Cradle of Creative Minds
The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) traces its origins to 1958 when the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) established it in Beijing. It was founded under the goal to cultivate the country's most promising scientific and technological talent. In 1970, USTC was moved to Hefei, the capital and the largest city of Anhui Province. Ever since then, this prestigious research university keeps open arms for talents across the globe. Now the university which is composed of six campuses is home to 27,005 gifted students, aspiring scholars and researchers as well as 2,244 faculty members.
A Historic City with High-tech Innovation
In the past 20 years, the unique city has increased its GDP by over 2,600%, becoming the country’s 20th richest city in 2020. In the same year, Hefei was also recognized as the third most attractive city in the eyes of foreign talent, according to the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.
The city is located in the center part of East China, and its transportation system is well-developed. With the whole city's transportation system linked by airport, railway and highway, a solid transportation network is at your service. Thanks to rivers surrounding it, the livable city hosts temperate climate and picturesque scenery.
As a member city of the World Science and Technology City Alliance, Hefei is an innovative city with a long history and full of vitality. More than 1,000 R&D institutions have settled in Hefei, as well as a number of national-level key laboratories and cutting-edge scientific devices, making Hefei one of the core cities in the country's scientific development.
Exceptional Achievements in Research and Education
In 1978, the Graduate School of USTC was founded in Beijing, as the first graduate school in China. In the same year, the university set up the first “special class for the gifted young” , blazing a trail in the field of China's tertiary education. For more than four decades, the research-intensive program for exceptionally talented youth has fostered hundreds of successful scientists, researchers and technology entrepreneurs. Each year, the university admits only 1,880 freshmen, but for every 1,000 alumni, there is one academician and more than 700 go on to take master's or doctoral degrees, ratios far beyond any other Chinese university.
USTC, a low-profile university aims high. It has 23 schools (including 6 research institutes) in the fields of natural science and social science, offering exciting opportunities for students to discover more. It owns the most national labs and large-scale scientific facilities, one of the six national research centers approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of the People’s Republic of China. USTC has 12 national research institutes, 4 major national scientific research infrastructures, and 62 major provincial research institutes. It represents the highest level of China in fields of fire science, particle detection and electronics, brain-inspired intelligence technology, and speech processing.
International Prominence
USTC is dedicated to bridging the divide by promoting collaboration and building strategic relationship with world-class research universities and institutes.
In 2013, the signing ceremony of an agreement to reach a series of future collaborations among the C9 League, and the Association of American of Universities, the Australian Group of Eight (Go8), and the League of European Research Universities (LERU), took place in USTC.
Apart from it, international organizations such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have all formed sustainable and strategic partnership with USTC. Meanwhile, the university has attracted prestigious research universities around the world including Oxford, Stanford and Princeton to develop collaborative relationship.
USTC commenced its two-year tenure as the Chair of the Association of East Asian Research Universities (AEARU) in Jan 2022, presiding the day-to-day management of the association. In this fall, USTC will serve as the convenor of the 6th Vice President Research Meeting (VPRM) of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU).
