As a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education of China, Sichuan University is a high-level, research-oriented, and comprehensive university in western China. It is a category-A institution in the Double First-Class Initiative of China and is located in Chengdu, a famous historical and cultural city known as the “land of abundance”. Sichuan University consists of the three campuses of Wangjiang, Huaxia, and Jiang’an, covering an area of 4.7 square kilometers and boasting a floor area of 2.8218 square kilometers.
Sichuan University is formed by merging three national key universities, namely the former Sichuan University, the former Chengdu University of Science and Technology, and the former West China University of Medical Sciences. The former Sichuan University traces its origin back to Sichuan Chinese and Western School founded by Lu Chuanlin, then-Governor of Sichuan, in 1896 on the orders of Emperor Guangxu. It is the earliest modern institute for higher education in southwest China. The former Chengdu University of Science and Technology was one of the earliest multi-disciplinary engineering institutes established during the restructuring of colleges and departments in the People’s Republic of China. The former West China University of Medical Sciences originates from West China Union University established by western Christian missionaries in Chengdu in 1910. It was one of the first western-style universities in southwest China and was one of the pioneering universities to offer postgraduate programs in China.
Sichuan University offers a wide range of programs in various disciplines, covering the twelve categories of humanities, science, engineering, medicine, economics, management, law, philosophy, agriculture, education, and arts. It consists of 36 discipline-based colleges or departments and School of Overseas Education. As an eligible institute for independent degree conferment review, Sichuan University boasts 52 first-level disciplines granting doctoral degrees, 48 professional-degree programs, and 39 postdoctoral stations. The SCU family has approximately 37,000 full-time undergraduates and 29,000 master’s or doctoral degree candidates. Nearly 3,000 students are from overseas, Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan of China.
Iconic achievements mushroomed at Sichuan University thanks to its solid scientific research capacity. There are multiple state-level key labs, National Engineering Technological Research Center, National Applied Mathematics Center, National Clinical Medicine Research Center, National Engineering Lab, National Base for International Cooperation on Science and Technology, MOE Frontier Science Center, and other key labs, engineering research centers, regional and country-specific research bases under MOE. In the recent four years, Sichuan University has claimed 10 awards as the leading party from the top science and technology awards (State Natural Science Award, State Technological Innovation Award, and State Science and Technology Advancement Award). In 2022, the research funding of Sichuan University reached 3.52 billion yuan. In terms of humanities and social sciences, Sichuan University compiled and published influential publications such as Dictionary for Inscriptions on Bones or Tortoise Shell, Chinese Character Dictionary, Literature of Song Dynasty, History of Chinese Daoism, Confucian Trove ,etc.
International exchange and cooperation is high on the agenda of Sichuan University. Recent years have witnessed the continuing improvement in comprehensive strength, social influence, and international competitiveness of Sichuan University. In the fourth round of discipline evaluation of China concluded in December 2017, 16 disciplines of Sichuan University are rated as Level A, ranking 9th nationwide. It ranks 189th across the globe and 8th in Chinese mainland according to Shanghai Ranking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2018. In the latest Nature Index rankings, Sichuan University stands in 70th place globally. It constantly deepens joint program cooperation with foreign counterparts through models like “2+2”, “3+1”, and “3+1+1” and has established exchange and cooperation ties with 268 renowned universities and research institutes in 34 countries and regions. In collaboration with world-class and research-intensive universities or organizations, Sichuan University sets up 20+ international high-end cooperation platforms for scientific research, including SCU International Research Center for Ecological and Sustainable Development of Jiuzhaigou Valley, SCU Sino-German Joint Center for Energy Research, SCU Sino-British Materials Research Institute, SCU-CNR Multifunctional Polymers and Biomaterials Research Center, Sichuan University-Oxford University Huaxi Joint Centre for Gastrointestinal Cancer, and Centre for European Studies Sichuan University. Sichuan University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University jointly establish and run Sichuan University–Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction. Sichuan University and the University of Pittsburgh jointly established Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute.
Over its long course of development, Sichuan University has formed profound cultural traditions, solid foundation for education, and a motto — Sea, all water, receives all rivers; Utmost wit listens to all sides — that inspires generations of rigorous, diligent, truth-seeking, and innovative students of SCU.