four-year technical selection (115 school year data), every program reviews your project work, and some add an interview, a practical exam or a written test.
What the university practical exams are
- Run by The joint association of university practical exam committees (大學術科考試委員會聯合會). For the 116 school year, National Taiwan Normal University (國立臺灣師範大學) runs it, with the College Entrance Examination Center (大考中心) handling administration.
- Groups Music, art and physical education.
- Who can sit Students in their third year of high school, graduates, and those with equivalent qualifications.
- What the scores are for The 116 school year Star Plan (繁星推薦), Personal Application and placement admission (分發入學), as each route's brochure sets out.
- Brochure On sale 4 August to 10 November 2026 at NT$30, and downloadable from the committee's website.
In the 116 school year, Personal Application has 23 music, 34 art and 11 PE programs that use the practical exams; the Star Plan has 4 music, 25 art and 5 PE programs (the admission committee's published lists).
Registration and fees
- Registration 27 October to 5 p.m. on 10 November 2026.
- Check your details 13 November to 5 p.m. on 19 November 2026.
- Admission tickets Sent 21 December 2026.
- Exam room list Posted 5 January 2027.
- Payment deadline Over the counter or bank transfer by 3:30 p.m. on 10 November 2026; ATM or online ATM by midnight on 10 November; convenience stores (individual registration only) earlier, by midnight on 7 November.
Current high school seniors must register as a group through their school. Graduates and those with equivalent qualifications can register through a licensed cram school with a group code, or individually through the exam website. Individual applicants upload an image of the front of their national ID card (not needed if they have sat any CEEC exam since the 91 school year); holders of a resident certificate upload that instead.
The fee is a basic fee plus a fee for each item. The basic fee is NT$150 for group registration and NT$200 for individual registration. Lower-middle-income households pay six tenths less (NT$60 group, NT$80 individual), and low-income households pay nothing.
| Group and item | Standard | Lower-middle income |
|---|---|---|
| Music: major | NT$1,500 | NT$600 |
| Music: minor, music theory, dictation (each) | NT$500 | NT$200 |
| Music: sight-singing | NT$200 | NT$80 |
| Art: drawing, colour painting, creative expression, ink painting and calligraphy, art appreciation (each) | NT$330 | NT$132 |
| PE: all five tests together | NT$1,000 | NT$400 |
Good to know: In music and art you choose which items to sit and pay per item. The brochure asks you to pay close attention to which items each program uses, so check your programs before you register.
Music
- Items: major, minor, music theory, dictation and sight-singing, each scored out of 100. You choose which to sit.
- Schedule and place: 26 January 2027, theory and composition written tests in the morning, music theory and dictation in the afternoon; 27 and 28 January, sight-singing, majors and minors. At the music departments of National Taiwan Normal University and the University of Taipei's Boai campus.
- Majors: seven to choose from: piano, voice, strings, wind, percussion, theory and composition, and traditional instruments (only 南胡, 琵琶, 箏, 笙, 笛 and 揚琴). You name your instrument when you register. Your minor can't be the same as your major.
- Piano major: two rooms, 50% each. Room one is an original Bach keyboard work plus a fast movement from a Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven sonata; room two is scales, arpeggios and cadences plus a piece of your choice. The voice major is two pieces of your choice.
- Wind major: scales, one étude and one piece of your choice. From the 116 school year, each instrument has set études, published on 1 February 2026.
- Theory and composition: a written test (40%) and an interview (60%). You must take both, or the item is not scored.
- Sight-singing: three kinds (simple time, compound time and atonal), from a question bank posted on the committee's website on 26 October 2026.
- Rules: unless stated otherwise, everything is played from memory, without repeats. Bring your own accompanist; MIDI or DVD can't replace one. Apart from piano, harp, double bass, timpani, snare drum and xylophone, bring your own instrument, and it must match what you registered; if not, you lose the whole item's score. Arriving later than 30 minutes before your slot ends counts as withdrawing.
Art
- Items: drawing (素描), colour painting (彩繪技法), creative expression (創意表現), ink painting and calligraphy (水墨書畫) and art appreciation (美術鑑賞), each out of 100. You choose which to sit. The official name is 彩繪技法, not "watercolour". Ink painting and calligraphy has two parts, ink painting (70%) and calligraphy (30%); miss either and the item is not scored.
- Schedule: 29 January 2027, drawing 8:30 to 11:00, colour painting 12:40 to 14:40, creative expression 15:40 to 17:40; 30 January, ink painting 8:30 to 10:30, calligraphy 11:20 to 12:20, art appreciation 14:00 to 15:00.
- Regions: north, central and south, chosen when you register and fixed after the deadline. The organising schools are National Taiwan Normal University (north), National Changhua University of Education (central) and National Kaohsiung Normal University (south), but the exam may be elsewhere; exact places are posted on 5 January 2027. Because of earthquake strengthening at the original site, the north moves to Taipei Municipal Wanhua Junior High School and NTNU's Gongguan campus, with the 5 January room list as the final word. You can see the rooms from 2 to 4 p.m. on 28 January.
- Drawing: 150 minutes on quarter-size (4開) drawing paper, single colour, by hand.
- Colour painting: 120 minutes on quarter-size paper; transparent or opaque watercolour, coloured pencils, markers, pastels, poster paint, acrylics, crayons and other media that dry and fix on the spot.
- Creative expression: 120 minutes on quarter-size illustration paper; no sticking your own paper or objects on, and no templates.
- Ink painting and calligraphy: ink painting 120 minutes, calligraphy 60 minutes, with backing paper provided.
- Art appreciation: 60 minutes of multiple choice on a computer answer card, covering the national high school art curriculum, art appreciation and art news.
- Materials: exam paper is provided. Bring your own brushes, ink, charcoal, paints, palette, water pot and fixative spray (no mounting adhesive). Drawing boards and hair dryers are provided, and you may bring a rechargeable or battery hair dryer (no charging on site). No easels or templates. Electric erasers, fans and devices that can communicate or store data can't be at your seat; breaking this costs 5 points on that item. Drying and spraying time counts as exam time.
Physical education
- Tests: 60 metre standing-start sprint, 20 second side steps, one minute bent-knee sit-ups, three consecutive standing jumps, and a 1,600 metre run-walk, 20% each.
- Scoring: each raw score becomes a T score, the five are added into one score, shown as a percentile rank, with men and women ranked separately.
- Place and dates: National Taiwan Sport University (國立體育大學, 250 Wenhua 1st Road, Guishan District, Taoyuan), 29 to 31 January 2027, split by admission ticket order.
- Details: the 60 metre sprint is run once, and two false starts mean zero for that test. Side step lines are 1.20 metres apart for men and 1.00 metre for women, best of two. Standing jumps are best of two. Stopping during the 1,600 metres means zero for that test.
- What to wear: sportswear and trainers, or bare feet. No spikes (even with the spikes removed) or football boots, or you lose that test.
- Health: anyone told by a doctor to avoid hard exercise, and pregnant women, may not register. Registering counts as signing a health declaration.
The art and PE schedules overlap. If you sit both, contact the PE practical exam committee yourself after registering to arrange your schedule.
All groups: admission tickets, scores and rechecks
- Bring your admission ticket. If it is damaged or lost, bring your national ID card (or a resident certificate, passport, driving licence, NHI card with photo or disability certificate) to the exam office on the day for a replacement.
- On 2 March 2027 the committee posts each item's top, front, average, back and bottom marks (the 88th, 75th, 50th, 25th and 12th percentiles). Scores can be checked on the exam website from 9 a.m. that day.
- Rechecks: 2 to 8 March 2027, online only, NT$50 per item. Papers are not re-marked except for missed marking or scoring errors.
- Applicants with disabilities or serious illness apply for exam arrangements during registration. Extra time applies only to art appreciation (20 minutes) and music dictation and theory (30 minutes each).
How programs use the scores: NTNU examples
- Music (Personal Application): stage one screens on GSAT Chinese and English at the back mark and the practical exam major at the average mark, separately by instrument. The final score is GSAT 15%, review materials 10%, practical exam 75%, weighting major ×14, minor ×2, theory ×1, sight-singing ×1, dictation ×2.
- Fine Arts, painting group (Personal Application): stage one screens on drawing and colour painting. The final score is GSAT 40%, review materials 15%, oral exam 15%, practical exam 30% (drawing ×4, colour painting ×2, ink painting and calligraphy ×1), and no practical exam item it uses may be zero.
- Physical Education and Sport Sciences (Personal Application): the PE practical exam at the average mark is the threshold, screening at 20 times the places. The final score is GSAT 30%, review materials 20%, oral exam 25%, practical exam 25%.
- Fine Arts, painting group (Star Plan): the practical exam is required, with drawing and colour painting both at the top mark. In the Star Plan ranking order, drawing and colour painting come fourth and fifth, after school rank and GSAT Chinese and English.
Written tests, computer tests and hands-on tests in Personal Application
Programs that don't use the practical exams may still run their own tests in stage two. Examples from the 116 school year program rules:
| Program | Final score | About the test |
|---|---|---|
| National Taiwan University, Mathematics | Review materials 45%, mathematics test 55% (GSAT for screening only) | Two sessions on 16 May 2027, and you must sit both. Mainly high school material but not limited to it: algebra, geometry, single-variable calculus and linear algebra. |
| National Cheng Kung University, Mathematics | GSAT 10%, review materials 40%, mathematics tests (1) 25% and (2) 25% | Two sessions on 22 May 2027; anyone absent is not admitted. |
| National Taiwan University, Foreign Languages and Literature | GSAT 50%, review materials 20%, English essay 15%, English oral test 15% | 15 May 2027: written test 11:00 to 12:00, oral test 13:30 to 17:30. |
| National Cheng Kung University, Foreign Languages and Literature | GSAT 30%, review materials 30%, interview 25%, English writing test 15% | The writing test is written, at noon on interview day (22 May 2027). |
| National Cheng Kung University, Computer Science, intelligent systems group | GSAT 35%, review materials 30%, computer test 35% | 20 May 2027. Anyone who misses it or scores zero is not admitted. |
| National Taiwan University, Computer Science, APCS group | GSAT 20%, review materials 60%, mathematics test 20% | Stage one requires APCS level 4 in program reading and program implementation (APCS scores, not a department test). No calculators in the written test; bring your original ID card. |
| National Cheng Kung University, Architecture | GSAT 10%, review materials 40%, interview (with test) 50% | 16 May 2027. Everyone takes a test before the interview, and latecomers can't sit it. |
| National Cheng Kung University, Industrial Design | GSAT 35%, review materials 30%, design camp 35% | The design camp includes a written test and an interview, all day on 15 May 2027, and you must stay throughout. |
| National Cheng Kung University, Dentistry | GSAT 20%, review materials 20%, interview 30%, practical test 30% | Practical test 21 May 2027, interview 22 May; you must attend both. The department supplies drawing paper, carving knives, wax blocks, rulers, models and sketching pencils. Marking looks at beauty, fine detail, overall effect and light and shade. |
At NCKU, Chemistry also has a chemistry test (40%), Earth Sciences an earth science test (35%), Materials Science and Engineering a written test (20%) and Aeronautics and Astronautics a written test (10%).
Hands-on and written tests in four-year technical selection (115 school year data)
When we checked, the 116 school year brochure for four-year technical selection was not out, so this is 115 school year data; items and weightings may change for 116. In the 115 data file, every program lists two set items: project work and practical subject results, and review of learning portfolio materials. Other common items are interviews, practical tests, hands-on tests and practical exams.
| Program (115 school year) | Final score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nursing | TVE joint exam (統測) 40%, project work 10%, review materials 30%, group scenario task 20% | Applicants draw a scenario and discuss it in a group, marked on interaction, critical thinking and showing care. |
| National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Nursing | TVE joint exam 40%, project work 10%, review materials 30%, hands-on test 20% | The hands-on test is on medical and nursing topics, and how it runs is posted on the department website three months before. |
| National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Food and Beverage Management | TVE joint exam 30%, project work 10%, review materials 30% (minimum 60), interview or hands-on test 30% | The hands-on test is marked on professional skills: food and beverage knowledge, service skills and logical thinking. |
| National Taipei University of Technology, Computer Science and Information Engineering | TVE joint exam 40%, project work 10%, review materials 30%, programming test 20% | The programming test is written, mostly multiple choice, about 40 minutes. |
| National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Mechanical Engineering | TVE joint exam 40%, project work 10%, review materials 30%, written test 20% | Details are in the university's four-year selection announcement. |
| National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Interior Design | TVE joint exam 30%, project work 20%, review materials 20%, practical test in basic design 30% | Time and place are posted on the university's admissions website. |
| National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Information Management (cybersecurity) | TVE joint exam 40%, project work 10%, review materials 30%, cybersecurity hands-on test 20% | The data file lists only the item name. |
Questions
Do I have to sit every practical exam item?
No. In music and art you choose which items to sit and pay per item. Each program uses different items, so check your programs' rules before you register.
Can I apply to an art or music program without the practical exams?
It depends on the program. Programs that use the practical exams say so in their rules. NTNU's Fine Arts painting group, for example, screens on drawing and colour painting, and no item it uses may be zero. The admission committee publishes a list of programs that use the practical exams.
Related pages
→ The learning portfolio and review materials
→ Personal Application interviews
→ How Personal Application works
→ The Star Plan (繁星推薦)
→ Four-year and two-year technical programs
Sources (25)
Checked November 2026.
University practical exam committees (Chinese), 116 university practical exam brochure (PDF, Chinese), art exam north region venue notice (Chinese), University admission selection committee: 116 Personal Application programs using practical exams (PDF, Chinese), 116 Star Plan programs using practical exams (PDF, Chinese), Star Plan rules: NTNU Fine Arts painting group (Chinese), four-year technical selection 116 brochure page (Chinese), 115 brochure and data page (Chinese), 115 program data file (Excel, Chinese). Personal Application program rules (Chinese): NTNU Music, NTNU Fine Arts painting group, NTNU Physical Education, NTU Mathematics, NCKU Mathematics, NTU Foreign Languages, NCKU Foreign Languages, NCKU Computer Science intelligent systems, NTU Computer Science APCS group, NCKU Architecture, NCKU Industrial Design, NCKU Dentistry, NCKU Chemistry, NCKU Earth Sciences, NCKU Materials Science, NCKU Aeronautics.