Tongji University, one of China’s earliest national key universities, is a prestigious institution of higher education which is directly under the Ministry of Education (MOE) and is supported by the Shanghai Municipality. After 110 years of development, Tongji University has become a comprehensive and research-intensive university with distinctive features and an international reputation. It is one of the leading universities in China with competitiveness.
The history of Tongji can be traced back to 1907, when the German Medical School was founded by Erich Paulun, a German doctor, and was then renamed as Tongji German Medical School in the following year. The school was expanded later to include engineering in its programs and got its new name of Tongji German Medical and Engineering School in 1912. In 1917, it was taken over by ethnic Chinese, and then successively given the name of Tongji Medical and Engineering School and Private Tongji Medical and Engineering Specialist School. In 1923, it was formally established as Tongji University and was later renamed as National Tongji University in 1927. After the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, the University campus has moved six times, first from Shanghai to Zhejiang Province, and then to Jiangxi, Guangxi, and Yunnan Provinces, and finally to Lizhuang in Yibin, Sichuan Province in 1940. It was eventually moved back to Shanghai in 1946. It then grew to be a comprehensive university which offered programs in science, engineering, medicine, arts and law.
As of December 2017, Tongji University had established 38 schools, colleges, and institutes, 7 affiliated hospitals, and 6 affiliated primary and secondary schools over the years. It has four campuses: Siping, Jiading, Huxi, and Hubei, covering a total area of 2.562 kilometers with floor areas of buildings covering about 1.75 million square meters. The University Library houses 4.07 million books in its collection.
Currently, there are 17,339 full-time registered Bachelor’s students, 14,883 registered Master’s students, 4,940 registered Doctoral students, and 3,523 international students. The University has 2,726 faculty members, among which are 989 professors, 8 members of the Chinese Academy of Science, 9 members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (an international member included), 2 members of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, 1 international member of the American Academy of Engineering, and 1 international member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences. In addition, the University has 5 national-level Master Teachers of Excellence, 42 professors on National Outstanding Young Scholars Program, 34 professors on Changjiang Scholars Program launched by the MOE, 23 chief scientists in the National Basic Research Program of China, 25 chief scientists in the National Major Research Program of China, 48 professors in the National Outstanding Young Scholars Program, and 99 professors among the four types of outstanding young talents program, including the Young Changjiang Scholars and Thousand Talent Program for Young Outstanding Scientists. The University has also established 6 national-level teaching teams, 8 innovation communities supported by Natural Science Foundation of China, 9 innovation communities directly under the MOE, 1 innovation team in selected areas of priority under the Ministry of Science and Technology, and was selected to participate in the National Innovative Talent Training Demonstration Project.
The University has 10 academic disciplines of engineering, science, medicine, management, economics, philosophy, humanities, law, education, and arts. There are 75 undergraduate majors, of which 50 majors enroll students under 17 categories. It has 45 programs for academic Master’s degrees, 17 programs for professional Master’s degrees, and 26 programs for Master’s degrees in engineering, 30 programs for academic doctoral degrees, 3 programs for professional doctoral degrees, and 25 postdoctoral research stations. Tongji University is also equipped with 3 national key laboratories, 1 national engineering laboratory, 1 national collaborative innovation center, 2 national large-scale instrument center, 5 national research centers of engineering (technology), and 39 ministerial and provincial key labs and research centers of engineering (technology).
Over the years, the people of Tongji adhered to its aspirations of “serving the people and the world with one heart, on the same boat, and with the responsibility of rejuvenating the Chinese nation.” With full enthusiasm, Tongji University, will continue to develop and work together to create a world-class university!
