Overview of Xi'an Jiaotong University

Xi'an Jiaotong University, a national key university under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, is one of the country's oldest institutions of higher learning. Founded in Shanghai in 1896 as Nanyang Public, it was renamed Jiaotong University in 1921. In 1956, at the direction of the State Council, the university was moved to Xi'an, and renamed Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU). As one of the country's national key universities, it was included in the first group of universities singled out for high priority development under the country's seventh and eighth five year plans. It was also included in the first group of universities to benefit from Project 211 and Project 985, with the goal of becoming a world class university. Under a plan adopted by the State Council in April, 2000, the original Xi'an Jiaotong University was merged with the Xi'an Medical University and the Shaanxi Institute of Finance and Economics to form the new Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Today, Xi'an Jiaotong University is a comprehensive research university offering programs in nine areas—science, engineering, medicine, economics, management, art, law, philosophy and education—with a major emphasis on science and engineering. It includes 20 schools, eight undergraduate residential colleges, and eight affiliated teaching hospitals. XJTU has a faculty and staff of more than 5500, of which 2500 are full-time teachers, including over 1500 professors and associate professors. The faculty includes 21 academicians—nine members of the National Academy of Sciences and twelve members of the National Academy of Engineering--among whom twelve are members of both. The university has had five recipients of national teaching awards. Among current faculty members, 38 have been designated as “Chang JIang Scholars” by the Ministry of Education; 25 have been honored by National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars; 15 have been recognized as national experts who have made outstanding contributions to the nation. An additional 142 teachers have been selected to participate in the Ministry of Education's “New Century Program for Promising Young Talent,” and another 547 have been awarded government stipends for their outstanding contributions to China. Pursuant to its precept that “talent makes the university strong,” XJTU has continues to add to its strength by attracting to the campus leaders in a wide range of disciplines and will continue the process of building its team of top-level talent.

XJTU has a current enrollment of more than 30,000 full-time students, including over 13,000 masters and doctoral candidates. The university offers 78 undergraduate majors, and awards masters degrees in 200 disciplines and Ph.D. degrees in 115. Among these, there are 8 which are designated as first-order key disciplines by the Chinese government, and 37 which are designated as second–order key disciplines. In addition, 115 disciplines are recognized as key disciplines at the provincial and ministerial level. XJTU offers Master degrees 18 areas, including engineering, clinical medicine, business, and MPA; it has 20 research facilities for post-doctoral students, four national key laboratories, four national special laboratories, two national engineering research centers and 59 key research centers and laboratories at the provincial and ministerial level.

Xi'an Jiaotong University's more than 110 years of history have been informed by a set of principles to which it has remained true: devotion to learning makes the country stronger; creation grows out of hard work; honor rectitude and respect truth; learn teaching rigorously and the character of loving China and the university and bearing in mind where one's happiness comes from, insists on the school-running characteristic of “high staring point, profound foundation, strict requirement and focusing on practice,” continually carves out and innovates and trains people diligently. Numbering among Jiaoda's outstanding alumni are Cai E, Huang Yanpei, Shao Lizi, Li Shutong, Ling Hongxun, Zou Taofen, Lu Dingyi, Hou Shaoqiu, Qian Xuesen, Wang An, Tian Binggeng, and Jiang Zemin. Over 200 XJTU alumni, including Mao Yisheng, Wu Youxun, Zhu Wuhua, Zhang Guangdou, Zhang Wei and Wu Wenjun have been honored with membership in the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. Since moving to Xi'an over 50 years ago, Xi'an Jiaotong University has educated a large group of talented individuals in many fields, and its graduates have achieved distinction in all walks of life.

In recent years, the university has been following a path of active exploration and bold innovation as it seeks to implement the national reform plan for the comprehensive restructuring of higher education. An important element of this reform is the new “2+4+X” model for research universities, a model which emphasizes providing the student with a solid foundation of general knowledge, sound research skills and the ability to innovate. The goal is to transform the university from one which simply transmits knowledge to one which emphasizes active engagement in research. In 2006, Xi'an Jiaotong University took the lead among Chinese universities when it undertook to create a system of residential colleges modeled on the traditional Chinese academy of learning. This twin college system is aimed at giving our students the best possible chance for success. In 2007, XJTU established the “Qian Xuesen Experimental Class” for particularly gifted students and the “Zonglian Experimental Class,” whose purpose is to develop an appropriate classroom model for medical education. The university also set up its “engineering workshop” to stimulate student interest in science and technology and to encourage innovation and creativity, in keeping with the adage that “small inventions lead to big creations.” XJTU's priorities in education are reflected in the following series of maxims: “Science before engineering,” “engineering before medicine, management, and law”. As a result of this unique model, many graduates of XJTU have acquired multidisciplinary skills, a fact which has not gone unnoticed by the larger society. As one of only two universities in China with a “class for gifted young people,” Xi'an Jiaotong University has received praise from students and parents alike for its unique educational model, its favorable study environment, excellent teachers and substantial teaching resources, and its positive good teaching results. Since 2000, the university has received 32 national teaching awards. In addition, it currently has 27 national elite courses, 8 national–level teaching centers, and 8 national-level teaching teams. To date, 22 XJTU dissertations have been recipients of the annual award given to “China's 100 best doctoral dissertations;” another 33 have been nominated for that award.