Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a state in East Asia and the first constitutional republic in Asia. Taiwan has several good universities, many of which have exchange agreements with foreign universities, and these are a good way to experience life in Taiwan.

The PhD is a doctoral degree, specifically called a "doctor of philosophy" degree. This is misleading because PhD holders are not necessarily philosophers (unless they earned their degree in philosophy!). That said, PhD recipients are able to engage in thought experiments, reason about problems, and solve problems in sophisticated ways.