Tsinghua University

Overview

Located on the site of "Qing Hua Yuan" in Haidian District, Beijing, Tsinghua University was founded in 1911, formerly known as a royal garden of Qing Dynasty. The campus is famous for its beautiful surroundings embraced by shady trees and time-honored architectural complexes with different features and styles, in which "Shui Mu Qing Hua" has a long history of reputation. It is listed as one of the 14 world's most beautiful college campuses by Forbes Magazine in 2010, the only one from Asia.

Tsinghua University is one of the leading universities directly affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. It is among the list of the Key Universities in both the National Projects 985 and 211, and also the prominent center for higher education and scientific research. The university holds the largest numbers of academicians affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Science and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, of the top disciplines on the whole, of the Key National Laboratories, of national awards in science and technology, of research funds, and also of articles indexed in SCI, EI and ISTP over the years. More than 70% of the top 10 students of sciences and 30% of the top 10 students of liberal arts from the provinces in the National College Entrance Examination in China have chosen Tsinghua University for their undergraduate study.

Schools and Departments

Currently, Tsinghua University consists of 16 schools with 56 departments, which cover a variety of academic fields such as sciences, engineering, liberal arts, fine arts, history, philosophy, economics, management, law, education and medicine. The University offers 66 bachelor's degree programs, 257 master's degree programs and 214 Ph.D. programs.

At present, the total number of full-time students is 31,000, including 14,000 undergraduates and 17,000 postgraduates. There are more than 3,450 international students from 112 nations studying at Tsinghua, 38% of whom are pursuing Bachelor's degrees, and 34% pursuing Master's or doctoral degrees.

Advantageous Subjects

Tsinghua University holds the most advantageous subjects in science and technology among universities in China. It also established a series of characteristic subjects in the field of Humanities and Social Sciences. In the second-round national evaluation of primary disciplines in the years of 2007-2009, Tsinghua University has been ranked first in twelve subjects such as arts, mechanics, materials science and engineering, electrical engineering, electronic science and technology, information and telecommunications, control science and engineering, computer science and technology, architecture, nuclear science and technology, environmental science and engineering, and business administration. Seven subjects are ranked second such as biology, optical engineering, instrumental science and technology, thermal engineering, civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, and management science and engineering. The subjects ranked third to fifth include journalism and communications, foreign language literature, sports, physics, astronomy, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and technology, basic medicine, and public administration.

According to the statistics from the ESI Databases of the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI), USA, the research papers from Tsinghua University have ranked the top 1% in the world in such areas as physics, chemistry, material science, engineering, computer science, and social sciences. The School of Economics and Management, praised as "the best business school of China" by Fortune, has been certificated by AACSB and EQUIS. Tsinghua University ranks 35th in The Times Higher Education World University Reputation Rankings 2011.

 

Campus Facilities and Culture

The University holds large libraries with a collection of more than 6.34 million books, including 57,000 full-text e-journals and 2.38 million e-books. The teaching buildings have a vast capacity and are equipped with modern facilities. The University Natatorium has been the training venue for diving athletes of 2008 Beijing Olympics. All kinds of facilities are easily available in the student's dormitory areas. The dining halls for students are famous for their good service among universities in Beijing. The University also has a Level II comprehensive hospital on campus.

The international student dormitories are situated in the Zijing Student Apartment area on campus, providing hotel-style services. Singles rooms, AB rooms, and double rooms are available in the dormitories, with a capacity of accommodating more than 2,000 international students (i.e. over 60% of the total).

In the neighboring areas of the University campus, there are many institutions of higher education, famous gardens and historical sites. The south gate of the University campus is near to Wudaokou—a very popular place with international students from different countries, where lies the Wudaokou Subway Station, along with many bus stations. The Capital International Airport is only 38 kilometers away from the University campus, being convenient to go by taxi or subway.

From generation to generation, "Tsinghua People" are deeply influenced by the motto of "Self-discipline and Social Commitment", the maxim of "Actions Speak Louder than Words", and its academic atmosphere characterized by Preciseness, Diligence, Truth-seeking, and Creativity. In the past 100 years since its foundation, Tsinghua University has turned out 180,000 alumni, and many of them have become renowned scientists, engineers, technical experts, educators, artists, entrepreneurs and senior government officials. Chen-Ning (Franklin)Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee, winners of Nobel Prize in Physics, are both alumni of Tsinghua University. HU Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China, WU Bangguo, Chairman of the National People's Congress, XI Jinping, vice-president of the People's Republic of China and ZHU Rongji, the former Prime Minister of People's Republic of China are all graduates of Tsinghua University.

The campus life of Tsinghua students is rich and colorful. There are more than 130 students' clubs and associations on campus, being classified into five categories such as Humanities and Social Science, Science and Technology, Public Welfare, Literature and Art, and Sports. They have been attractive and open to both Chinese and foreign students, thus enriching the student's campus life. The last Sunday of April is the homecoming day of the University. The slogan of "work in health for 50 years" is a great urge for every student.

International Cooperation and Exchange

Up-holding the attitude of opening to the outside world, Tsinghua University has been positively developing its international cooperation and exchange, and promoting the internationalized education of students as well as global cooperation in scientific research.

Every year, Tsinghua University hosts the visits of more than 2,400 distinguished overseas guests, including Nobel laureates, politicians or former politicians,, high-ranking government officials, foreign ambassadors, Chancellors from top universities, Presidents and CEO from international companies, Directors from international academic organizations or R&D institutions and so on.

The University organizes more than 70 International Conferences each year. In addition, nearly 1,000 foreign scholars are invited to deliver lectures or perform collaborative research in Tsinghua. Cooperative relationship has been established with 205 foreign universities, and 74 of them are the student exchange partners of Tsinghua University. The University has also founded 40 international joint research centers and laboratories, including Tsinghua-MIT-Cambridge Joint Laboratory of Low-Carbon Energy.

Every year, more than 3,300 students (including the foreign students studying at Tsinghua) are sent abroad for exchange study, internship, international conferences or competitions. And more than 4,700 faculty and staff of Tsinghua go abroad for advanced study, joint research or academic exchange. 

International Student Education

In December 1950, fourteen students from Eastern Europe were enrolled into Tsinghua, and it was the first time for the universities of new China to accept foreign students. In the past 61 years, Tsinghua University has enrolled a total of 20,000 international students.

In fall 2011, more than 3,450 international students from 112 countries are studying at Tsinghua University, and 72% of the students are pursuing degrees, and 28% visiting for advanced studies, joint research, or Chinese language study. The numbers of the students from the Republic of Korea, United States, Germany, Japan, France, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, United Kingdom, Thailand, Italy, Vietnam and Russia rank the top 15.

Tsinghua University has the largest number and the best quality of international graduate students among China’s universities. There are nearly 1,200 international students pursuing Master’s or Doctoral degrees at Tsinghua, and many of them are graduates of world-famous universities such as Harvard University, MIT, Stanford University, UC-Berkeley, Oxford University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Tokyo, etc.

In the academic year 2012-2013, Tsinghua will offer 38 Bachelor’s degree programs, 98 Master’s degree programs and 76 Ph. D. degree programs to the international students. In particular, eleven of the Master programs and one of the doctoral programs are delivered in English. Most of the doctoral programs in engineering are ready to enroll international doctoral candidates who are skilled in English but do not have Chinese language proficiency.

Moreover, Tsinghua offers non-degree programs such as advanced study (including student exchange and joint research) and Chinese language study. The courses open to the non-degree program students include more than 200 courses taught in English on both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Scholarships for International Students

The international students of Tsinghua University may apply for Chinese Government Scholarship (CGS), Beijing Government Scholarship (BGS), or Tsinghua University Scholarship (TUS). The scholarships are categorized into full scholarships and partial scholarships. Full scholarships cover tuition, accommodation, meals and medical insurance, etc. Partial scholarships support full tuition or partial tuition.

The scholarships are preferentially awarded to excellent international students for their degree studies at Tsinghua University. The students who have been granted scholarships are requested to participate in annual review, and those passing the annual review are eligible for next-year scholarship support. In autumn 2011, twenty-five percent (25%) of the degree program international students have been awarded scholarships. Among the newly admitted degree program students, thirty-one percent (31%) have won scholarships.

Foreign Student Affairs Office

The Foreign Student Affairs Office (FSAO) of Tsinghua University is responsible for the admission, visa, and scholarship affairs of international students. The Office also coordinates in such issues as academics, accommodation, security, dining, cultural exchange, career planning and alumni networking. The FSAO staff will be very pleased to have the students from all over the world here with Tsinghua and ready to provide quality services. We believe that your study and life at Tsinghua University will be pleasant, most impressive, and helpful in outreaching your future career.

Message from an International Student of Tsinghua University

"In March 2007, I was accepted by Tsinghua University, Beijing, to study for my Business masters. I believe I am the first UK citizen to study for an MBA in China. The dedication of the students is of the highest degree, as is the quality of the professors. I might be in a team with people from Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan or Korea. As well as the techniques of group discussion, we learn how to adapt to different cultures. In a year I have built up a network of global business contacts. It offers a fantastic return on investment."

--from "Study for MBA in China" by Maximilian Johnson in Financial Times 2009-2-16