Overview

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.

While attentive to international developments, research in science and technology at Xi'an Jiaotong University is directed primarily at meeting the nation's most important needs, and in contributing to autonomous creation. To this end, XJTU is continually strengthening its capacity to innovate while seeking to raise its level of competitiveness, by, among other approaches, working to shorten the time needed to transform laboratory results into productive products and processes. Since 2000, faculty members and researchers from XJTU have headed 10 projects under the 973 Program, and participated in over 100 others. In the same time period, university scientists and engineers have had responsibility for 169 projects under the 863 Program and has had 1489 projects approved by the National Natural Science Fund. Its total number of basic research projects and grants places XJTU in the front rank among Chinese universities. Also in the period since 2000, the university has been awarded 29 national science and technology prizes. Recent years have also seen a notable increase in the amount of research devoted to the humanities and the social sciences, with significant contributions to the major projects in those areas identified by the National Social Science Fund and the Ministry of Education. In 2008, the number of SSCI papers published by XJTU researchers ranked fourth in China. To produce these results, the university relies on its strength in key disciplines and on its unique educational model, with its emphasis on the integration of production, study and research. In addition, it has, in cooperation with the government and with large and mid-sized enterprises, established research and development parks whose aim is to help solve the key technological problems facing industry and to strengthen the contributions of science and technology to the regional economy and the development of the local social structure.

Xi'an Jiaotong University has worked hard to create an environment conducive to “dynamic thinking, dynamic learning, and dynamic living.” It has created a national-level center for cultural education and supports over 100 student organizations. It sponsors a rich and varied calendar of activities in science and technology, literature and the arts, and sports. “Jiuzhou Experts,” “Discussing the World,” “Grand Schoolroom in Siyuan,” and “Study Forum” have become well-known venues in which students can expand their horizons. In recent years, XJTU students have collected awards in a wide range of competitions, including the Asia-Pacific Robot Contest, International Varsity Debate, International Debate Tournament, International English Speech Contest, Asian Area Selection Match for ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, International Mathematical Contest in Modeling, the World Architecture Design Competition for University Students, “Challenge Cup” National University Student Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Work Competition, “Challenge Cup” Business Plan Competition, the National Intelligence Vehicle Competition, “Edison Cup” Technology Innovation Competition, National Aviation and Space Model (research- type) Tournament and University Students Business Plan Competition of Chinese Inspiration Program.

Xi'an Jiaotong University has extensive ties to the world of international scholarship and research. Thirteen Nobel laureates, one Fields Prize winner and over 700 foreign professors have been invited to the campus to lecture. Over 10,000 scholars, CEOs, and high-level government officials from around the world have been involved in exchanges or other kinds of collaborative activity with Jiaoda. More than 1500 XJTU teachers and students have gone abroad to visit, study, do research, or participate in degree programs, and over 1300 faculty members, and researchers have traveled abroad for conferences. The university has conducted joint programs for both undergraduates and graduate students with nearly 20 outstanding universities in France, the US, Italy, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Belgium. The“4+4” undergraduate exchange programs conducted in cooperation with France's Groupe des Ecoles Centrales has been enthusiastically endorsed by both the French and Chinese Ministries of Education. XJTU, in cooperation with the University of Liverpool, has established XJTU-Liverpool University, which is the first university in China to be established as a joint undertaking between a Chinese university and a foreign university, and to receive the approval of the Ministry of Education, XJTU-Liverpool University focuses on engineering. The university has also been involved in the establishment of two Confucius Institutes. One, in the American state of Nebraska, is a joint undertaking of XJTU and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; the second was established in the UK in collaboration with the University of Liverpool. Since 2000, the university has built inter-university cooperative relationships with 145 universities and research institutions in 42 countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and Korea. Over 900 foreign experts have come to work at the university. XJTU is the only university in China to be a member of “Top Industrial Managers Europe (T.I.M.E. Association).” It has participated in three exchange programs under the European Union's “Erasmus External Cooperation Window Plan,” more programs than any other university in China. In addition, there are currently 1020 foreign students from 51 countries studying at XJTU.

Xi'an Jiatong University, which is located in the city of Xi'an in Shaanxi province, has three campuses: the Xingqing campus, the Yanta campus and the Qujiang campus, covering a total area of 256.78 hectares. The total constructed area is 1.7623 million square meters. The “Qian Xuesen Library,” which is located on the Xingqing campus, incorporates nearly 40 thousand square meters and has 3518 reading seats. The library collections include 4.47 million books and 10,053 newspapers and periodicals, of which 4089 kinds are current periodicals. The library has also been adding to its digital collections, and has recently introduced 252 foreign electronic resources. Its holdings now include 28,639 electronic periodicals in Chinese and foreign languages and more than one million electronic books. The library's computer system is fully integrated with the campus network, CERNET, and the Internet. On and off-campus users can access the system via remote terminal or over the Internet. The university's computer network meets the highest international standards.

Students are housed in modern dormitories and may choose from a wide variety of dishes in the university's extensive dining facilities. The Siyuan Student Activities Center, with a total area of over 10,000 square meters, is the venue for a wide range of events, and the university's athletic fields and playgrounds are fitted with the latest modern equipment. The university has an extensive system of scholarships and stipends, with scholarships for undergraduates totaling 12 million yuan per year, and additional annual support in the form of loans totaling 14.4 million yuan. The university has also established an “innovation fund” to provide support for graduate students. Each year, it distributes about 50 million yuan. The university has a modern psychological health education and counseling center for university students.

On June 5, 2009, Premier Wen Jiabao visited the university and met with teachers and students. Those present will always remember and cherish his words: “XJTU at 100 is forever young and will forever remain a source of strength and energy!” XJTU alumnus Jiang Zemin has returned to his Alma Mater four times and has spoken of it with words of praise: “With its verdant pines and cypresses, and quiet beauty, the campus is the ideal place to study, the ideal environment to bring forth knowledge, wisdom and new scientists with new ideas.”

In this new century, Xi'an Jiaotong University continues to renew itself, and to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of higher education, domestically and internationally, gradually evolving a model for higher education that is suited to developments both domestically and internationally, and constructing at the same time a modern scientific approach to policy-making, policy execution and supervision, so as to provide the university with a management structure adapted to the integrated world of today, and which provides a firm foundation for building Xi'an Jiaotong University into a top-flight international university.

School motto：“Rigor, integrity, determination and loyalty.”

Mission：To continue the pursuit of academic excellence, and to educate upstanding citizens with a strong sense of social responsibility and a commitment to scientific inquiry and innovation, and to the advancement, preservation, application and dissemination of knowledge, so that they may contribute to the continued progress of science and technology, and the betterment of human society, in China and in the world.

Vision: To fulfill its threefold mission of education, research, and service, to maintain its role as a leader and an innovator, and to continue striving to earn a place among the best research universities, honored at home and respected in the world.