Tongji University

[EduCativ]

Tongji University is one of China's leading universities under the Ministry of Education's direct administration, listed on "Project 985" and "Project 211". With a history of over a century, Tongji has valued the balanced development of four functions, i.e., education, research, outreach, and culture inheritance and innovation.
The history of Tongji can be traced back to 1907, when German Medical School was founded by Erich Paulun, a German doctor in Shanghai. After being renamed Tongji German Medical School in the following year, it was formally established as a university in 1923. It became National Tongji University in 1927, one of the seven earliest national universities of China. Around 1949, Tongji already boasted five natural sciences colleges, engineering, medical science, liberal arts, and law, and enjoyed a fine reputation as a comprehensive university both at home and abroad. Following a nationwide campaign of restructuring universities in 1952, Tongji became an engineering-intensive university with top-notch strength in civil engineering and architecture, which is second to none in terms of scale and number of disciplines. Since 1978, "two transforms" were launched, namely, the transforming to an international university by restoring links to Germany, and the transforming from a university focusing mainly on civil engineering to a multi-disciplinary engineering university. In 1995, Tongji declared it to be jointly built by the Ministry of Education and the Shanghai Municipal Government. By 2007 when it was celebrating its centennial, Tongji had become a comprehensive, international, research-oriented university with distinct features and global influence. In 2013, the university proposed its vision of "a sustainability-oriented, world-class university." The university now covers ten broad categories of academic disciplines, including engineering, science, medicine, management, economics, philosophy, literature, law, education, and arts. The number of faculty stands at 2,786, of which 855 are professors and 997 associate professors. The university now registers 18,581 full-time undergraduate students, 13,762 graduate students, and 4,279 Ph.D., candidates. Another 2,197 international students are pursuing their degrees here.
The university offers 75 undergraduate majors (50 of which enroll students according to 17 broad disciplinary categories). It can grant Master's degrees in 55 broad academic disciplines, together with 15 professional Master's programs and 26 engineering Master's programs. It also grants Ph.D. degrees in 31 broad academic disciplines with three professional Ph.D. programs and 25 post-doctoral mobile research stations. Of all the disciplines, 3 are first-level national vital disciplines, seven second-level national vital disciplines, three second-level national vital disciplines (incubated), and 17 first-level Shanghai disciplines. Since its founding, Tongji has turned out nearly 300,000 graduates, among which many are extraordinary political leaders, scientists, educators, social activists, business leaders, medical specialists, and engineering technology experts. Over 140 alumni are academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Tongji University, formerly Tongji German Medical School, was established in 1907. It was given its present name and became a state university in 1927. It was one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher education in China. It is now a comprehensive university with ten significant disciplines in sciences, engineering, medicine, humanities, law, economics, management, philosophy, arts, and pedagogy with strength in architecture, civil engineering, and oceanography.
The university has developed close links with industry, which provides its students with opportunities of obtaining first-hand information through interaction with society. That explains why graduates from Tongji University are much sought after by employers throughout the country.
The student life in its different campuses is exciting and buzzing with energy. There are clubs of various kinds that you may wish to join. Are you interested in singing Chinese folk operas? You may join our Kunqu Club, where you will have a unique chance of learning Kunqu from professional Masters of Kunqu. Do you want to try your hand at Chinese Gongfu? The classes are catered to your need.
The history of Tongji University can be traced back to 1907 when Tongji German Medical School was founded by Erich Paulun, a German doctor in Shanghai. The name Tongji suggests cooperating by riding the same boat. The school was expanded to include engineering in its programs and got its new name as Tongji Medical and Engineering School in 1912.
It was formally established as a university in 1923 and was renamed National Tongji University in 1927. During the Anti-Japanese War (1937 -1945), the university campus was moved from Shanghai first to Zhejiang Province, then to Jiangxi Province and Yunnan Province, and later to Sichuan Province. It was eventually moved back to Shanghai in 1946.
The university became known both at home and abroad soon. Following a nationwide campaign of reorganizing schools and departments between universities in 1952, Tongji University became a university with strength in engineering, esp. in civil engineering.
Authorized by the state central government, the university restored its relationship with Germany in 1978. Professor Li Guohao, president of the university and a member of the China Science Academy, launched two transforms, that is, transform from a university with strength in civil engineering to a comprehensive university with strength in engineering and transform from a university well-known in China to an international university known to the world. Since then, the university gradually developed to be a comprehensive university strong in engineering, which also offered programs in science, economics, management, arts, and law.
In 1995 the university was jointly built by the State Education Commission and the Shanghai Municipal Government. In 1996 the university merged with the Shanghai Institute of Urban Construction and Shanghai Institute of Building Materials.

View full university