Basic Information
Xiamen University (XMU), founded in 1921 by the renowned patriotic overseas Chinese leader Mr. Tan Kah Kee, is the first university established by overseas Chinese in modern Chinese educational history and a university that shares the same age as the Communist Party of China. On the occasion of its 100th anniversary, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, sent a congratulatory letter to the university. The letter noted that Xiamen University is an institution with a glorious tradition. Over the past century, the university has upheld the founding aspirations of the patriotic overseas Chinese leader Mr. Tan Kah Kee, fostering an excellent ethos characterized by "patriotism, revolution, self-improvement, and science," creating distinctive educational features, nurturing numerous outstanding talents, and making positive contributions to national prosperity, people's well-being, and the overseas dissemination of Chinese culture. Leveraging its unique geographical advantages related to "overseas Chinese, Taiwan, special zones, and maritime regions," the university highlights its characteristics in "cross-strait relations, the Maritime Silk Road, and marine sciences" and has successively become a part of the list of key national universities, the "211 Project," the "985 Project," and the "Double First Class" initiative. The university has four campuses: Siming, Zhangzhou, Xiang'an, and a branch campus in Malaysia. It encompasses six academic divisions, 34 schools (directly affiliated departments and centers), and 17 research institutes, forming a comprehensive disciplinary system covering 12 categories including philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, medicine, management, art, and interdisciplinary studies, and has established 36 postdoctoral research stations. In 2022, the university was included in the second round of the "Double First Class" initiative announced by the state, with six disciplines—chemistry, biology, marine science, ecology, statistics, and education—selected for the second round of the "Double First Class" discipline list. In the latest national round of discipline evaluations, the number of peak disciplines and advantageous disciplines doubled, achieving the best historical results. The university adheres to the principle of cultivating virtue and talent, with remarkable achievements in education. Since its establishment, it has produced more than 500,000 outstanding talents for the nation. Currently, there are over 46,000 students enrolled, including more than 21,000 undergraduates, over 19,000 master's students, and more than 5,700 doctoral candidates. The university’s internal quality assurance system was selected as a typical case study of "excellent principles and innovative practices in internal quality assurance in higher education" by UNESCO, making it the only university in China and East Asia to receive this recognition. As the first completing unit, the university won one first prize and twelve second prizes in the 2022 National Higher Education Teaching Achievement Awards. Eight disciplines were selected into Phase 2.0 of the Ministry of Education’s Basic Discipline Top Student Training Program; eleven majors (thirteen projects) were selected into the Ministry of Education’s Outstanding Talent Education and Training Program; sixty-four majors were selected as national first-class major construction sites; seventy-two courses were selected as national first-class undergraduate courses. The university was chosen as a demonstration center for the Ministry of Education’s curriculum-based ideological and political teaching research, with two courses selected as exemplary ideological and political courses by the Ministry of Education. There are currently six national experimental teaching demonstration centers, three national virtual simulation experimental teaching centers, one national clinical teaching and training demonstration center, and three national off-campus practice education bases for college students. The university was selected as a national base for mass entrepreneurship and innovation and as a national innovation and entrepreneurship education practice base by the Ministry of Education. Forty-six faculty members were selected for the 2018-2022 Ministry of Education Higher Education Teaching Guidance Committee.