Shandong University is one of China’s first institutions of higher learning. It was established in 1864 and initially called the Tengchow College of Liberal Arts (Dengzhou Wenhuiguan). Here the medical program originated and it was the predecessor of Cheeloo University and signified the beginning of modern Chinese higher education.

Shandong University was the first university to be established that was runned in accordance with a chartered constitution. This constitution was called the ‘’Constitution of Tentative Establishment of Shandong Imperial College’’. This university Charter, the first of its kind in Chinese history, was designated by the Qing government as an exemplary model for the subsequent founding of other imperial universities within China. The Charter not only paved the way for modern education in China, but also served as the blueprint for all the other modern institutes of higher education which were emerging at that time.

In 1901, Yuan Shikai, the Imperial Governor of Shandong in the Qing Dynasty, submitted the “The Existing Constitution of Tentative Establishment of a College in Shandong” for Emperor Guangxu’s royal approval. This document can be seen in the image below.

The history of Shandong University is closely connected to the big changes that modern China has undergone. Since its founding, Shandong University has gone through several stages of growth and development. In the beginning it started as Shandong Imperial College and subsequently changed to National Qingdao University, National Shandong University and later Shandong University. The present day Shandong University, grew out of a merger of Shandong University with Shandong Medical University and Shandong Industrial University in 2000. For more than a century, it has gone through name changes, suspension, reconstruction, mergers, and relocation. In addition, it has been merged with various kinds of universities and separated from more than ten institutions of higher learning, making unique contributions to the forming of the current higher education system in China. School Gate of Shandong University in Qingdao in the 1950s

Shandong University is a key comprehensive university with a long history, a variety of disciplines, strong academics, and distinctive characteristics. It is a member of Project 211 and Project 985. These are two national projects that support the development of high-quality universities. After nearly sixteen years of growth since the merger of the three universities that constitute modern day Shandong University, the university has undergone a transformation into a research-oriented university. This insured that the educational quality and competitiveness of the university improved remarkably. This improvement in the quality and capability of teaching has greatly increased both its international standing and its ability to serve the country.