Northwest A&F University Scholarship

About the university

Northwest A&F University (NWAFU), also known as Xinnong, is located in Yangling Demonstration Zone, Shaanxi Province. It is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and a central government-administered university. As the birthplace of modern higher agricultural education in Northwest China, it boasts the most comprehensive range of disciplines in agriculture, forestry, and water resources among higher agricultural institutions in the country. The university is a Double First-Class construction institution, a key university under Project 985 and Project 211, and is included in the Chinese Government Scholarship program for international students, the National College Students' Innovative Experimental Plan, and the Ministry of Education's 'Subject Construction Assistance Plan for Xinjiang.' Its predecessor was the National Northwest College of Agriculture and Forestry, founded in 1934. In September 1999, seven scientific research and educational units—the former Northwest Agricultural University, Northwest Forestry College, the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, the Northwest Institute of Water Resources Science of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Shaanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Shaanxi Academy of Forestry Sciences, and the Northwest Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shaanxi Province—merged to form Northwest A&F University. In 2011, the university was selected for the '111 Plan'; in 2013, for the '2011 Plan'; in 2014, it joined the Outstanding Agricultural and Forestry Talent Education and Training Program; in 2017, it was recognized as a National Demonstration University for Deepening Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Reform; in 2022, it participated in the New Agricultural Science Research and Reform Practice Project and the National High-Level University Graduate Program, and in the same year, it launched a pilot program for the National Strong Foundation Plan. As of March 2025, the university has a Graduate School and 28 colleges (departments and institutes), offering 79 undergraduate programs. Among these, 11 programs—including Agronomy, Plant Protection, Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural Water Conservancy Engineering, Biotechnology, Bioengineering, Horticulture, Animal Science, and Forestry—are recognized as Shaanxi Province's brand majors. The university has 14 postdoctoral research stations, 17 first-level doctoral degree programs, 31 first-level master's degree programs, 6 professional doctoral degree categories, and 18 professional master's degree categories. It employs 2,610 full-time teachers and has nearly 37,600 full-time students. In the autumn of 1932, the 'Committee for the Preparation of Specialized Education in the Northwest' was established, with Yu Youren and others as preparatory members. In December of the same year, the committee was renamed the 'Preparatory Committee for the Construction of the Northwest College of Agriculture and Forestry,' and preparation work began. In December 1932, the Ministry of Education of the National Government decided to merge the Agricultural College of Shanghai Labor University into the institution. In March 1933, the preparatory committee unanimously elected Mr. Yu Youren as the president of the National Northwest College of Agriculture and Forestry. In February of the following year, the school decided to establish an affiliated senior agricultural vocational school (the predecessor of today's Yangling Vocational and Technical College). On April 20, the foundation stone was laid for the seven-story teaching building of the National Northwest College of Agriculture and Forestry, marking the establishment of the first higher agricultural institution in Northwest China. In June, the Shaanxi Provincial Water Conservancy Specialized Class was incorporated into the National Northwest College of Agriculture and Forestry. In July 1938, it merged with the Agricultural College of the National Northwest United University and the Animal Husbandry Department of the Agricultural College of Henan University to form the National Northwest Agricultural College, which was renamed Northwest Agricultural College after liberation. In 1985, with approval from the former Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, the school was renamed Northwest Agricultural University. In September 1999, it was merged into Northwest A&F University. Its predecessor was the Forestry Department of the former Northwest Agricultural College, established in 1934. During the departmental adjustment period of 1962-1963, Northwest Agricultural College accepted students and teaching resources from Baoji University (now Baoji University of Arts and Sciences), including 42,000 volumes of books and materials. In 1979, it separated from Northwest Agricultural College to form Northwest Forestry College, jointly managed by the Ministry of Forestry and Shaanxi Province, with the Ministry of Forestry taking the lead. In September 1999, it was merged into Northwest A&F University. In 1954, the Chinese Academy of Sciences decided to establish the Northwest Institute of Agricultural Biology, selecting Wugong, Shaanxi, as its site. In 1955, it was named the Northwest Institute of Agricultural Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and later underwent several name changes: Northwest Institute of Biological Soils of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwest Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Biology and Soils of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwest Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Northwest Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources. In 1995, it was renamed the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources. In 1998, it was designated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences as one of the first pilot units of the National Knowledge Innovation Project. In September 1999, it was merged into Northwest A&F University.