Xiangtan University

Xiangtan University (XTU) is a comprehensive and national key university. The great man Mao Zedong initiated its establishment in 1958. He inscribed the university name and called upon administrators to “do their best to make a success of it”. In 1974, Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannian, and other central government leaders approved XTU’s resumption of instruction. In 1978, the State Council designated XTU one of 16 comprehensive key universities in liberal arts, sciences, and engineering. In 1981, it was one of the first master degree authorized units in China. Since resumption, CPC and State Council leaders such as Hua Guofeng, Jiang Zemin, and Li Peng have attached great importance and cordial care to XTU’s construction and development. On September 6, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping instructed XTU, exhorting it to take root in the hometown of the great man and strive to make itself better and more distinctive.

Since establishment, XTU has steadily improved its comprehensive school-running strength and core competitiveness. It ranked 43rd among all mainland Chinese universities appraised by the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine. It has become one of the few universities which entered the ranks of well-respected international universities listed by THE and USNEWS. XTU has been built by the People's Government of Hunan Province and the Ministry of Education, PRC; and by the People's Government of Hunan Province and the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, PRC.

XTU has a graduate school, 23 colleges, and a teaching department. There are 9 majors including literature, history, philosophy, science, engineering, economics, management, law, and art. Four disciplines such as chemistry, materials science, engineering, and mathematics, are among the world’s top 1% of ESI. Seven are included in the 2019 Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. It has 3 national key disciplines, 5 domestic first-class construction disciplines in Hunan Province, 10 domestic first-class cultivation disciplines in Hunan Province, and 4 special national defense disciplines.

There are 15 doctoral degree programs of first-level discipline, a doctoral degree program of second-level discipline, 31 first-level discipline masters degree programs, 19 professional master’s degree categories, and 15 post-doctoral research centers. It also has 19 national-level first-class undergraduate professional construction sites, 11 national-level characteristic majors, a national-level professional comprehensive reform pilot major, and 8 majors with national engineering education professional certification.

There is a National Applied Mathematics Center, a National International Science and Technology Cooperation Base, 2 National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratories, a National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center; 2 Humanities and Social Sciences Key Research Bases of the Ministry of Education, a China Red Tourism Innovation and Development Research Base of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 3 Key Laboratories of the Ministry of Education, 2 Engineering Research Centers of the Ministry of Education; 1 Provincial and Ministerial Co-constructed Collaborative Innovation Center, 3 Hunan “2011 Collaborative Innovation Centers”, and 2 characteristics professional think tanks of Hunan Province.

It has 4 innovation teams of the Ministry of Education, 5 innovation research groups of the Hunan Natural Science Fund, 3 high-level talent gathering engineering innovation teams in Hunan Province, and 8 scientific and technological innovation teams from universities in Hunan Province. It has been included in the first batch of national patent collaborative application pilot units and the first batch of national intellectual property information service centers of higher education.

There are 1,645 full-time teachers at XTU. Over 76% of the teachers hold professional titles or doctoral degrees and 25% of them have overseas experience on research and study. Among them, there are 5 Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) academicians; 4 included in the “Ten Thousand Talent Program”; 7 scholars of the Changjiang Scholars Program (a program jointly financed by the tycoon Li Ka-shing and the Ministry of Education); 4 national excellent and outstanding young science foundation holders, and 7 national candidates of the “New Century Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Talent Project”.

It has a large number of high-level teachers and scientific research teams, including 4 national role model teachers, 7 national outstanding teaching teachers, 2 winners of the Feng Kang Prize of Scientific Computing, 1 national publicity and culture system talent, 1 national ideological and cultural publicity young talent, 1 national outstanding scientific and technological worker, 1 national intellectual property rights leading talent; and 1 national patent information leading talent.

Recently, XTU has made many achievements in national projects. The number of its projects approved by the National Social Science Fund was 24th nationwide. The number of papers published on SCI and EI has led Hunan for five years running. The Renmin University of China copy data citations and comprehensive index of XTU social science papers have been listed in the top 3% nationwide. Its 5 think tanks were included in the first batch of Chinese Think Tank Index (CTTI).

XTU has been awarded more than 120 ministerial and provincial level or above prizes, such as the National Natural Science Award, National Scientific and Technological Progress Award, the Ministry of Education Award for Excellent Research Achievements in Colleges and Universities, and the Hunan Provincial Social Science Award for Outstanding Achievements.

It has established academician workstations, innovation research institutes, and other high-level production-university-research bases. In the past five years, it has signed more than 1,300 production-university-research cooperation projects and applied for nearly 3,300 patents.

There are now 33,433 full-time students at XTU, including 8,886 doctoral and master’s degree candidates.

It has 3 national experimental teaching demonstration centers, one of the first batch of national training bases for outstanding legal talents, the national talent training model innovation experimental zone, and the national college student cultural quality education base. It is the implementation unit of the "National College Student Innovative Experimental Program" and one of the first batch of demonstration universities to deepen the reform of innovation and entrepreneurship education, national innovation and entrepreneurship model experience university, and national graduate employment model experience university.

Since its establishment, nearly 334,000 graduates have been trained and a large number of outstanding alumni have emerged. They have made important contributions to national construction and social progress.

XTU has gained an increasing influence internationally and domestically. It has successively established cooperation platforms and launched 30-plus international cooperation training projects with 60 universities and research institutions from more than 20 countries, such as US, UK, and Japan. XTU set up Confucius institutes in Leon University in Spain and Makerere University in Uganda respectively. XTU was included into the "China-Africa Universities 20+20 Cooperation Plan" by the Ministry of Education of PRC.

“Shaofeng Mountain is high, the Xiangjiang River is long, and  Xiangtan University is a humanities resort and a palace of scientific education…”

XTU will be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi’s important instructions to Xiangtan University; promote the XTU spirit of keeping in mind the entrustment, working hard, and pursuing excellence; and, take root in the hometown of the great man to establish a socialist university with Chinese characteristics.

Xiangtan University will accelerate “Double First-Class” construction and make a greater contribution to the realization of the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

Xiangtan University is one of China's first educational institutes authorized to award master's degree and is also among the earliest schools approved to enroll overseas students. In the evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Education, the university's undergraduate education was rated as excellent in 2002 and 2008. It was also awarded as the university with typical experience in graduation and employment for college students. It has been chosen by Guangzhou Military Region as a base for the selecting and training of reserve officers, and by No. 61046 Troop under the PLA Headquarters of General Staff as a base for the training of postgraduates.

Up till now, the university has received nearly 1,500 international students from such countries as France, Britain, Spain, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, India, the United States, Cameroon, and Ghana, who came here for long or short term programs. A multi-level talent cultivation system has taken shape, involving trainees taking part in long or short term Chinese language training as well as students seeking for undergraduate, master's or doctor's degrees. Great progress has been made in international students' affairs since the university was admitted to Chinese Government Scholarship. From 2013 to 2020, the university saw a growing number of international students and especially students with degree education. Xiangtan University has been approved by Hanban (the Confucius Institute) Headquarters to receive Confucius Institute scholarship students and has been authorized to enroll Chinese language trainees from partner institutions for one semester or one academic year program, pushing the scale of international students to a new level.

The university commits itself to improving the quality of international education by carrying out a series of reforms while taking into account of the characteristics of international students especially those with degree education. Initiatives have been firstly piloted in some important majors and reaped fruitful results, including curriculum reform, bilingual teaching, and "one-to-one" supervisor system. At present, almost all majors in colleges of Xiangtan University (foreign languages excluded) are covered in the international programs, including 8 first-level and 74 second-level disciplines for doctor's degree, 30 first-level and 190 second-level disciplines for master’s degree, 13 disciplines for master's professional degree, and 11 postdoctoral stations. The university also offers diversified degree or non-degree learning and training programs for short-term students, language learners, scholars, general advanced students, preparatory undergraduates, exchange students, students for college diploma, bachelor's, master's or doctor's degree, advanced senior students and visiting scholars.

In order to standardize the administration of international students and improve the international education, the university has issued Administrative Provisions on Acceptance of International Students by Xiangtan University and formulated Guidance and Suggestions on Training Program of International Student Education with Record of Formal Schooling by Xiangtan University. The moves are in an effort to highly value teaching quality and emotional and cultural development, as well as foster a favorable environment for international students to study and live in.