NDHU GIERC is Taiwan's first academic institution to offer Master of Social Science in Ethnic Relations and Cultures and first institution dedicated to Ethnic Relations and Cultural studies, which is founded in Hualien, the home to many of Taiwan's indigenous Austronesian peoples.

[21] The Atlantic Council Millennium Fellows Cohort visit NDHU CIS for Taiwanese indigenous cultures and arts.

[26] These programs operate on a modular system, allowing students to design their curricula and manage their study pace.

NDHU College of Indigenous Studies offers a dual PhD degree in partnership with Macquarie School of Social Sciences Geography and Planning Division in Sydney, under a joint doctoral supervision model.

[27] Taiwan Journal of Indigenous Studies (TJIS, Chinese: 台灣原住民族研究 ISSN 2070-9730) was first published in 2008.

NDHU College of Indigenous Studies joined the BIRGEJUPMI project since 2025, funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe program.

The project focuses on Arctic coastal regions, integrating Indigenous, Western, and local knowledge for community-driven environmental decision-making.

Key objectives include documenting Indigenous marine and coastal management practices, assessing climate change adaptation impacts, and exploring sea- and landscapes as archives for Traditional Ecological Knowledge-based governance.