Zhongnan University of Economics and Law Scholarship

About the university

Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL), located in Wuhan, Hubei Province, is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education. It is a key institution in the national "211 Project" and "985 Project Advantage Discipline Innovation Platform", a national "Double First-Class" construction university, and a university jointly built by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and Hubei Province. The university traces its origins to the Central Plains University, founded in 1948 by the Central Plains Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, with Deng Xiaoping as its first secretary. In May 1953, the Central South Institute of Finance and Economics and the Central South Institute of Political Science and Law were established separately. In September 1958, the Central South Institute of Finance and Economics, the Central South Institute of Political Science and Law, the Central South Political Science and Law Cadre School, and the Law Department of Wuhan University merged to form Hubei University. In December 1971, Hubei University was renamed Hubei College of Finance and Economics. In January 1978, it was renamed Hubei Institute of Finance and Economics. In September 1985, Hubei Institute of Finance and Economics was renamed Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics. On May 26, 2000, Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics and the Central South Institute of Political Science and Law merged to form the new Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. In September 2005, it was selected as a key university under the national "211 Project"; in June 2011, it was selected as a key university under the national "985 Project Advantage Discipline Innovation Platform". In October 2012, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the People's Government of Hubei Province signed an agreement to jointly build Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. In September 2017 and February 2022, it was selected for the first and second rounds of the national "Double First-Class" construction universities and disciplines list. As of June 2024, the university has two campuses, Nanhu and Shouyi, covering an area of over 2,800 mu; the library holds more than 3.48 million books; it has 21 colleges (departments), 61 undergraduate programs, 7 first-level doctoral degree authorization points, 17 first-level master's degree authorization points, 18 professional master's degree authorization points, and 7 postdoctoral research stations; it has over 2,500 faculty and staff, including over 1,500 full-time teachers; and over 20,000 full-time undergraduate students. In June 1948, the Central Plains Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, with Comrade Deng Xiaoping as its first secretary, decided and reported to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for approval to prepare for the establishment of Central Plains University. Comrade Chen Yi, the second secretary, served as the director of the preparatory committee. In August, Comrade Liu Bocheng, commander of the Central Plains Military Region, officially announced the establishment of Central Plains University in Henan, appointing Comrade Fan Wenlan as president and Comrade Pan Zinian as vice president. In December, Central Plains University moved to Kaifeng. In 1949, to support Wuhan and revitalize cultural and educational undertakings in the Central South region, Central Plains University moved south from Henan Province to Wuhan. On August 15, 1951, the Ministry of Education of the Central South Military and Political Committee decided to merge the Education College of Central Plains University with the private Huazhong University to form the public Huazhong University, which later grew into today's Central China Normal University. In September 1952, the Central South Bureau, urgently needing to train a group of public security and political-legal cadres, instructed Central Plains University to establish a Political Science and Law College based on the already dissolved Political College. The college was officially established on October 14. At that time, Central Plains University actually included three colleges: Finance and Economics, Political Science and Law, and Ethnic Studies (in preparation). In November of the same year, after the new dormitory of the Ethnic College was completed, the Central South Military and Political Committee instructed the college to become independent from Central Plains University and renamed it the Central South Institute for Nationalities, which later grew into today's Zhongnan University of Nationalities. During the nationwide adjustment of higher education institutions in 1953, the university, with the Finance and Economics College of Central Plains University as the main body, merged the faculty and library resources of finance and economics disciplines from Sun Yat-sen University, Hunan University, Nanchang University, Henan University, Guangxi University, Wuhan University, and Zhonghua University to form the Central South Institute of Finance and Economics. Ma Zhemin served as president, and Zhu Mingyuan served as party secretary and vice president. The Central South Institute of Finance and Economics was under the Ministry of Education. At the same time, with the Political Science and Law College of Central Plains University as the main body, merging the political science and law departments of National Sun Yat-sen University, National Hunan University, and National Guangxi University, the Central South Institute of Political Science and Law was established, directly under the Ministry of Justice, and was one of the famous "Five Institutes and Four Departments" in the Chinese legal field at that time. In 1958, Hubei Province took over the Central South Institute of Finance and Economics and the Central South Institute of Political Science and Law from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice, and merged them with the Central South Political Science and Law Cadre School and the Law Department of Wuhan University to form the provincial Hubei University. At the same time, it expanded literature, history, mathematics, and physics majors, intending to build Hubei University into a comprehensive university. The president was concurrently held by Meng Futang, vice governor of Hubei Province, with Zhu Shaotian as party secretary and Li Guangdou as vice president in charge of work. During the "Cultural Revolution," Hubei University was forced to be abolished and reduced to Hubei College of Finance and Economics. From 1971 to 1977, this was the most desolate six years in the university's development history. In January 1978, the school was renamed Hubei Institute of Finance and Economics, restoring four-year undergraduate education and graduate education, becoming one of the earliest higher education institutions to resume undergraduate and graduate enrollment after the "Cultural Revolution." In January 1979, the school's leadership system changed, and it was placed under the leadership of the Ministry of Finance, marking the beginning of a period of rapid development.