The predecessor of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) was founded under the name of Kaohsiung District Pingtung Extension School of Agriculture in Japanese Taisho Year 10 (1924) during the period of Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan . In Japanese Showa Year 3 (1928), the school was expanded and renamed as Kaohsiung DistrictPingtungAgriculturalSchool. After the Restoration of Taiwan, the school was reformed as Taiwan Provincial Institute of Agriculture in 1954, and then renamed again as National Pingtung Institute of Agriculture in 1964. During that time, it, along with Taiwan University, Taiwan Provincial Normal College (predecessor of Taiwan Normal University), Taiwan Provincial Chung Hsing University (predecessor of National Chung Hsing University), and Taiwan Provincial College of Engineering School (predecessor of National Cheng Kung University), were honorifically rated Taiwan’s top 5 institutes of higher learning. The Institute educated innumerable scholars for the crews of the widely recognized Taiwan Agricultural Teams and for domestic companies. The achievements not only stabilized the normalization of diplomatic relationships between Taiwan and other countries, but also established a solid foundation for the rapid advancement of Taiwan’s economy.

　　The institute was upgraded to National Pingtung Polytechnic Institute in 1991. At that time National Pingtung Polytechnic Institute and National Taiwan Institute of Technology were the only two institutions of higher education within our nation’s technical and vocational education system. In 1997, the institute along with National Taiwan Institute of Technology and National Yunlin Institute of Technology took the lead in being reformed as universities of science and technology. At each stage of the development of Taiwan’s technical and vocational education system, NPUST always occupied the top position.