Nanjing University

Nanjing University is a prestigious institution with a long history. Its predecessor was Sanjiang Normal School, established in 1902. It subsequently passed through the stages of Liangjiang Normal School, Nanjing Higher Normal School, National Southeast University, National Fourth Sun Yat-sen University, National Central University and National Nanjing University, adopting the name Nanjing University in 1950. In the nationwide university restructuring of 1952, some engineering, agriculture and teacher education departments were transferred out, and it merged with the humanities and science schools of the University of Nanking, founded in 1888, while retaining the name Nanjing University. Its campus moved from Sipailou to the former University of Nanking site in Gulou.

For more than a century, Nanjing University and its predecessors have shared the fortunes of their era and nation, sought national strength and progress in science and education, and contributed significantly to national prosperity and rejuvenation. Since reform and opening-up in particular, as a key comprehensive university directly administered by the Ministry of Education, it has gained new vitality from new historical opportunities. It was among the first universities included in Projects 211 and 985, the national Double First-Class initiative, and national innovation and entrepreneurship demonstration bases. It has consistently remained in the leading group of Chinese universities and gained widely recognized social influence and academic standing.

It has four campuses—Xianlin, Gulou, Pukou and Suzhou—and 46 schools, with 16008 undergraduates, 19266 master’s students, 11205 doctoral students and 1432 international students. It has 16 Double First-Class development disciplines, 27 disciplines approved in phase four of Jiangsu’s University Advantageous Discipline Development Project, 45 first-level doctoral degree authorization fields, 11 professional doctoral degree authorization fields, 2 first-level master’s degree authorization fields, 20 professional master’s degree authorization fields, 91 undergraduate programs, and 14 bases under the Top Students in Basic Disciplines Training Program 2.0. It has 10 national key laboratories, 1 national engineering technology research center, 1 national science and technology resource sharing service platform, 1 national field scientific observation and research station, 2 national 2011 collaborative innovation centers, 1 Nanjing University collaborative research base of the national Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, 6 Ministry of Education key research bases in the humanities and social sciences including 2 jointly recognized with other ministries, 1 Ministry of Education philosophy and social sciences laboratory under cultivation, 1 institution under cultivation for national high-end think tank development, 1 Ministry of Education philosophy and social sciences innovation team, and more than 130 provincial or ministerial research platforms.

Its high-quality faculty includes 33 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 3 members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, nearly 400 national leading talent selections, over 450 national young talent selections, 177 selections as chief scientists of major projects under national major science and technology programs, the 973 Program, 863 Program, Science and Technology Innovation 2030 Major Projects, and the National Key Research and Development Program, 24 State Council Academic Degrees Committee discipline appraisal group members, 11 nationally distinguished teachers, and 38 national Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Talent Project recipients.

Since its establishment, it has been one of China’s most active universities in international exchange and cooperation, building close partnerships with many world-class universities and high-level research institutions. The Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies, established in the 1980s, has operated successfully for more than 30 years. It was the earliest long-term international higher education cooperation project implemented after China’s reform and opening-up and has trained many key professionals for China-US cooperation and exchange, generating major influence in China and abroad. In today’s increasingly interconnected world with a shared destiny, the university is implementing its Global Open Development Strategy (2020-2030), further expanding openness and exploring new mechanisms for global cooperation, with sustained efforts to promote multicultural exchange and integration and human peace and development.