國立成功大學是以開臺英雄「鄭成功」命名，創校以來歷經多次蛻變：1931年「臺灣總督府臺南高等工業學校」、1946年「臺灣省立工學院」、1956年「省立成功大學」、1971年「國立成功大學」。

正如四百年前人們從遙遠的四方來到臺南安平，今天成功大學也從這座古城航向四方。秉持篤實的學風，以深厚的研究實力、國際化的學習環境、跨領域的多元創新發展、亮眼的產學合作成績，將學術研究能量具體落實在產官學各方面，務實解決問題，發揮大學積極的社會影響力，為臺灣乃至全球帶來正面貢獻。

Since its inception, NCKU has undergone tremendous transformation and growth. Today the school comprises nine colleges: Engineering, Management, Liberal Arts, Sciences, Medicine, Social Sciences, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Planning and Design, and Bioscience and Biotechnology, with 43 undergraduate programs, 36 independent graduate institutes, and nine degree programs. The colleges are located on the main campus, while the Kuei-Jen, An-Nan and Dou-Liu campuses are home to respectively the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory, and NCKU Hospital Dou-Liou Branch, making the school the most academically comprehensive research university in Taiwan.