Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), directly under China’s Ministry of Education, is a key university jointly funded by the Ministry and Shanghai Municipality. 

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, known as Nang Yang Public School, was founded in 1896 by Mr. Sheng Xuanhuai. It is one of the oldest universities in China. The University, over the past century, has turned out a large number of excellent personnel and made significant contributions to the development of science and technology. The former president of the China JIANG Zemin and the following distinguished figures LU Dingyi, DING Guangen, WANG Daohan, QIAN Xuesen, WU Wenjun, ZOU Taofen, MAO Yisheng, CAI Er, HUANG Yanpei, SHAO Lizi, WANG An and so on are all graduates from Shanghai Jiao Tong University . Of all the academicians of China's Academy of Sciences and Academy of Engineering, more than 200 are the alumni of Jiao Tong University.

Since its adoption of the reform and opening up policy in China, SJTU has taken the lead in the management system reform in the institutions of higher learning, thus regaining its vigor and vitality as well as momentum for rapid growth as never seen before. A number of its disciplines have been advancing towards the world's first-class level, such as communication and electronic system, naval architecture and ocean engineering, automatic control, composite materials, and metal plasticity processing. A batch of burgeoning branches of learning have occupied an important position in the country, such as Large-scale integrated circuit, computer science, optical fiber technology, systems engineering.

Today SJTU boasts 20 academic schools: the schools of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Mechanical & Power Engineering, Electronics & Electric Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, Sciences, Life Science and Technology, Humanities and Social Science, Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Management , International and Public Affairs, Foreign Languages, Agriculture and Biology, Environmental Science and Engineering , Pharmaceutics, Medical, Law, Media & Design, Micro-electronics, Information Security, Software and 2 directly affiliated departments: Department of Plastic Technology and the Department of Physical Education, plus a Graduate School. Besides, it also has School of Continuing(adult) Education, School of Online Learning, School of International Education, and a Vocational School. There are 60 undergraduate programs, 152 masters-degree programs, 93 Ph.D programs, 16 post-doctorate programs, 16 State key doctorate programs and 14 State key laboratories and National engineering centers.

SJTU boasts a good number of famous scientists and professors, including 22 academicians of the Academy of Sciences and Academy of Engineering, 31 "Changjiang Chair Professors" and more than 1, 420 professors and associate professors.

Its total enrollment of full-time students amounts to 38,000. There are 18,000 undergraduates and 18,100 candidates for Master's Degree and Doctor's Degree.

The centennial Jiao Tong University has inherited its old tradition "high starting points, solid foundation, strict requirements and extensive practice" which has cultivated one group of qualified students after another. Today the old tradition is endowed with new content and has become the fine style of learning of Jiao Tong students. With such tradition SJTU is training students into excellent qualified talents with solid and broad theoretical foundation, complex knowledge structure, international communicative ability and comprehensive development in morality, intelligence and physical fitness. Students from SJTU have achieved top prizes in various competitions, such as the International Mathematical Contest in Modeling and Electronics Design Contest. Teachers from SJTU have won a number of top prizes in the national Award of outstanding achievements in Education for their teaching, research and textbooks compiled.

SJTU has beautiful campuses, occupying an area of more than 200 hectare in total, and possesses plenty of advanced teaching and research equipment and facilities. Now, it has six campuses, the Xuhui, the Minhang, the Qibao, the Shangzhong Road , the Fahuazheng Road and the Chongqing Road(south). Over the past decade, the number of students in SJTU has grown from 5,000 to more than 38,000, the floorage of various buildings from 230,000 square meters to 800,000 square meters, and the area of campuses from 40ha to 200ha. Apart from the major buildings such as the Lecture Buildings, Laboratory Buildings, Dormitories and Gymnasiums, SJTU also has the Bao Zhaolong Library which is well-known throughout the country. Various laboratories, including university central laboratories such as "Computer Center" and "Audio-visual Education Center" are equipped with advanced research and teaching equipment and facilities.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University has been actively involved in International academic exchange programs with foreign universities. To date, it has established relations with more than 100 renowned universities and colleges in the world as well as connections with many research institutions, corporations and enterprises at home and abroad. SJTU has invited more than 100 famous scientists and specialists as honorable professors or consulting professors, including the Nobel prize winners and physicists Yang Zhenning, Li Zhengdao and Ding Zaozhong. SJTU sends excellent teachers and students abroad every year to give lectures, to study or to attend international academic conferences, meanwhile SJTU invites foreign specialists and scholars to give lectures or to have academic exchanges. SJTU is the modal of  "China Education Science and Research Networks" in east China region, and through computer networks, Shanghai Jiao Tong University has close connection with universities, scientific research institutions and corporations both at home and abroad.

In the 21th century, Shanghai Jiao Tong University has drawn up  a grand blueprint for its future development ---to develop into a first- class university in the world.