Paying for a foreigner to study in their country?

What is the name of your state? California

I am an American from California and I would like to help my friend, who is Taiwanese, get a university education in Taiwan. I make a good living and going to school in Taiwan isn't as expensive as in the US, but it still isn't cheap. I figure it could cost as much as $15,000 per year. Since it is philanthropy, a sort of unofficial scholarship, is there any kind of deduction I could get to help offset the expense? Thank you, any advice would be helpful.

Doubtful. Frankly, unless you've got some registered charity that's going to take your donation the sad fact is that if you make enough money to be able to afford to do these things, you're over the cap for educational deductions as well (and the broadest one only applies to you, your spouse, and dependent children).

No deduction other than charity, & that would have to be to a general fund, not for a specific individual. You can't claim the student as a dependent because s/he is not a resident of the US, Canada, or Mexico, nor a US citizen.