Peking University

Peking University (PKU) is the first national university in Chinese modern history, with a high reputation in and outside China , owing to the abundant teaching resources and outstanding research level.

Peking University

Peking University was established in Beijing in December 1898 during the Hundred Days Reform and was originally known as the Imperial Capital University to replace the ancient Guozijian. In 1902, the Imperial Capital University's Faculty of Education was spun off to become today's Beijing Normal University, the best teacher's college in China. In 1912, following the Xinhai Revolution, the Imperial University was renamed the National Peking University. The famous scholar Cai Yuanpei was appointed president on January 4, 1917, and helped transform the university into the country's largest institution of higher learning, with 14 departments and an enrollment of more than 2,000 students.

Cai, inspired by the German model of academic freedom, recruited an intellectually diverse faculty that included Hu Shi, Chen Duxiu, and Lu Xun. In 1919, students of Peking University formed the bulk of the protesters of the May Fourth Movement. Efforts by the Beiyang government to end to protests by sealing off the Peking University campus led to Cai's resignation. In 1920, Peking University became the second Chinese university to accept female students, after Nanjing University.

After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 (and the resulting expansion of Japanese territorial control in east China), Peking University moved to Changsha and formed the Changsha Temporary University along with Tsinghua University and Nankai University. In 1938, the three schools moved again, this time to Kunming, and formed the National Southwestern United University. In 1946, after World War II, Peking University moved back to Beijing. At that time, the university comprised six schools (Arts, Science, Law, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture), and a research institute for humanities. The total student enrollment grew up to 3,000.

In 1952, three years after the People's Republic of China was established, the Yenching University was merged into Peking University and Peking University lost its "national" appellation to reflect the fact that all universities under the new socialist state would be public. In 1952 Peking University moved from downtown Beijing to the former Yenching campus. The first disturbances of the Cultural Revolution began at Peking University in 1966; education there ceased between 1966 and 1970. Since then, the university has reasserted its position as one of the leading universities of China.

In 2000, Beijing Medical University was merged into Peking University and became the Peking University Health Science Campus. Beida now has eight affiliated hospitals and 12 teaching hospitals. In 2001, Peking University set up a satellite campus in Shenzhen. The university's second business school opened its door on this campus in 2004, and was renamed Beida HSBC School of Business in 2008.

Academic Reputation

Most national and international rankings of Chinese universities place Peking University amongst top universities in China. The Times Higher Education Supplement in 2006 ranked Peking University as the 14th best university in the world, taking the highest spot in Asia; the same ranking in 2007 placed the University at 36th, and in 2008, it was ranked at the 50th.

Peking University is a comprehensive and national key university. The University consists of 30 colleges and 12 departments, with 93 specialties for undergraduates, 2 specialties for the second Bachelor's degree, 199 specialties for Master's degree candidates and 173 specialties for Doctoral candidates. While in a leading position of basic sciences research and teaching, the university has gained itself very successful development of applied sciences.

At present, Peking university has 216 research institutions and research centres, including 2 national engineering research centres, 81 key national disciplines, 12 national key laboratories. With 4.5 million holdings, the university library is the largest of its kind in Asia. The university has made an effort to combine the research on fundamental scientific issues with the training of personnel with high level specialized knowledge and professional skill as demanded by the country's modernization. It strives not only for the simultaneous improvements in teaching and research work, but also for the promotion of interaction and mutual promotion among various subjects.

Teaching also has been emphasized. It aims to cultivate the students' practical ability and creative power. As a result, the teaching of core courses is strengthened, the content of courses is enriched and renewed and favourable conditions have been created, for the students to develop themselves in extracurricular activities.

Peking University has been becoming a center for teaching and research, consisting of diverse branches of learning such as pure and applied sciences, social sciences and the humanities, and sciences of management and education. Its aim is to rank among the world's best universities in the next couple of decades, with the school's leadership placing great emphasis on developing bilateral relationships with prominent American universities for student and faculty exchanges.

Over the past century, more than 400 Peking University alumni had become presidents of other major Chinese universities, including former Tsinghua President Luo Jialun, Renmin University President Yuan Baohua, Zhejiang University President Qian Sanqiang, Fudan University President Zhang Zhirang, Nankai University President Teng Weizao, Chinese University of Science and Technology President Guan Weiyan and many others.

University Campus

The campus of Peking University was originally located north of Forbidden City in the center of Beijing, and was later moved to the former campus of Yenching University in 1952. The current campus is located in northwest Beijing, in the Haidian district, which was concentrated with many well known colleges and universities. The Peking University's campus site is also situated near the Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace; the area is traditionally where many of Beijing's most renowned gardens and palaces were built.

The university campus is located in the former site of Qing Dynasty royal gardens and it retains traditional Chinese-style landscaping including traditional houses, gardens, pagodas as well as many notable historical buildings and structures. There are several gates that lead into campus - East, West and South gates, with the West Gate being the most well known for the painted murals on its ceiling. The Peking University is known throughout China, along with its neighbour, Tsinghua University, for their beautiful campuses. The university campus is surrounded by the weiming lake. In 2001, Peking University's Shenzhen campus, Shenzhen Graduate School, opened its doors. The campus is located in the northwest part of Shenzhen City.

The Peking University is well-known for its contribution to modern Chinese literature, poetry and art, and for the publications of groundbreaking modern Chinese books such as Hong Zicheng's A History of Contemporary Chinese Literature. The Peking University has been participating in many art-research projects, such as the Center for the Art of East Asia (CAEA) with the University of Chicago, and developing the "Peking University, Deptartment of Digital Art and Design" with UNESCO. The Peking University also partners with the Stanford University for its Asian cultural studies programs such as "The Stanford Program in Beijing" and "The Stanford-Peking University Summer Program", which encourages Stanford students interested in exploring Chinese language, history, culture, and society to study on campus at Peking University.

Library

The new library opened at the end of 1998. The total building area amounts to 51,000 square meters, with 4,000 seats. The collection capacity has reached 6,500,000 items, making it the biggest university library in Asia.

Peking University library is a comprehensive research library on a large scale and is well-known both in China and abroad. It is now a member of International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), China Library Association, and China Science Information Association. It has played important role in teaching and research at Peking University, it has also given important contribution to China's entire library and information circle. Peking University Library has broad international relationships with more than 500 foreign libraries, schools, and research institutes which are keeping steady interchanges of materials and interlibrary book loans from Peking University Library.

International students

Peking University has one of the largest pools of international students in China. The dormitories for international students are located at "Shao Yuan" (Shao Garden). Every year, Peking University has approximately 2,000 international students studying on campus. Its international students are made up of students from most countries in the world including most of Western Europe, North America, South America, all parts of Asia, Australia as well as many countries in Africa.

Since 2006, Peking University has launched a joint undergraduate program with the Yale University; students will spend a semester overseas, living and studying together with the host institute's students. Peking University's School of International Studies also launched joint degree programs with London School of Economics and Waseda University.

Schools & Departments

School of Mathematical Sciences
School of Physics
College of Chemistry
School of Life Sciences
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences
School of Earth and Space Sciences
Department of Psychology
School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science
College of Engineering
Institute of Computer Science & Technology
School of Software and Microelectronics
College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Department of Chinese Language and Literature
Department of History
School of Archaeology and Museology
Department of Philosophy
School of Foreign Languages
School of Arts
School of Chinese as a Second Language
School of International Studies
School of Economics
Guanghua School of Management
Law School
Department of Information Management
Department of Sociology
School of Government
School of Marxism
Graduate School of Education
School of Journalism & Communication
Institute of Population Research
China Center for Economic Research
Department of Physical Education
Yuanpei School
Institute of Molecular Medecine
Shenzhen Graduate School

Students in Fordham's Beijing International MBA Program (BiMBA) were among those who met U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit to Peking University on Monday

The University consists of 30 colleges and 12 departments, with 93 specialties for undergraduates,2 specialties for the second Bachelor's degree, 199 specialties for Master candidates and 173 specialties for Doctoral candidates. While still laying stress on basic sciences, the university has paid special attention to the development of applied sciences.At present, Peking University has 216 research institutes and research centers, and there are 2 national engineering research centers, 81 key national disciplines, 12 national key laboratories.

Peking University was ranked 50th in the 2008 THES-QS World University ranking.

Also the Peking University was previously ranked as the 18th (2007 rankings), 10th (2006 rankings), 6th (2005 rankings), and 7th (2004 rankings) best arts and humanities universities in the world.