The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) is a prominent university in China and enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide. It was established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 1958 in Beijing as a strategic action by the Chinese government to meet China's science and technology needs and increases the country's international competitiveness. CAS integrated its resources with USTC to educate top talent in cutting-edge, interdisciplinary science and technology. The establishment of USTC was hailed as "a great event in the history of China's education and science." In 1970, USTC moved to its current location in Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province.
From the start, USTC's mission has been to "focus on frontier areas of science and technology and educate top leaders in science and technology for China and the world." Central to its strategy has been the combination of education and research and the emphasis on quality rather than quantity. Led by the most renowned Chinese scientists of the time, USTC set up a series of programs creatively encompassing frontier research and development of new technology. As a result, the university has taken the lead in higher education in China. USTC has accomplished several "firsts" in China. For example, USTC established the first graduate school in China, initiated the first class for gifted young people in China, and built the first "big science facility" in China, the Hefei Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
USTC is one of the most important innovation centers in China. It is the only university in China operating two national labs: the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale. It also jointly operates two national "big science" facilities and CAS institutes: the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak and the Steady High Magnetic Field of the High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
USTC is a world leader in quantum manipulation, nanotechnology, high-temperature superconductivity, speech processing, fire science, and life science. It is always ranked as one of the best universities in China. For example, USTC was ranked first among Chinese universities from 2008 to 2013 by Nature Publishing Index China. Also, USTC attaches great importance to technology transfer and has incubated dozens of high-tech enterprises. Furthermore, it built the Institute of Advanced Technology (IAT) with Hefei City in 2012, aiming to promote better the combination of education, research, and industry. USTC-IAT focuses on fostering technological innovation and technology transfer in the IT industry and microelectronics, health care, new energy, new materials, quantum information, etc.
USTC is regarded in China as the "Cradle of Scientific Elites." Its educational principle emphasizes fundamental theories and provides students with a wide range of high-level training that incorporates newly emerging and interdisciplinary fields of study. The faculty-to-student ratio is one of the best among Chinese universities. Admission to USTC is exceptionally selective. Only the top 0.3-0.5 percent of high school graduates are admitted. Over 70 percent of undergraduate students are involved in the Research Program for Undergraduate Students in CAS research institutes or national labs. USTC has the highest percentage of alumni among Chinese universities, elected as CAS and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Doctoral dissertations at USTC are frequently awarded the Hundred Annual Outstanding Dissertations Prize, which honors the top dissertations from Chinese universities.
Total enrollment for autumn 2016 is about 15,500 students, of whom 7,400 are undergraduates, 6,200 are master's students, and 1,900 are Ph.D. students. USTC has 1,812 faculty members, of whom 547 are professors. USTC has 15 degree-granting schools in the fields of physical sciences, life sciences, information science and technology, earth and space sciences, public affairs, nuclear science and technology, mathematical sciences, chemistry and material science, engineering science, computer science and technology, management, humanities and social science, environmental science and electro-optical technology, and software engineering, as well as a school for gifted youth.
USTC actively participates in international cooperation in various ways. It has engaged in joint research and educational activities with internationally acclaimed organizations such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the Max Planck Society, Oxford University, Heidelberg University, Stanford University, MIT, Princeton University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Yale University, etc. For example, it established a training program with ITER. It initiated the SUM program, a summer camp for students, and an academic forum for professors from Stanford University, USTC, and MIT. USTC is also a member of several critical international networks, including the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and the Association of East Asian Research Universities. In 2013, USTC hosted the signing ceremony for the Hefei Statement, which USTC has actively promoted. The Hefei Statement is an agreement among the Association of American Universities (AAU), the C9 League (C9), a consortium of China's top nine research universities, the Group of Eight (Go8), a coalition of Australia's top universities, and the League of European Research Universities (LERU) to promote cooperation among world-class research universities.
