Qingdao University

Qingdao University is located in the beautiful Chinese coastal city of Qingdao, with Mount Fushan behind it and the Yellow Sea before it. It enjoys beautiful scenery, a rich cultural heritage and a vibrant contemporary atmosphere.

The university’s history can be traced to the Qingdao Special Higher School established in 1909. It was formed in 1993 through the merger of the former Qingdao University, Qingdao Medical College, Shandong Textile Engineering Institute and Qingdao Teachers College.

After years of development, Qingdao University has become a large comprehensive university bringing together the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. It has 2 national key disciplines; under Shandong Province’s 15th Five-Year Plan, 1 first-class discipline with distinctive strengths, 2 Category A disciplines designated as key, distinctive or urgently needed, and 1 Category B discipline; 1 Category B discipline with potential under Shandong’s “811” first-class discipline development project; 8 Shandong high-level disciplines, 8 Shandong first-class disciplines and 20 Shandong key disciplines; and 2 Qingdao demonstration disciplines for the integration of industry and education. It ranks 360th worldwide for academic influence. Chemistry, engineering, materials science, pharmacology and toxicology, and clinical medicine are among the global top 1‰, and 18 disciplines are among the global top 1%. A total of 29 disciplines appeared in the 2025 ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, 28 in the 2025 ShanghaiRanking Best Chinese Subjects Ranking, and 32 in the U.S. News 2026-2027 Best Global Universities subject rankings.

The university has 28 schools and Qingdao Medical College. It has 90 registered undergraduate programs, of which 83 admit students in 2026; 16 first-level disciplines authorized to award doctoral degrees; 4 professional doctoral degree categories; 39 first-level disciplines authorized to award master’s degrees; 30 professional master’s degree categories; and 11 postdoctoral research stations. These span 11 disciplinary categories: economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, medicine, management, arts and interdisciplinary studies.

There are over 42000 students, including over 12900 postgraduate students, over 29000 undergraduates and over 600 international students. The university has over 3600 faculty and staff, including over 2540 full-time teachers. Among them are over 80 instances of full-time appointments of nationally recognized talent and 254 provincially or ministerially recognized talents. A total of 1891 teachers hold doctorates, representing 74% of the teaching faculty.

Qingdao University was among the earlier Chinese universities to propose an open approach to education. By comprehensively advancing international educational exchanges and cooperation, it has developed a distinctive international character. It maintains an internationalization strategy and has established friendly exchange and cooperation relationships with 257 institutions in 40 countries and regions, with over 200 programs involving teacher and student exchanges, joint training and collaborative research. It has received approval for 1 undergraduate Sino-foreign cooperative educational institution and established 2 Confucius Institutes or classrooms with overseas universities or organizations. It was selected for the Ministry of Education’s “China-Africa 100 Universities Cooperation Plan” and approved for 1 intergovernmental international scientific and technological innovation cooperation project. It actively welcomes students from around the world, with international students coming from 60 countries. Each year, it engages over 50 long-term foreign experts and teachers and over 100 short-term foreign experts. It also sends nearly 100 scholars and administrators annually to overseas universities for study, advanced training, teaching and work. Teachers’ and students’ capacity to participate in international academic exchanges and cooperation has improved markedly.

Qingdao University began admitting international students in 1987 and is one of the universities authorized by China’s Ministry of Education to do so. In 2004, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council designated it a “National Chinese Language and Culture Education Base,” making it one of just over a dozen universities nationwide entrusted with this work. Qingdao University began admitting international students in 1987 and has clear strengths in international student education. It hosts recipients of the Chinese Government Scholarship, International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship and Shandong Provincial Government Scholarship for International Students. It became a national Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) center in 1997 and was approved as a Ministry of Education “Demonstration Base for Studying in China” in early 2014. In October 2016, it became one of the first 27 universities nationwide to pass the national quality accreditation for education of international students in China.

Qingdao University offers a complete range of disciplines, and all programs admit international students. Its College of International Education specializes in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, giving it clear strengths in international student education. In recent years, applications from international students have increased steadily, placing it among the leading universities in Shandong in this respect. International students come from over 60 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, Poland, Spain, Italy, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.

The College of International Education has a strong teaching team, and its full-time and part-time teachers all hold qualifications for teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Its advanced facilities include an international exchange building dedicated to international students, combining accommodation, dining and other functions. The college currently offers a master’s program in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages, an undergraduate Chinese language program, Chinese language non-degree study and short-term visiting study programs.

In 2006, Qingdao University introduced a 6-year English-taught MBBS program. Several hundred international students from countries including India, Thailand, Nepal and Tanzania have now studied in this program.

Qingdao is a beautiful coastal city. With its excellent teaching quality and modern student life management, Qingdao University is sure to attract increasing numbers of international students.