Origin and Mission

MacKay Memorial Hospital was founded in 1880 and is the oldest Western-style hospital in Northern Taiwan. For more than a century, it has carried out medical ministry and benefited countless patients. In recent years, with rapid advances in biomedical technology, it became evident that without the support of fundamental research and education, clinical services face limitations and challenges in sustainability. As society changes and enthusiasm among medical personnel gradually declines, the MacKay Memorial Society Foundation—the governing board of MacKay Memorial Hospital—initiated the establishment of a medical college in 1995. The goal was to embody the spirit of Jesus Christ’s love and service, following the example of Dr. MacKay’s motto, “Rather burn out than rust out.” The college was founded with the intention of integrating the hospital’s strong clinical foundation, research capacity, and teaching excellence to cultivate medical professionals who respect life, care for disadvantaged communities, and uphold whole-person medical education with a Christian foundation, focusing on holistic healing—body, mind, and spirit. After more than ten years of preparation, the establishment application was approved on March 30, 2009, and the Ministry of Education authorized student admissions in the same year.

Campus

MacKay Medical University is located in the scenic and peaceful Sanzhi District of New Taipei City. The campus covers nineteen hectares and is adjacent to MacKay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, also founded by the MacKay Memorial Society Foundation. It is an excellent environment for learning. The campus architectural design continues the spirit of MacKay, referencing styles such as “Oxford College” and the “British Consulate,” featuring elegant and humanistic aesthetics that blend seamlessly with nature. After the planned merger of the two schools, the combined campus will span thirty-one hectares across gentle hillsides facing the Taiwan Strait, with beautiful coastal and mountain views—an ideal space for learning and activities. As a newly established university, the teaching facilities are modern and fully digitized.

Institutional Positioning

The university is the 12th higher-education institution in Taiwan to establish a Department of Medicine. Located on the southwest side of Sanzhi District near the Tamsui–Jinshan Highway, it provides a serene and excellent environment for training high-quality healthcare professionals. The School of Medicine and School of Nursing were established in the 2009 academic year; the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology and the Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences in 2012; the Graduate Institute of Long-Term Care in 2015; the Graduate Institute of Gerontechnology and the PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences in 2019; and the Master’s Program in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology and the In-Service Master’s Program in Long-Term Care in 2020. In 2023, the Department of Optometry and the Master’s Program in Nursing were established. Currently, the university has four departments, three graduate institutes, and a Center for Whole-Person Education. Guided by societal needs and the university’s mid-term development plans, new programs will continue to be developed.

With MacKay Memorial Hospital as the primary teaching hospital and internship site, the university actively collaborates with domestic and international institutions to broaden students’ global perspective. Having sufficient and highly skilled healthcare professionals is essential for national health development; therefore, providing strong medical education and advancing academic research to cultivate outstanding professionals remains the university’s core mission. The university will continue to expand in phases according to its founding plan and strengthen teaching and research under each mid-term development cycle to become a refined medical university balancing excellence in teaching and research.

President’s Introduction

Professor Hong-Yi Yeh serves as the fifth President of MacKay Medical University.

Hung-I Yeh Principal's Resume

MacKay Legacy

MacKay Medical University is committed to continuing the spirit of Dr. MacKay, fostering compassionate and service-oriented physicians and nurses of the future, strengthening medical humanities education, enhancing learning effectiveness, balancing healthcare resources, supporting disadvantaged communities, expanding international perspective, and contributing to medical diplomacy. The university strives to carry forward Dr. MacKay’s spirit of “Rather burn out than rust out.”