Jiangsu Government Scholarship

About the university

Nanjing University (NJU), located in Jiangsu Province, is a national key research university directly under the Ministry of Education and the Central Government of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the first batch of universities under the "211 Project," the "985 Project," and the national "Double First-Class" initiative (Category A), jointly funded by the Ministry of Education and Jiangsu Province. The university is an autonomous degree-granting institution and has been selected for programs such as the Everest Plan, the Strong Foundation Plan, the "101 Plan," the "111 Plan," the Outstanding Engineer Education and Training Program, and the "2011 Plan." It is a member of the C9 League, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, the 21st Century Academic Alliance, the Yangtze River Delta University Think Tank Alliance, and the Yangtze River Delta Research University Alliance. The university traces its origins to the Sanjiang Normal School founded in 1902, which later evolved through several stages: Liangjiang Advanced Normal School, National Nanjing Higher Normal School, National Southeast University, National Fourth Sun Yat-sen University, National Central University, and National Nanjing University, before being renamed Nanjing University in 1950. In 1952, during the nationwide restructuring of higher education institutions, Nanjing University transferred some of its engineering, agriculture, and teacher training faculties and merged with the arts and sciences faculties of the University of Nanking (founded in 1888), retaining the name Nanjing University. The campus moved from Sipailou to the original site of the University of Nanking in Gulou. In 1994, it passed the preliminary evaluation for the "211 Project." In 1999, it was designated as a high-level university under the national "985 Project." In 2017, it was selected as a world-class university under the "Double First-Class" initiative (Category A). In 2022, it was included in the second round of the "Double First-Class" construction. The university has four campuses: Xianlin, Gulou, Pukou (Jiangbei), and Suzhou. As of December 2025, the university has 46 schools and colleges, with 16,008 undergraduate students, 19,266 master's students, 11,205 doctoral students, and 1,432 international students. As of June 2024, the university has 2,420 full-time faculty members. In 1887, amid calls for reforming the imperial examination system and establishing new-style schools, the Qing government issued an edict to add mathematics as a subject in the imperial examinations. Due to limited conditions, very few candidates took the mathematics exam. Against this backdrop, the Methodist Episcopal Church missionary C.H. Fowler founded Huiwen College in Nanjing in 1888. It was the first new-style school in the Nanjing area and one of the earliest higher education institutions in China, predating the Sanjiang Normal School by 14 years. The first president of Huiwen College was Methodist missionary J.C. Ferguson. The college initially established a School of Theology and a School of Arts and Sciences (later known as the Museum), added a School of Medicine in 1896, and included a middle school called Chengmei School. In 1896, Ferguson accepted an invitation from Qing official Sheng Xuanhuai to become the superintendent of Nanyang Public School (the predecessor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University) and resigned as president of Huiwen College. He was succeeded by G.A. Stuart, the head of the medical faculty at Huiwen College. In 1907, American churches sought to merge the colleges in Nanjing, but Stuart, who advocated for independent operation, opposed the merger and resigned. The medical school of Huiwen College subsequently closed. After Stuart's departure, American missionary A.G. Bowen became president of Huiwen College. Christ College (1891–1906) and Yizhi College (1894–1906) merged to form Hongyu College (1906–1910). Christ College was founded in 1891 by the American Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) missionary F. Rank E. Meigs (also known as Mei Zaizhong) southwest of Gulou in Nanjing, with Meigs serving as president. Yizhi College was founded in 1894 by the American Presbyterian Church at Hubu Street in Nanjing, with American missionary He Zixia as founder and president, later succeeded by J.E. Williams.