Gannan Normal University Belt and Road Scholarship

About the university

Gannan Normal University (GNNU), located in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, is a public undergraduate institution sponsored by the Jiangxi Provincial People's Government and administered by the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education. It is designated as a Jiangxi "Double First-Class" university, a government-funded normal student training university, and a key support institution under the Ministry of Education's counterpart assistance program and the Collaborative Quality Improvement Plan for Teacher Education. The university traces its origins to June 1958 as Gannan Junior Normal College. It was renamed Gannan Normal College in 1984 and upgraded to a provincial-level undergraduate normal institution. In 2003, it became a master's degree-granting institution, the only provincial-level normal university with master's degree authorization in the border region of Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, and Hunan provinces. In March 2016, it was renamed Gannan Normal University. In November 2017, it was awarded the first "National Civilized Campus" by the Central Spiritual Civilization Construction Steering Committee as the only university in Jiangxi Province. In 2019, it received the honorary title of "Advanced Collective in Deepening the Construction of a National Civilized City." In 2024, it was approved as a doctoral degree-granting institution. In April 2024, it was rated as the top tier in the 2023 comprehensive assessment of Jiangxi provincial universities. As of September 2025, the university has three campuses: Rongjiang, Zhanggong, and Baita (University Science Park), covering over 2,200 mu. It comprises 18 teaching units, one independent college, one affiliated middle school, two affiliated primary schools, and one affiliated kindergarten. It offers 62 undergraduate programs, one first-level doctoral degree authorization point, 17 first-level master's degree authorization points, and 19 professional master's degree authorization points. Among these, 39 programs have been selected as national or provincial first-class undergraduate program construction sites, and all 17 teacher education programs within the Ministry of Education's certification scope have passed the second-level certification. Chemistry has entered the ESI global top 1%, while horticulture and Marxist theory have been selected as provincial "14th Five-Year Plan" double first-class potential disciplines. The university has over 1,600 faculty and staff members and more than 27,000 full-time students. The university was founded in 1958 as Gannan Junior Normal College. In May 1959, it was renamed Gannan Normal College, and in April 1964, it reverted to Gannan Junior Normal College. During the Cultural Revolution, it was dissolved, with half of its campus occupied by a textile factory and its teaching equipment and library materials destroyed. In 1969, it was renamed Gannan Prefecture "May 7" Education School; in 1972, it became Gannan Education School; and in 1974, it was again renamed Gannan Junior Normal College. In 1978, the university began expanding enrollment, but due to severe shortage of teaching space, it was forced to operate across three locations: the school farm, Gannan Normal College, and the main campus. In 1984, it was renamed Gannan Normal College and upgraded to a provincial-level undergraduate normal institution. In 2003, it became a master's degree-granting institution. In 2009, it obtained the qualification to train professional master's students in education. In March 2016, it was approved by the Ministry of Education to be renamed Gannan Normal University. In December 2017, it successfully passed the Ministry of Education's undergraduate teaching evaluation, with the expert panel describing it as "a distinctive, promising regional outstanding normal university." In January 2022, it was selected as a key construction university for doctoral degree-granting units during Jiangxi's "14th Five-Year Plan." On November 15, 2024, a school-local cooperation agreement was signed with Dingnan County People's Government to jointly implement a "2+1" cooperation project in Dingnan County, establishing a Football Modern Industry College (Football College), a Safety and Emergency Modern Industry College (Safety and Emergency College), and a Modern Industry Innovation Research Institute, and preparing for the construction of Gannan Normal University (Dingnan Campus). In 2024, it was approved as a doctoral degree-granting institution. On April 2, 2025, a school-local cooperation agreement was signed with Anyuan County People's Government. On April 30, 2025, Gannan Normal University signed an agreement with Dongguan Zhongqi Education Technology Service Co., Ltd. to jointly establish the Artificial Intelligence Education Excellent Engineer College. On July 18, 2025, the School of Intelligent Manufacturing and Future Energy was inaugurated. On September 6, 2025, the School of Literature and Journalism was inaugurated. On September 22, 2025, the opening ceremony for the 2025 freshmen of Dingnan Industrial College and the launch ceremony of the Dingnan Campus were held at the Jiangxi Dingnan (National) Football Training Center, marking the official operation of the Dingnan Campus. On November 28, 2025, the Artificial Intelligence Education Excellent Engineer College was officially inaugurated. On December 26, 2025, the Digital Intelligence Yangming Culture Research Institute was officially established.