About the university
Shandong University, or SDU – under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education – is a key comprehensive university with a long and honorable history, a broad variety of disciplines, strong academic strength and distinctive characteristics, which has had a great influence both at home and abroad. In —, the SDU was chosen as one of the first group of China's high-level universities to be listed in the double first-class university program released by the central government of China.
Shandong University is one of the initiative universities of modern Chinese higher education. Its medical school, established in —, signified the beginning of modern Chinese higher education. Its main body – the Shandong Imperial College (Shandong Da Xue Tang) established in — – was the second national university in China, after the Imperial University of Peking. Moreover, it was the first university in China to run in accordance with a chartered constitution.
For around 120 years, SDU has been following its mission to "nurture talent for the world and seek prosperity for the nation" and living up to its motto of being "noble in spirit, endless in knowledge". The university has cultivated over — talented young people of various specialties and has been making significant contributions to the country and to regional economic and social development.
Shandong University has developed by leaps and bounds in recent years. At present, 18 subjects have been listed in the top one percent of subjects in the Essential Science Indicators (ESI), an index showing the competitiveness of a subject published by the Institute for Scientific Information. In addition, five of the university’s subjects – chemistry, engineering, material sciences, clinical medicine, pharmacology and toxicology – were listed in the top 1‰ in the ESI rankings. SDU has also established cooperation with nearly 200 universities in more than 30 countries or regions.
Shandong University's campuses are in the cities of Jinan, Qingdao and Weihai and they cover a combined area of over 533 hectares. The university currently has four affiliated hospitals and 15 non-subordinate affiliated hospitals. Its full-time student population totals around —, of whom — are full-time undergraduates, — are postgraduates, together with — international students.
The university has attracted a large number of outstanding talent, including — full-time teachers. Among these, 21 are academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the Academy of Engineering (adjunct academicians included), 40 distinguished professors of the Chang Jiang Scholars Program, 12 winners of the Youth Project, 55 awardees of the National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholars and 42 awardees of the Excellent Young Scientists Fund.
The university boasts 12 State-level scientific research platforms, as well as six projects in the national program for introducing talent for discipline innovation in colleges and universities. It is also home to six national talent training bases, four key social science research bases approved by the Ministry of Education, 64 ministerial level platforms and a large number of provincial key laboratories and provincial engineering technology research centers.
Shandong University is a comprehensive university in China with full-fledged academic disciplines. There are at present 12 general disciplines for undergraduates and postgraduates: philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, management and the fine arts. There are 44 first-level doctorate programs, 51 first-level master's degree programs, 95 programs for undergraduates and 42 post-doctorate research programs – forming a complete system for the cultivation of first-class talent.