Xinjiang Medical University

Xinjiang Medical University lies at the foot of scenic Xuelian Mountain in Urumqi. It is Xinjiang’s only medical higher education institution jointly supported by central ministries and the autonomous region.

Its predecessor, Xinjiang Medical College, was one of the 156 key projects in the country’s First Five-Year Plan. Construction began in July 1954. With the care of the CPC Central Committee, the central Ministry of Health assigned more than one hundred teaching, medical and administrative personnel from 15 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shandong, Jiangsu and Liaoning, to support its development. It began admitting students in October 1956. In June 1998, Xinjiang Medical College and Xinjiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine merged to form Xinjiang Medical University. In August 2016, the People’s Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, former National Health and Family Planning Commission and Ministry of Education jointly issued Opinions on Jointly Supporting Xinjiang Medical University, formally establishing its joint central-ministry and regional support status.

It has 2 main campuses and 26 schools or departments, with 8 directly affiliated hospitals, 7 other affiliated hospitals, 18 teaching hospitals, 95 internship hospitals and 45 professional internship bases.

It has a complete bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral education system spanning 5 categories: medicine, science, engineering, management and law. It offers doctoral degrees in 5 first-level disciplines and 3 professional categories, master’s degrees in 14 first-level disciplines and 10 professional categories, 4 postdoctoral research stations and 4 postdoctoral workstations. Four disciplines have been selected for autonomous-region key discipline development under the 14th Five-Year Plan. Its 29 undergraduate programs include 6 national distinctive programs, 6 autonomous-region key programs, 9 national and 7 autonomous-region first-class undergraduate program development sites, and 1 national experimental zone for innovative talent development models. Clinical medicine, pharmacology and toxicology, and biology and biochemistry rank in the global ESI top 1%. Clinical medicine was Xinjiang’s first discipline to enter the global ESI top 1%, with a latest position of 2.07 per thousand. Pharmacology and toxicology, and biology and biochemistry stand at 6.88 and 9.84 per thousand respectively.

Since 2021, the university has undertaken 2975 research projects with funding of RMB 1028.5939 million. These comprise 2662 government-funded projects with RMB 915.5225 million and 313 commissioned projects with RMB 113.0714 million. It has received 110 science and technology achievement awards of various types and levels, including 68 provincial awards; published 1916 SCI papers and 3644 Chinese core journal papers; obtained 2485 valid patents; and transferred 23 achievements, with commercialization contracts totaling approximately RMB 8 million.

It has 2 national experimental teaching demonstration centers, 2 national clinical teaching and training demonstration centers, 1 national continuing education base for professional and technical personnel, 5 autonomous-region experimental teaching demonstration centers and 1 autonomous-region continuing education base for professional and technical personnel. Its 60 research platforms at provincial or ministerial level or above include 1 national clinical traditional Chinese medicine research base, 1 Ministry of Science and Technology state key laboratory jointly supported by the province and ministry, 1 national international science and technology cooperation base, 9 branches of national clinical medical research centers, 1 Ministry of Education key laboratory jointly supported by the province and ministry, 1 Ministry of Education Higher Education Discipline Innovation and Overseas Expertise Introduction Program, 1 Ministry of Education joint international cooperation laboratory, 1 Ministry of Education collaborative innovation center jointly supported by the province and ministry, and 1 Ministry of Education engineering research center. It also has 18 autonomous-region key laboratories, 13 autonomous-region clinical medical research centers, 2 autonomous-region engineering technology research centers, 1 autonomous-region university key humanities and social sciences research base under the 14th Five-Year Plan, 1 autonomous-region education system research and practice base for fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, 1 autonomous-region talent and expertise introduction demonstration base, and 7 autonomous-region science popularization education bases.

It has 35134 students of all types, including 19898 regular full-time undergraduate and junior college students, comprising 19407 undergraduates and 491 junior college students; 5257 master’s students; 785 doctoral students; and 8514 continuing education students in junior-college-to-undergraduate and junior college programs.

The university is among the autonomous region’s first demonstration bases for international study in Xinjiang and first universities to receive government scholarship students. The Ministry of Education has recognized it as an Advanced Collective in International Student Education in China. It has 680 international degree students at different levels and has educated more than 2600 international students from 41 countries, including India, Pakistan and Kazakhstan.

It has 1737 full-time teachers. Of these, 1510 hold doctoral or master’s degrees, accounting for 86.93%, and 908 have senior professional titles, accounting for 52.27%. It has 418 doctoral and 1426 master’s supervisors. Its faculty includes 2 national Huang Danian-style university teacher teams, 1 national distinguished teacher, 1 National Model Teacher, 1 Changjiang Scholars distinguished professor, 1 national distinguished teacher in higher traditional Chinese medicine education, 1 National Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and 4 National Renowned Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners. It has 18 autonomous-region distinguished teachers and 15 teaching experts. Five teachers are national selections for the Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Project, and 37 experts receive special State Council allowances. It has 2 National Outstanding Communist Party Members, 4 National Model Workers, 10 National May 1 Labor Medal recipients and 1 National Model Individual for Ethnic Unity and Progress.

Of its 8 directly affiliated hospitals, 6 are Grade III Class A and 2 are tertiary hospitals whose class ratings have not yet been assigned. In April 2024, the autonomous region established Xinjiang International Medical Center (Xinjiang International Hospital), administered by the university. The 8 directly affiliated hospitals cover 706100 square meters, with 1514300 square meters of buildings, 10020 authorized beds and 13747 beds actually in use. They have 26 national key specialties, 97 autonomous-region key specialties and 18 autonomous-region clinical research centers. They provide paired assistance to 27 county hospitals across 9 prefecture-level areas and 21 counties or cities. They collaborate with 546 hospitals through medical consortia, lead 78 specialty alliances and have built 305 telemedicine cooperation networks.

The First Affiliated Hospital has received an A+ rating in the national monitoring indicators of the tertiary public hospital performance assessment for four consecutive years, remaining in the national top 10% and first in Xinjiang. It has ranked third in northwestern China in the comprehensive China Hospital Rankings for nine consecutive years. The Fourth Affiliated Hospital has remained among the national leaders in public hospital assessments after placing in the top 5% in the national performance assessment of tertiary public traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. With concentrated strengths, distinctive specialties, differentiated development and coordinated activity, the affiliated hospitals form a medical resource cluster with considerable public recognition and influence.

The university continues to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with renowned universities in China and abroad. It has comprehensive paired support partnerships with Central South University, Jilin University, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China Pharmaceutical University and Wenzhou Medical University, and friendly partnerships with more than 20 universities including Fudan University, Sun Yat-sen University and Lanzhou University. It has friendly exchange and cooperation relationships with 54 universities, medical and research institutions in 8 countries, including Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

The university covers 1712500 square meters, approximately 2569 mu, with total buildings of 1239500 square meters, including 397900 square meters for teaching and support. Fixed assets total RMB 4847.1068 million, including RMB 422.3299 million in teaching and research equipment. The library covers 50200 square meters and holds 1.8364 million printed books, 734400 electronic books, 760100 electronic journal volumes, 10.5250 million theses and dissertations, and 5393 hours of audio and video. It is a major member library of the provincial center of the China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS) and a Ministry of Education science and technology novelty search station. The university uses the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data and ubiquitous sensing to develop its smart campus, with high-speed network coverage throughout. Cultural and sports facilities include an athletics field, gymnasium, swimming pool, all-weather sports ground, outdoor ball-game courts and a cultural and creative center.