Universities

South China University of Technology (SCUT) is a leading Chinese university under the direct leadership of the Ministry of Education and a member of Project 985 and Project 211. Located in Guangzhou near Hong Kong and Macau, SCUT has two campuses: Wushan (north) in Tianhe District, with hills, lakes, and greenery and mixed traditional/modern architecture; and University Town (south) in Panyu, with open landscaping and contemporary buildings. Founded in 1952, SCUT is a comprehensive university covering science, engineering, business, management, liberal arts, law, bio-medical science, and art design. It has 26 schools offering 79 bachelor’s, 193 master’s, and 107 PhD programs, and has produced over 290,000 graduates. In 2014 there were 2,238 international students from 130 countries; about 60% in degree programs and the rest studying Chinese )

Southeast University (SEU), founded in 1902, is one of China’s oldest higher education institutions. It is in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province. Jiangsu has ranked first among Chinese provinces in absorbing foreign investment for five continuous years in the period cited; more than one-third of the world’s top 500 multinational corporations have branches in the province. Nanjing is about two hours from Shanghai by train and reachable by air from other major cities. SEU is a key university under the Ministry of Education and a research-oriented comprehensive institution with 3 national key labs, 26 ministerial key labs, 2 national engineering research centers, and 10 ministerial engineering research centers. In MOE discipline assessments cited, biomedical engineering ranked 1st, transportation engineering 2nd, architecture and art 3rd, and civil engineering 5th. SEU awards bachelor’s, master’s, PhD, and honorary degrees and offers over 75 undergraduate programs )

Sun Yat-sen University (Zhongshan University) is in Guangzhou, south China’s largest city, near Hong Kong and Macao. Founded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen (Zhongshan), it has more than 100 years of history and is a key multi-discipline university under Ministry of Education Projects 985 and 211, ranking among major universities nationally and at the top in South China. It has four campuses: Guangzhou South and North Campuses, Guangzhou East Campus (University Town), and Zhuhai Campus. There are 32 schools or colleges and 5 departments directly under the university. Undergraduate courses are offered in 102 subject areas; master’s degrees in 251 subject areas and doctorates in 180. There are 30 postdoctoral programs. The student body totals over 84,600, including over 32,000 bachelor’s students, nearly 10,300 master’s students, nearly 4,400 doctoral students, and other categories totaling up to about 35,951. The university receives Chinese Government Scholarship international students and self-funded international students. It has hosted international students since the 1950s. About 3,000 international students from over 100 countries study here each year

Tongji University is a leading university directly under the Ministry of Education and is included in Project 211. Its history dates to 1907, when German doctor Erich Paulun established Tongji German Medical School; it was officially named a university in 1923 and became a national university in 1927, with science, engineering, medicine, arts, and law. After the 1952 discipline restructure, Tongji became a major engineering university strong in civil engineering. From 1978 it developed into a multi-disciplinary university oriented toward engineering. Today it is a comprehensive research university covering sciences, engineering, medicine, literature, arts, law, economics, management, philosophy, and pedagogy. International cooperation includes partners in Germany, France, the UK, the USA, Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain, Finland, and elsewhere. Government-approved units include Sino-German College for Graduate Study and Sino-German College of Applied Sciences; Sino-Italian Campus; Sino-French Institute of Engineering and Management with Paris Tech; Tongji–UNEP Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development; and Tongji–Australian Institute of Technology, among other international programs

It was formed in June 2016 by merging Shanghai Lixin University of Commerce and Shanghai Finance University. Its roots go back to Lixin education founded by Dr. Pan Xulun in 1928. In 2022, the School of Business and Administration received five-year full AACSB accreditation. SLU has three campuses in Pudong, Songjiang, and Xuhui, covering more than 1,200 mu (about 800,000 square meters). It has more than 19,000 full-time students, including over 370 graduate students; 3 master’s degree programs and 40 undergraduate majors; more than 1,630 faculty and staff, including over 1,240 full-time teachers

Founded in 1956 and located in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China focuses on electronic information science and technology as its academic core. It operates across three campuses—Qingshuihe, Shahe, and Jiulidi—covering 635 acres. The university offers programmes spanning engineering, science, management, and liberal arts, with over 3,400 faculty members, including more than 390 professors. Its library holds 4.847 million physical volumes and approximately 220 terabytes of digital resources. Around 32,000 students are enrolled, including 10,000 postgraduate researchers. Sports facilities include outdoor grounds, indoor gyms, tennis courts, and a swimming pool. Approximately 500 international students from over 30 countries study at UESTC alongside domestic peers.

Founded in Beijing in 1958 and relocated to Hefei in the early 1970s, the University of Science and Technology of China operates under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its academic structure integrates teaching with CAS research institutes across disciplines including mathematics, physics, chemistry, and nuclear science and technology. The university hosts 20 schools and 30 departments, with additional facilities in Nanjing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenyang, and Changchun. It maintains over 50 laboratories and research centres, among them the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale. With around 25,000 students—including more than 17,000 postgraduates—and nearly 2,000 faculty members, USTC delivers undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programmes. It was the first institution in China to establish a graduate school, doing so in 1978.

Wuhan University is a key university under China’s Ministry of Education, in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province. The campus sits by Luojia Hill and East Lake and covers about 373 hectares. It is often described as one of the more scenic university campuses in China. Its history goes back to Ziqiang Institute, founded in 1893 by Zhang Zhidong. After several name changes it became National Wuhan University in July 1928. By the end of 1946 it had six colleges: liberal arts, law, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine. On 2 August 2000, with State Council approval, a new Wuhan University was formed by merging the original Wuhan University, Wuhan University of Hydraulic and Electrical Engineering, Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping, and Hubei Medical University. It now has 6 faculties and 37 schools across 12 areas: Philosophy, Economics, Law, Education, Literature, History, Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture, Medicine, Management, and Arts. Programs include 124 undergraduate, 347 graduate, and 243 doctoral programs, including 5 undergraduate and 6 master’s programs taught in English )

Xi'an Jiaotong University, founded in 1896, is situated in Xi’an—a historic city that served as capital to thirteen Chinese dynasties. Its three campuses—Xingqing, Yanta, and Qvjiang—form a connected academic presence across the city. The university hosts nearly 30,000 full-time students, over half of whom are enrolled in postgraduate programmes. It offers a broad range of study options, including 82 undergraduate, 242 master’s, and 154 doctoral programmes. English-medium master’s degrees have been available since 2011, with fields such as management science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering among those taught entirely in English. The clinical medicine programme for international students, launched in 1995, remains one of its longest-running English-language offerings.

Xiamen University (XMU) was founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a prominent overseas Chinese leader, and was the first university in China founded by an overseas Chinese. It is a key comprehensive university directly under the Ministry of Education, ranked among the top 20 of more than 2,000 Chinese universities and colleges, with strong international recognition. Campuses lie on either side of Xiamen Bay between hills and the sea. The university has a graduate school and 26 schools or colleges with 66 departments, plus 10 research institutes. It offers 83 undergraduate, 276 master's, and 187 PhD programmes. Full-time academic and research staff number over 2,500, including 23 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering. Enrollment exceeds 40,000 full-time students: 20,314 undergraduates, 17,312 master's candidates, 2,956 doctoral candidates, and over 2,700 international students plus students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. XMU was among the earliest institutions to develop overseas education, starting overseas correspondence education in the 1950s and accepting Chinese Government Scholarship students from 1981. In total it has welcomed over 20,000 overseas correspondence students and over 10,000 foreign students from more than 100 countries

Zhejiang University, founded in 1897 in Hangzhou, is one of China’s leading comprehensive research universities. Teaching and research span science, engineering, medicine, humanities, and social sciences. International students study across a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.