University Promotion

Tsinghua University

Picture Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University (sometimes abbreviated as THU) is a research university located in Beijing, People's Republic of China (PRC), and is one of the nine members in the C9 League. The institution was originally established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua College" and had been renamed several times since then: from "Tsinghua School" which was used one year after its establishment, to "National Tsinghua University" which was adopted three years after the foundation of its university section in 1925. With its motto of Self-Discipline and Social Commitment, Tsinghua University describes itself as being dedicated to academic excellence, the well-being of Chinese society and to global development. It has consistently received top rankings in both domestic and internationaluniversity rankings, alongside Peking University, which is the top elite higher learning institution in the mainland People's Republic of China (PRC). Tsinghua University in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a separate institution from the TaiwaneseNational Tsing Hua University located in Hsinchu city in the high-tech democratic industrialized developed country of the Republic of China (Taiwan). After the Chinese Civil War and the subsequent split of China into the two present-day separate sovereignindependent countries of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (PRC), some academics and staff from the original Tsinghua University in the mainland People's Republic of China (PRC) left and created the National Tsing Hua Institute of Nuclear Technology in 1955 in Hsinchu, Republic of China (Taiwan), which later became the National Tsing Hua University ofisland nation of Taiwan.

The two Tsinghua universities are not affiliated with each other, but both claim to be successors of the original Tsinghua University. As a result of this dispute, the universities claimed to be the rightful recipient of the funds from the Boxer Rebellion indemnity that was used to start Tsinghua University. This indemnity was transferred to the university in Taiwan after the democratic Republic of China (Taiwan) retreated to the island of Taiwan following the invasions and take over of mainland China by the communist People's Republic of China (PRC).

1.    History

Picture 1.1 The inscription at the entrance of "Tsinghua Yuan" ("Garden of Tsinghua"); the garden is among the oldest components of the campus of Tsinghua University

Picture 1.2 A glimpse of Xichun Garden, a Qing Dynasty garden on Tsinghua University Campus

Picture 1.3 The traditional He Tang Yue Se (moonlit pond) is part of the Qing Dynasty Prince's Residence and Garden located on the grounds of Tsinghua University

In the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, American Secretary of State John Hay suggested that the US $30 million plus Boxer indemnity paid to the United States was excessive. After several negotiations, President Theodore Roosevelt obtained congressional approval in 1909 to reduce the Qing Dynasty indemnity payment by US$10.8 million, on the condition that the said fund was to be used as scholarship for Chinese students to study in the United States. Using this fund, the Tsinghua College (清華學堂; Qīnghuá Xuétáng) was established in Beijing, on 29 April 1911 on the site of a former royal garden belonging to a prince.^[8] It was first a preparatory school for students later sent by the government to study in the United States. The faculty members for sciences were recruited by the YMCA from the United States and its graduates transferred directly to American schools as juniors upon graduation. In 1925, the school established its College Department and started its research institute on Chinese studies.

In 1928, the authority officially changed its name to National Tsing Hua University (NTHU). During World War II in 1937, Tsinghua University along with Peking University and Nankai University, merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha, and later National Southwestern Associated University in Kunming of Yunnan province. After the war, Tsinghua moved back to Beijing and resumed its operation.

After the communist revolution at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, which led to the creation of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Tsinghua University's then President Mei Yi-Qi, followed by many^[quantify] professors, fled to Taiwan where they established the National Tsing Hua Institute of Nuclear Technology in 1955, which later became National Tsing Hua University of Taiwan.

In 1952, the Chinese government regrouped the country's higher education institutions in an attempt to build a Soviet style system, with individual institutions tending to specialize in a certain field of study. When the Cultural Revolution began in 1966, many university students walked out of the classrooms, and some went on to be part of the Red Guards, resulting in the complete shutdown of the university. It was not until 1978, after the Cultural Revolution had ended, that the university began to take in students again.^[9] Even so, Tsinghua University remained in the top tier of schools in China. The school is sometimes even called the "MIT of China" to imply its specialty in sciences andengineering.^[10][11]

Since the 1980s, the university began to incorporate a multidisciplinary system. As a result, several schools were re-incorporated. These included the School of Sciences, School of Economics and Management, School of Life Sciences, School of Humanities and Social Sciences,Tsinghua Law School, School of Public Policy and Management, and the Academy of Arts and Design.

2.    Present

Picture 2.1 Built in 1917, the Grand Auditorium with its Jeffersonian architectural design is a centerpiece of the old campus

Most national and international university rankings place Tsinghua amongst the best universities in mainland China.^[4][5][6] Admission to Tsinghua is extremely competitive. Every year, many applicants scoring the highest in the National College Entrance Exams choose Tsinghua. According to a report in 2008, 215 out of 300 students who scored the top 10 in the 30 tested provinces and regions chose Tsinghua and 21 out of the 30 top scorers in each province and region chose the university.^[12] A majority of selected students are among the brightest high school graduates in the country. Admissions to its graduate schools are also very competitive, with only about 16% of MBA applicants are admitted each year.^[13]

Tsinghua alumni include the current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Paramount Leader Xi Jinping, who graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in 1979, as well as the CPC General Secretary and former Paramount Leader Hu Jintao, who graduated with a degree in hydraulic engineering in 1964. Tsinghua has a reputation for hosting some of the most distinguished guest speakers of any university in the world, with international leaders such as Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Henry Kissinger, Carlos Ghosn, and Henry Paulson, all recently giving lectures to the university community.^[14]

As of 2003, Tsinghua University has 12 colleges and 48 departments, 41 research institutes, 35 research centers, and 167 laboratories, including 15 national key laboratories. In September 2006, Peking Union Medical College was renamed to Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University, although the Peking Union Medical College and Tsinghua University remain two separate institutions.^[15] The university offers 51 bachelor's degree programs, 139 master's degree programs and 107 PhD programs. Recently, Tsinghua has become the first Chinese university to offer a Master of Laws program in American law, through a cooperative venture with the Temple University Beasley School of Law. The university is a member of LAOTSE, an international network of leading universities in Europe and Asia. Each year, the University celebrates the Intellectual Property Summer Institute in cooperation with Franklin Pierce Law Center of Concord, New Hampshire. It has its own editorial, Tsinghua University Press.

Announced in 2013, the Schwarzman Scholars program will consist of 200 scholars to be chosen annually to work towards a one-year Master’s Degree in Public Policy, International Relations, Engineering, Economics & Business. These scholars will live on the university campus at Schwarzman College, a residential college being built specifically for this program.

1.    Academics

1.1     Academic organisation

 

3.1.1 School of Architecture

·   Department of Architecture

·   Department of Urban Planning and Design

·   Department of Building Science

·   Department of Landscape Architecture

3.1.2 School of Civil Engineering

·   Department of Civil Engineering

·   Department of Hydraulic Engineering

·   Department of Construction Management

3.1.3 School of Mechanical Engineering

·   Department of Mechanical Engineering

·   Department of Precision Instruments and Mechanology

·   Department of Thermal Engineering

·   Department of Automotive Engineering

·   Department of Industrial Engineering

3.1.4 School of Aerospace

·   Department of Engineering Mechanics

·   Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering

3.1.5 School of Information Science and Technology

·   Department of Electronic Engineering

·   Department of Computer Science and Technology

·   Department of Automation

·   Institute of Microelectronics

·   Department of Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics

·   School of Software

·   Department of Environmental Science and Engineering

·   Department of Electrical Engineering

·   Department of Engineering Physics

·   Department of Chemical Engineering

·   Department of Materials Science and Engineering

3.1.6 School of Sciences

·   Department of Mathematics

·   Department of Physics

·   Department of Chemistry

·   School of Life Sciences 

3.1.7 School of Humanities

·   Department of Philosophy

·   Department of Chinese Language and Literature

·   Department of Foreign Languages

·   Department of History

3.1.8 School of Social Sciences

·   Department of Sociology

·   Department of Political Science

·   Department of International Relations

·   Department of Psychology

·   Institute of Economics

·   Institute of Science, Technology and Societ

3.1.9 School of Economics and Management

·   Department of Management Science and Engineering

·   Department of Economics

·   Department of Finance

·   Department of Accounting

·   Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

·   Department of Human Resources and Organizational Behavior

·   Department of Business Strategy and Policy

·   Department of Marketing

·   School of Public Policy & Management

·   Tsinghua Law School

3.1.10 Academy of Arts and Design

·   Department of Art History

·   Department of Industrial Design

·   Department of Environmental Art Design

·   Department of Ceramic Design

·   Department of Visual Communication Design

·   Department of Textile and Fashion Design

·   Department of Art and Crafts

·   Department of Painting

·   Department of Sculpture

·   Department of Information Art & Design

3.1.11 School of Medicine

·   Department of Medical Science

·   Department of Pharmaceutical Science

·   Department of Biomedical Engineering

·   School of Journalism and Communication

·   Institute of Nuclear And New Energy Technology

·   Department of Physical Education

1.2  Department of Mathematical Sciences

Department of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) was established in 1927. As one of the premier Departments of Mathematical Sciences in China, DMS is famous for its rigorous academic attitude. Many famous Chinese mathematicians from DMS such as Shiing-Shen Chern and Luogeng Hua became well-known to the world.

In 1952, Tsinghua DMS was merged with the Peking University Department of Mathematical Sciences. Then in 1979 it was renamed "Department of Applied Mathematics", and renamed again in 1999 to its current title.

Tsinghua DMS has three institutes at present, the institute of Elementary Mathematics which has 27 faculty members, the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Probability and Statistics which has 27 faculty members, and the Institute of Computational Mathematics and Operations Research which has 20 faculty members. There are currently about 400 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students.