About the university
As the key normal university of Yunnan Province and with a long history and splendid tradition, Yunnan Normal University (henceforth YNNU) is a higher institution co-funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Yunnan Provincial Government and one of the 100 universities funded by the National Key Project for the Quality Enhancement of the Higher Institutions in Central and West China.
Covering a total area of — mu (about 555 acres), YNNU consists of 24 schools, two independent schools, and over 40 research institutes. Currently it has over — full-time students pursuing different degrees, from bachelor to PhD, and more than — students participating in the program of adult continuing education. Equipped with over 3.2 million books, the library of YNNU is a provincial data resources center of China Academic Library and Information System (CALIS), and the campus is covered by a new digitalized service system. The Journal of Yunnan Normal University (Social Science Edition), included in the highly selective CSSCI (Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index) list, ranks among the top 30 of its kind, while the Natural Science Edition is a nationally acclaimed core journal. In addition, the Teaching and Research on Chinese as a Foreign Language Edition, a pioneer in this field, ranks among the top 30 journals of its kind in China in terms of impact factor.
YNNU offers 10 disciplines: literature, history, philosophy, law, education, management, science, engineering, economics, and arts, which are well coordinated in their development. In an assessment conducted in — by the Ministry of Education, 22 of YNNU’s sub-disciplines are ranked among the top 20 in the whole country while 3 of them are among the top 10. YNNU offers 90 bachelor’s programs, 2 postdoctoral research programs, 1 doctoral program in a first-class discipline, 7 doctoral programs in second-class disciplines, 26 master’s programs in first-class disciplines, 130 master’s programs in second-class disciplines, and 13 professional master’s programs, such as MBA and M.Ed. It is one of the first 24 universities in China that offer the Master’s Program for Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages.
Through reforms and innovations in teacher education, talent development, teaching content and methodology, curriculum and credit system, YNNU has transformed itself from a traditional teacher-training university to a teaching-research university, with teacher education as its typical trait. It has won 12 state-level teaching awards, one first prize and two second prizes in —. It has a number of state-level teaching teams, innovative training programs, special majors, brilliant teachers, excellent courses and experimental teaching bases that rank among the best in China in their respective fields. It has won several national excellent teaching awards. It is carrying out state-funded projects in such areas as reforms in education system, bilingual teaching and teaching innovation and faculty development. It has 76 state-level Quality Projects under construction. It is one of the national college-student innovation training bases. YNNU’s Teaching Affairs Department, the Enrollment & Employment Department and the Adult Education Department have won state-level honors for their respective contribution. Its undergraduate teaching is rated “Excellence” in the teaching-quality assessment conducted by the Ministry of Education.
In addition, it is equipped with two new think tanks, one for educational policy-making of Yunnan and the other for researches on geopolitical environment of Southwest China and implementation of “One Belt, One Road” program. In the past three years, YNNU has undertaken 1, 779 different research projects, its research funds totaling over 557 million Yuan, among which 159 projects are newly approved and initiated from National Natural Science Foundation, 65 funded by National Social Science Foundation, and 15 National Prestigious Key Projects, such as the National Sci-tech Support Plan, Technological Benefiting Project of National Ministry of Science and Technology, a Major Bidding Project of National Social Science Foundation and a Special Commission Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China. The faculty has published 428 academic books, 104 of them by publishers of the top class. And 834 out of the — published journal papers have been listed by SCI, EI, and ISTP, and 733 by CSSCI. The university has won 122 awards for academic achievements, including 2 National Universities’ Academic Research Awards, 99 Yunnan Philosophy and Social Science Research Awards, and 9 Yunnan Science and Technology Awards. YNNU also has had 74 patents authorized, 116 software copyright registered, and three National Standard Projects approved and initiated by the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China (SAC).
Currently YNNU has a staff of —, many of whom are experts with honors awarded by the Central Government, specialists winning the State Council Special Allowance, members from the “100 Talents Program” of Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS) or the state-level “Ten Million Talents Project”, winners of the state-level “Outstanding Teacher” and “Teachers as Role Models of the Country”, and of “Young Faculty Award” granted by the Ministry of Education, candidates for the “New-century Talents Development Program” by the Ministry of Education, and for “West Light” talents development project by CAS, and important experts of the national research project of Marxist Theory. Some teachers have also won the national awards of “Model Workers and Advanced Workers”. In addition, YNNU has invited about 100 well-known experts from 40 countries and regions as its Honorary Professors, Guest Professors or Adjunct Professors, including Professor Chen-Ning Franklin Yang, Nobel Prize winner in physics in —, Professor Yang Le, Professor Guo Bailing, Professor Dai Ruwei, and Professor Ouyang Ziyuan, CAS academicians, Professor Gehan Amaratunga from Cambridge University, academician of the Royal Academy of Engineering, U.K., Professor Christopher A. Pissarides, fellow of British Academy and winner of Nobel Prize in economics sciences in —, Professor Seymour Topping, former Administrator of the Pulitzer Prize, and former managing editor of the New York Times, the world-famous futurologist Dr. John Naisbitt, and Wu Jinlian, renowned economist.
Boasting of international visions and modern ideas, YNNU has been designated by the Ministry of Education and the Hanban as one of the ten key universities supporting Chinese teaching in neighboring countries. It is the Cross-Strait Exchange Center at the site of Southwest Associated University sponsored by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, Chinese Language and Culture Education Base by Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council (OCAOSC), Teacher Training Base for the International Promotion of Chinese Language, and the TCFL Teacher Training Base for Southeast Asian Countries by the Hanban, one of the first Chinese universities approved by the Chinese government to establish Confucius Institute abroad and provide scholarship awarded by the Chinese Government and Confucius Institute Headquarters to overseas students, one of the first National Demonstration Bases for International Education, and Education Training and Research Center for Overseas Studies by the MOE, the HSK and CFL Test Centers and authorized to enroll students from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan area. Up till now, it has set up one Confucius Institute, three Confucius Classrooms, and six Chinese Culture Centers abroad. YNNU has established collaborative ties with over 160 overseas universities and research institutes from more than 60 countries, such as Great Britain, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other regions of China, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. It has enrolled more than — overseas students from 81 countries in the past, and currently — international students are studying here, the greatest number in Yunnan universities.
YNNU has been granted awards by the State Council, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), the Ministry of Education, and Yunnan Province for its contributions to the national unity and progress, for its achievements in education, well-organized running of the university in accordance with the law, experienced guidance for graduates in job-hunting, training of teachers from elementary and middle schools, conservation-oriented operation, excellent campus culture and landscaping, and advanced grass-roots Party organizations. Students have also made remarkable achievements in the Mathematical Contest in Modelling, the “Challenge Cup” Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition for University Students, the Speech Contest for University Students, the National English Competition for College Students, and the National Teaching Skill Competition for Normal University Students. And some students and classes and associations have won awards for their excellent performance, scientific and technological innovations and praiseworthy actions for helping those in need. YNNU’s students have won medals in the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games held in Beijing, Athens and London.