Beijing Jiaotong University

Beijing Jiaotong University is a national key university directly administered by the Ministry of Education and jointly developed by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Transport, Beijing Municipal People’s Government and China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. It participates in national “211 Project,” “985 Project Innovation Platform for Advantageous Disciplines” and “Double First-Class” development.

As one of the three sources of Jiaotong University, its roots date to 1896. Its predecessor, the Railway Management Training Institute established by the Qing government, was China’s first higher education institution specializing in management talent and the birthplace of modern Chinese railway management and telecommunications education. In 1917, it was reorganized into the Railway Management School and Posts and Telecommunications School. In 1921, it merged with Shanghai Industrial College and Tangshan Industrial College to form Jiaotong University. Following restructuring in 1923, it was renamed Beijing Jiaotong University. In 1950, it became Northern Jiaotong University, with Chairman Mao Zedong writing its name in calligraphy and renowned bridge engineer Mao Yisheng serving as president. It became Beijing Railway Institute in 1952 and restored the name Northern Jiaotong University in 1970. In 2000, it merged with Beijing Electric Power College and transferred from Ministry of Railways administration to direct Ministry of Education administration. It restored the name Beijing Jiaotong University in 2003.

Its eastern and western campuses in Beijing’s university-rich Haidian District cover nearly 1000 mu, with over 1 million square meters of buildings. Weihai Campus in Shandong, distinguished by Sino-foreign cooperative education, covers over 1000 mu. All campuses have comprehensive teaching and research facilities and beautiful surroundings. It has the Binhai Comprehensive Rail Transportation R&D Experimental Base in Huanghua, Hebei; is developing a world-class integrated rail transportation innovation base for industry, education, research and application in Beijing’s Fengtai District; and has established Tangshan Research Institute as a demonstration area for R&D and commercialization. Its Shenzhen, Yangtze River Delta and Weihai research institutes broaden resources and support talent cultivation and research. Large-scale construction of Xiong’an Campus has begun, opening a new phase of coordinated multi-campus development.

Over 130 years, the university has developed a complete education system with strengths in information and management, a distinctive transportation science and technology focus, and coordinated engineering, management, economics, science, literature, law and philosophy. Its 21 schools are Automation and Intelligence; Electronic and Information Engineering; Computer and Information Technology; Economics and Management; Traffic and Transportation; Civil Engineering and Architecture; Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Mathematics and Statistics; Physical Science and Engineering; Languages and Communication; Software; Marxism; Architecture and Design; Law; Environment; Systems Science; Cyberspace Security (National Secrecy School); Zhan Tianyou College (School of Future Technology in Intelligent Transportation); National School of Elite Engineers; and Weihai International College.

Its disciplinary strength continues to rise. It completed the first round of “Double First-Class” development to a high standard, achieved notable results in the first-class field of intelligent transportation and is advancing the new round. Fifteen disciplines appear in ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, with transportation engineering ranked first worldwide 6 times. Seventeen appear in U.S. News global subject rankings, 12 in QS world subject rankings and 24 in ShanghaiRanking’s Best Chinese Subjects Ranking, where transportation engineering and systems science remain first nationally. Eight disciplines are in the ESI top 1%, including engineering and computer science in the global top 1‰. It has 17 postdoctoral research stations and 1 workstation; 21 first-level doctoral authorizations and 7 professional doctoral categories; and 33 first-level master’s authorizations and 19 professional master’s categories.

Building a high-quality faculty is central to its educational strength. It has 3296 active faculty and staff, including 2113 full-time teachers, of whom 1519 hold associate senior or higher titles and 2035 have master’s-level or higher qualifications. It has 2 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2 of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and 1 foreign member of the latter; 8 nationally distinguished teachers; 6 members of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee’s disciplinary appraisal groups; 84 teachers selected for national talent programs; and 2 members of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee’s Four Groups of Talent program.

The university fulfills the fundamental task of fostering virtue and educating people and has achieved substantial educational reform and development, training many people for the country and industry. It has 3489 doctoral students, 10712 master’s students, 17105 undergraduates, a cumulative annual 1867 international students and 5179 adult students. In the three most recent undergraduate teaching achievement award rounds, it received 2 national first prizes and 7 second prizes. In postgraduate teaching achievement awards, it received 1 national first prize and 1 second prize. It also received 1 first prize and 2 second prizes in the Chinese Society of Academic Degrees and Graduate Education’s postgraduate education achievement awards. It was among the first Ministry of Education “101 Program” pilots. Its computer science base is a National Top Students in Basic Disciplines Training Base, and its School of Software is a National Distinctive Model Software School. It has 47 national first-class undergraduate program sites, 11 national distinctive programs, 7 national comprehensive reform pilots and 8 national Excellent Engineer Education and Training Program subjects. Thirteen programs have passed national engineering education accreditation and 3 national civil engineering and architecture program assessment. It has 3 China Scholarship Council innovative talent international training projects. It has 6 national experimental teaching demonstration centers, 3 national virtual simulation experimental teaching centers, 3 national virtual simulation teaching projects, 3 national off-campus student practice bases and 7 national engineering practice education centers, plus a National Faculty Teaching Development Demonstration Center. Three postgraduate joint training bases have been recognized as National Model Joint Training Bases for Engineering Professional Degree Postgraduates. It has 67 national first-class undergraduate courses, 25 national quality resource-sharing courses and 6 national quality open video courses. It was lead editor of 4 textbooks recognized in the first National Quality Textbook selection and has 1 Ministry of Education team for developing 14th Five-Year higher education textbooks in strategic emerging fields. It has approval for 248 Ministry of Education industry-university collaborative education projects, including 3 outstanding cases. Its “Plateau” and “Peak” top-talent programs use Zhan Tianyou College’s integrated undergraduate-postgraduate model to cultivate leading basic researchers and technological innovation leaders in strong disciplines. Its industry-university “Knowledge and Action” joint training plan addresses urgent national needs and trains excellent engineers. It improves teaching quality assurance and passed Category I assessment in the new round of undergraduate educational audit evaluation in 2024. Employment remains around 95%, and over 70% of undergraduates pursue further study. It was among the first National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Practice Bases and has been recognized nationally for exemplary innovation and entrepreneurship and graduate employment practices. The student art troupe’s university-student version of the Long March Song Cycle and original play Mao Yisheng are effective vehicles for ideological and political education. Sport is flourishing: in 2024 its elite and regular student teams won 7 national championships, 7 runner-up finishes and 3 third places, plus 38 Beijing championships, 35 runner-up finishes and 41 third places.

The university addresses scientific frontiers and major national strategic needs. It has participated fully in major stages of China’s rail transportation development, including railway speed upgrades, Qinghai-Tibet Railway construction, heavy-haul transport on the Datong-Qinhuangdao Railway, maglev trains, high-speed rail, Sichuan-Tibet Railway construction and independent development of core urban rail technology. It has produced major original results with fully independent intellectual property at advanced international levels, supporting transportation, logistics, information, new energy and Beijing’s economic and social development. It is an important force supporting and leading national, industry and regional scientific innovation. It has 78 research platforms at provincial or ministerial level and above. Nine national platforms include the State Key Laboratory of Autonomous Operation of Advanced Rail Transportation, National Engineering Research Center for Rail Transit Operation Control Systems, National Engineering Research Center for Mobile Private Networks, Frontier Science Center for Intelligent High-Speed Railway Systems, Collaborative Innovation Center for Rail Transportation Safety, the national high-end think tank Center for Sustainable Transportation Innovation, National Rail Transportation Safety Assessment Research Center and national international science and technology cooperation bases. Its 69 provincial or ministerial platforms include Ministry of Education key laboratories and engineering research centers, transport-industry key laboratories, Beijing laboratories, Beijing key laboratories and engineering technology research centers, the capital high-end think tank Beijing Comprehensive Transportation Development Institute at Beijing Jiaotong University, its base of the Beijing Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Beijing philosophy and social science research bases, Beijing university philosophy and social science innovation centers, and Ministry of Education country and regional studies centers. It is a Ministry of Transport pilot for building a strong transportation nation and a deputy-chair institution of the ministry’s New Transportation Think Tank Alliance. It regularly hosts the China Transportation High-Level Forum, Capital High-End Think Tank Beijing Transportation Development Forum, National Economic Security and Development Forum, Jiaotong Lecture Series, and LISS and IEIS international conferences. Gigabit networking reaches desktops, with full wired and wireless coverage. Applications of high-performance computing, big data, artificial intelligence and 5G support development and innovation. Teaching and research equipment assets total RMB 1.84 billion. Library printed books, e-books and online resources total 17.714 million volumes. It has transportation-focused databases, a Ministry of Education science and technology novelty search station and a National University Intellectual Property Information Service Center.

The university regards cooperation as an important route to higher standards. Responding to the Belt and Road Initiative, it has partnerships with 273 universities and institutions in 52 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France. It promotes Chinese culture through a Confucius Institute in Campinas, Brazil. It initiated the Global Alliance of Universities for Sustainable Transport, joined the International Union of Railways, Organisation for Cooperation between Railways and China-Central and Eastern European Countries Higher Education Institutions Consortium, and leads the Sino-Russian Transport University Presidents’ Alliance, China-ASEAN Rail Transportation Education and Training Alliance and UIC High-Speed Railway University Alliance. These strengthen its international railway influence and voice. It leads China-U.S., China-Russia, China-U.K. and China-Indonesia high-speed rail research centers. Through its alumni association, foundation and board, it has strategic partnerships with nearly 400 enterprises in transportation, information, energy and technological innovation, with 85 board-member organizations. It has 65 alumni organizations in China and abroad, and its education foundation is rated a 4A social organization.

“Remember the source when drinking water; love the country and honor the university.” Upholding its motto, “Knowledge and Action,” Beijing Jiaotong University shoulders new missions and advances toward a world-class university with distinctive strengths.

University website: http://www.bjtu.edu.cn

International student application website: https://bjtu.17gz.org/

International Education and Exchange Center website: http://cie.bjtu.edu.cn