About Xi'an Jiaotong University

Founded in Shanghai in 1896 as the Nanyang Public College, Xi’an Jiaotong University is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in China. By 1921, it had become Jiaotong University. In 1956, the state council of China made a momentous decision to move the university from Shanghai to Western China, serving as the pioneers in the “Grand Development of Western China” program. In 1959, the university was officially named Xi’an Jiaotong University. During the National Seventh and Eighth five-Year Plans, the university was on the list of “National Key Construction Project”. In the late 1990’s, it was among the first group of universities selected for the participation in both “Project 211” and “Project 985”. It was designated by national government as on of the elite groups of the country’s universities that should be developed into world –class universities. In April 2000, with the approval of the State council of China, the university merged with Xi’an Medical University and Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics, and thereby entered a new era in its history.
Today’s Xi’an Jiaotong University is a comprehensive research-oriented university with its focus on science and engineering. Its programs cover the fields of science, engineering, medicine, economics, management, literature and arts, law, philosophy, and education. It consists of 17 schools, offering 74 undergraduate programs, 199 master programs, and 114 doctoral programs. In 2007, the number of full-time undergraduate students was over 17,000 and that of graduate students nearly 13,000. Over 1100 international students from about 50 countries studied at the university. There are more than 2,500 full-time faculty members, dedication to both teaching and research. The current faculty includes 16 members of the Chinese Academy of Science and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as members of the American Academy of Engineering, the British Royal Academy, and the Third-World Academy of Science.