Guangzhou University International Student Scholarship

About the university

Guangzhou University (GU), located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, is a full-time regular institution of higher learning sponsored by the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government and supervised by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education. It operates under a system of joint provincial-municipal governance with primary responsibility at the municipal level. The university is a member of the national "111 Plan" and a key university in the high-level university development initiatives of both Guangdong Province and Guangzhou City. Its history dates back to the founding of the private Guangzhou University on March 3, 1927. In 1951, it merged into South China United University, which was dissolved a year later. Preparations for reestablishment began in 1983, and it was officially renamed Guangzhou University in 1984. In 2000, it merged with Guangzhou Education College (founded 1953), Guangzhou Normal College (founded 1958), the West Campus of South China Construction College (founded 1984), and Guangzhou Higher Normal Junior College (founded 1985) to form the new Guangzhou University. In 2004, the university became one of the first to move to the University Town campus, and by the following year it had relocated entirely to the University Town, retaining the Guihuagang campus. In 2006, it was approved as a doctoral degree-granting institution. In April 2021, Guangzhou University was selected for the national "111 Plan," and in August of the same year, it was included in the Guangdong Provincial Higher Education "Rush to First-Class, Fill Shortcomings, Strengthen Characteristics" Enhancement Plan and the Guangdong Provincial High-Level University Construction Plan (key construction universities). In the 2024 Soft Science China University Rankings, it ranked 98th on the main list. As of March 2025, the university has three campuses: University Town, Guihuagang, and Huangpu, with a building area of 885,000 square meters. It comprises 26 professional colleges covering 11 academic disciplines including philosophy and economics, with 78 undergraduate programs. It has 14 first-level doctoral degree authorization points and professional doctoral degree authorization points, 8 postdoctoral research stations, 34 academic master's degree authorization points, and 30 professional master's degree authorization points. The university has 3,353 faculty and staff members and 30,132 full-time undergraduate students. On March 3, 1927, Chen Bingquan, a patriotic educator and economist from Taishan, Guangdong, together with Jin Zengcheng, Wang Zhiyuan, and others, founded the private Guangzhou University in Guangzhou. The university motto was set as "Erudite and Dedicated." In its early days, the private Guangzhou University consisted of the College of Arts, College of Law, and a preparatory course, with a committee system instead of a president. In 1928, it incorporated Guangzhou Girls' Middle School as its affiliated middle school. The following year, the university purchased the former police station at No. 12 Dongheng Street as the main campus for the College of Law, while the College of Arts and the affiliated middle school were housed at Wanchuan Building, No. 19 Wende Road. In August 1930, the university purchased the former police station on Dongheng Street and converted it into the College of Law, and added the College of Science. Subsequently, the university adopted a presidential system, with Chen Bingquan serving as the first president. In 1931, a new library was built and the College of Science was established. In 1934, the university renovated physics instrument rooms and laboratories, expanded the sports field, and student enrollment exceeded 1,200. Chen Bingquan, founder and president of the private Guangzhou University. In 1938, with the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan and the fall of Guangzhou, the private Guangzhou University's property was largely destroyed in the war. The university relocated seven times, moving successively to Kaiping, Zhongshan, Hong Kong, Shaoguan, Luoding, Lianping, and Xingning, persisting in running the school under extremely difficult conditions, with student numbers reaching over 5,000. In 1941, faculty and students donated more than 500,000 yuan for national reconstruction savings. The Ministry of Education commended the university for its outstanding patriotic savings contributions, ranking it first among national universities, and issued four telegrams of commendation. In 1943, to support the front lines, the entire faculty and student body enthusiastically donated funds to purchase an aircraft, named "Guangzhou University," which was presented to the National Government by the Ministry of Education and received special commendation; Chiang Kai-shek personally inscribed a banner for the university: "Education Spreads to Lingnan." On August 15, 1945, Japan unconditionally surrendered, ending the eight-year War of Resistance. The private Guangzhou University returned to Guangzhou and resumed classes at its original site on Dongheng Street. According to statistics from the Guangzhou University Bulletin, in the first half of 1949, the university primarily consisted of the College of Arts, College of Law, College of Science, College of Engineering, College of Business, the Institute of Economics, and attached accounting and statistics training programs, as well as affiliated middle and primary schools. That same year, with approval from the National Government, it began enrolling master's students in economics. It established "Guangda Middle Schools" in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taishan. It also promoted production education, converting over 60 mu of university land at the foot of Baiyun Mountain in Shahe into a farm. At that time, the university had over 800 faculty and staff and more than 14,000 students. In early 1951, the private Guangzhou University merged with the private Guangdong National University, Culture University, Zhuhai University, Lingnan University, Guangzhou Law College, and Southern Commercial Junior College to form South China United University, which was dissolved a year later.