Master’s Program in Rural Development and Management

About the university

China Agricultural University (CAU), located in Beijing, is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, a central-administered university, and jointly established by the Ministry of Education, the Beijing Municipal Government, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Water Resources. It is among the first batch of universities selected for the national "211 Project" and "985 Project" as a high-level research university, a Class A university in the World-Class University Construction initiative, and is listed as a National College Student Cultural Quality Education Base and a member of the autonomous degree authorization review institutions. It is the birthplace of modern agricultural higher education in China. The predecessor of CAU was the Agricultural College of Imperial University of Peking, founded in 1905. In September 1949, the College of Agriculture of Peking University, the College of Agriculture of Tsinghua University, and the College of Agriculture of North China University merged to form Beijing Agricultural University. In October 1952, the Department of Agricultural Machinery of Beijing Agricultural University, the North China Agricultural Machinery College, and the Central Ministry of Agriculture Tractor School merged to form Beijing Mechanized Agricultural College. In November of the same year, Pingyuan Agricultural College was merged into Beijing Mechanized Agricultural College. It was renamed Beijing Agricultural Mechanization College in July 1953 and Beijing Agricultural Engineering University in October 1985. In September 1995, Beijing Agricultural University and Beijing Agricultural Engineering University merged to form China Agricultural University. As of December 2024, the East and West campuses of CAU cover an area of 1,227,982.48 square meters, with a building area of 1,326,917.85 square meters and a library collection of 2,216,015 volumes. The university has 18 colleges, 1 entity teaching unit, and 1 directly affiliated department, offering 81 undergraduate programs. It has 22 post-doctoral research stations, 26 doctoral degree authorization points, 38 master's degree authorization points, 6 professional doctoral degree categories, and 19 professional master's degree categories. There are 2,076 full-time faculty members, 14,679 full-time undergraduate students, and 13,446 full-time graduate students (including 8,309 master's students and 5,137 doctoral students), 978 part-time graduate students, and 573 post-doctoral researchers. In 1898, the first national comprehensive university in modern China, Imperial University of Peking, was established. In 1905, the Agricultural College, one of the eight constituent colleges of Imperial University of Peking, began preparation, marking the earliest origin of China Agricultural University. On December 6, 1905, the Agricultural Science Department was established at Imperial University of Peking, with the site at Wacun Village, Lugouqiao designated for the Agricultural College (later converted into a teaching farm). On May 3, 1912, Imperial University of Peking was renamed Peking University, with the Agricultural College as one of its constituent colleges. In November of the same year, the Luodaozhuang campus was completed, and the college moved to the new campus on November 11, which was later designated as the university's anniversary date (Double Eleven). In February 1914, the Agricultural College was reorganized into the National Beijing Agricultural College, becoming an independent institution with the mission of "teaching advanced agricultural knowledge and cultivating specialized talents." It was one of the eight renowned national universities in Beijing at the time. The college added forestry and preparatory programs, with a preparatory year, a three-year undergraduate program, and a graduate program of one year or more. In 1920, the preparatory program was changed to a four-year undergraduate system, with the original agricultural department divided into four majors: agricultural economics, agrochemistry, plant production, and animal husbandry, and the forestry department divided into three majors: forest policy, silviculture, and forest utilization. Elective courses were offered for third- and fourth-year students, and the college began admitting female students in the same year.