Yangzhou University (YZU) is a key comprehensive provincial university, who pioneered in China in the merging of institutions of higher learning. The university was established in 1992 as a merger of 6 colleges namely, Teachers College of Yangzhou, Agricultural College of Jiangsu, Engineering College of Yangzhou, Medical College of Yangzhou, Water Conservancy Engineering College of Jiangsu and Business School of Jiangsu.

 

History
The history of YZU can be traced back to as early as 1902, when Mr. Zhang Jian, a renowned modern entrepreneur and educator, set up the Teachers School of Tongzhou and Tonghai Agricultural School (which became part of Nantong College later). The former Agricultural School of Jiangsu and Teachers College of Yangzhou, 2 components of the YZU merger, were developed out of the agriculture section of Nantong College and of the literature and history section of Teachers College of Tongzhou respectively. The other four all had a history of more than 60 years.

 

Students
Currently in YZU there are 34,700 full-time undergraduate students, 8,400 postgraduate (doctorate and master) students and 11,000 students of continuing education. YZU’s 27 colleges offer 110 undergraduate programmes in 12 disciplines. YZU has 6 State-level Specialized Majors, 14 State-level Key Quality Courses, 1 State-level Bilingual Teaching Demonstration Course, 3 State-level Teaching Teams, 1 State-level Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center, 2 National Base for Talent Training with Cooperation in Agriculture, Science and Education, 20 Joint Labs with the Central Government, 29 Provincial-level Distinctive Majors, 15 Provincial-level Prestigious Majors and 13 Provincial-level Experimental Teaching Demonstration Centers in Basic Course. 2 majors are approved as State-level Experimental Programme for their innovative modes of talent cultivation. YZU was also winner of the Second Prize of National Award in Teaching as well as Special Award in Teaching in Higher Education in Jiangsu.

 

Teacher Resources
About 3,780 faculty and staff members are working in YZU, of which over 2,000 are full-time teachers including 1,100 professors and associate professors, 1 academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and 1 Naitonal Outstanding Teacher. In YZU, 23 faculty members enjoy the Special Government Allowance and 29 are entitled Young Expert with Outstanding Contribution. There are over 1,430 supervisors to PhD and master students. As one of the first among colleges and universities allowed to grant master and doctoral degree, YZU now has 7 mobile stations for post-doctors, 11 doctoral programmes in primary-level disciplines, 44 master programmes in primary-level disciplines, as well as 14 granting rights in doctoral and master degree targeting at students for continuing education; YZU has 3 state-level key disciplines ( including 1 cultivation programme), 10 ministerial (provincial-level) key disciplines, 24 ministerial (provincial-level) key laboratories and engineering technology research centers, 84 research institutes and 36 teaching labs (or centers). There are around 1,700 ongoing research projects that receive the total fund of RMB 300 million yuan annually. Since the Ninth Five-Year Plan Period of the country, more than 300 research accomplishments in YZU have received awards at ministerial or provincial-level, among which, Trans-genetic Somatic Cloned Goat, the joint project with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was bulletined as the No. 1 News Report on Fundamental Research in 1999, and Precise Sequencing of Rice No. 4 Chromosome came first as the 2002 Top 10 Scientific News on S & T Progress. 6 projects have got the Second Prize in National Award for S & T Progress, and since 2002, 4 dissertations have been accredited as National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation. YZU has successfully embarked on a road to serve agricultural and rural development through combining field work, related scientific research and classroom teaching together, with northern Jiangsu as its base to engage the adjacent central and southern Jiangsu areas.

 

Campus
YZU covers an area of about 4,090 mu (or some 273 hectares) with a floor area of 1.49 million square meters. Its eight campuses are located closely in the downtown area of Yangzhou. The University also owns experimental factories, farms, an animal hospital, an affiliated high school and affiliated clinical hospitals with a full range of modern facilities to meet the needs of teaching, research and student internships. YZU attaches great importance to international exchange and cooperation. It has set up close links and academic relations with a number of institutions of research and higher education in over 30 countries and regions. YZU is accredited the qualification to enroll international students and students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

 

Brighting Future
In the past two decades, through combining, merging, restructuring and self-improvement, YZU is now truly developing in an all-round manner. In the Teaching Assessment of Undergraduate Education organized by China’s Ministry of Education, YZU was rated Excellence. Furthermore, YZU has been awarded the honors of Civilized Unit of Jiangsu Province and Model University of Upholding Law in Administration. The CPC YZU Committee was also awarded Outstanding Grass-root Organization by the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Central Committee respectively.

 

With old glory behind it, YZU, a university of more than 100 years, aims to ascend new heights of success by continuing its reform and innovation. The University is viewed as a landmark for offering valuable experience in the administrative reform of the institutions of higher learning. Marching on the new journey, YZU will keep following the Deng Xiaoping Theory and the Three Represents, implementing the requirement of the Seventeenth National Congress of the CPC and integrating the scientific outlook of development fully into its connotation construction, so as to build a harmonious university with an even greater future!