Chang earned a bachelor's degree in physics from National Tsing Hua University in 1978. He subsequently obtained a master's degree in the subject from Marquette University in 1983, followed by a doctorate at Arizona State University (ASU) in 1988. Chang remained at ASU as a postdoctoral researcher before joining Academia Sinica 's Institute of Physics [ zh ] in 1991. He later served as director of the Institute of Physics. Chang holds a joint appointment as a professor within National Taiwan University 's department of physics.