Hunan University
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Hunan University (HNU; Template:Zh) is a national public university in Yuelu, Changsha, Hunan, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2" /> It is also a member in the BRICS Universities League.<ref name=":11" />
History
Template:See also Yuelu Academy was founded in the year 976, during the Song dynasty, as a Confucian shuyuan.<ref name=":1" />
In 1903, during the final years of the Qing dynasty, the Hunan Institute of Higher Education was established.<ref name=":1" />
In 1926, the name of the institution was then changed to Hunan Normal College, and then Hunan Public Polytechnic School, before finally arriving at the name Hunan University.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1937, the academy was transformed from a provincial university into a national university, renamed the National Hunan University, and designated by the Ministry of education, becoming the fifteenth national university.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite web</ref>
From April 1938 to May 1941, the National Hunan University suffered serious losses and, made it difficult to run the school. During the Battle of Changsha, the National Hunan University was suspended.<ref name=":9" />
In 1949, the name Hunan University was again adopted, and the calligraphy of "Hunan University" was written by Mao Zedong in 1950 as soon as the People's Republic of China was founded.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1959, Hunan University was officially restored after the national readjustment of higher education institutions.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1963, HNU was subordinated to the First Ministry of Machinery Industry.<ref name=":3" />
In 1978, Hunan University's status as one of the 88 National Key Universities in China was reaffirmed.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":4" />
In 1996, Hunan University became one of the universities sponsored by Project 211.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2000, Hunan University was selected as a member of Project 985.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>
In November 2010, the National Supercomputing Changsha Center was built on the Hunan University campus under the management and operation of Hunan University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is the first National Supercomputing Center in Central China and the third of its kind apart from other two national centers situated in Tianjin and Shenzhen.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2011, HNU participated in the Excellence League, an alliance of 10 Chinese universities with a strong background in engineering.<ref name=":03">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2015, HNU joined the BRICS Universities League, a consortium of leading research universities from BRICS countries.<ref name=":11">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2017, Hunan University was listed in the Double First-Class Construction.<ref name="people.cn">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Chinese Department of Education">Template:Cite web</ref>
Academics and administration
Hunan University is a national key university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of China and a member of Project 211 and Project 985, as well as the Double First Class University Plan.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2" /> The administration is led by a CPC secretary and a president. The current secretary is Deng Wei, and the president is Duan Xianzhong.
It has the following colleges and departments:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Architecture
- Biology
- Business Administration
- Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- Chinese Language and Literature
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
- Design
- Economy and Trade
- Educational Science
- Electrical and Information Engineering
- Robotics
- Environmental Science and Engineering
- Finance and Statistics
- Foreign Languages and International Studies
- Journalism and Communication and Film and Television Arts
- Law
- Marxism Studies
- Mathematics and Econometrics
- Materials and Engineering
- Mechanical Vehicle Engineering
- Physical Education
- Public Administration
- Physics and Microelectronics Science
- Yuelu Academy
- Semiconductors (Integrated Circuits)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Interdisciplinary Institute of Life Medicine<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Hunan University Library
- Hunan University Press
Students and Academics
There are more than 30,000 full-time students, including more than 20,800 undergraduates and more than 14,000 graduate students.<ref name="学校简介">Template:Cite web</ref> Hunan University has started to recruit international students since 1990s and is one of the Project 985 universities in China to launch an international student program taught entirely in English.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rankings and reputation
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As of 2025, Hunan University was ranked in the top 200 research universities in the world by several global university rankings such as the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking and the CWTS Leiden Ranking.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="US News">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hunan University was ranked 259th worldwide in 2024 in terms of aggregate performance by the three widely observed university ranking (THE+ARWU+QS) as reported by the Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
General Rankings
- In the 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), Hunan University ranked #151 globally.<ref name=":0" />
- As of 2025, the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking ranked Hunan University # 109 globally, #21 in Asia, and #12 in China.<ref name="US News" />
Research Rankings
- Hunan University ranked 14th worldwide in the 2016 Nature Index Rising Stars.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018, Hunan University was elected among 16 universities in the world by Nature, called "Movers and Shakers".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the 2024 Nature Index Research Leaders, which measures the largest groups of papers published in 145 leading high-quality science journals,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hunan University ranked 45th among the leading academic institutions globally and 24th in the Asia-Pacific region.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Hunan University was ranked 89th globally by the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2025 based on the number of their scientific publications in the period 2020–2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For the proportion of their scientific publications that rank among the top 10% and 50% in their fields by citations in the 2024 CWTS Leiden Ranking Open Edition, Hunan University ranks 7th globally (1st in Eurasia) and 1st in the world, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- In 2020, a research paper by Loet Leydesdorff, a famous scientometrician, employs data from 205 China's leading research-intensive universities, including in the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2020, to classify them into three main groups: Top, Middle, and Bottom. Hunan University (with a Z-score of 10.2) ranks 2nd only to Tsinghua University (z=11.0), which leads the "High Group of 32 Universities".<ref>Template:Cite arXiv</ref>
- In 2022, 32 HNU faculty members were included in Clarivate's list of Highly Cited Researchers, placing HNU at No. 33 globally and third in China, behind only the Chinese Academy of Science and Tsinghua University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Subject Rankings
- Hunan University has been ranked in the top 30 global universities in "engineering" by several international rankings, including the U.S. News Rankings, the URAP ranking, and the NTU Ranking.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2025, it was ranked #12 globally in "engineering" by the U.S. News Rankings.<ref name=":32">Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable alumni
Among its prominent alumni are
- Cai E, a major leader in defending the Republic of China
- Ci Yungui, the chief designer of China's first super computer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Guo Songtao, China's first ambassador to a foreign country
- Wang Fuzhi, a celebrated philosopher in Chinese history
- Wei Yuan, a reformist who first advocated to learn from the West
- Xiong Xiaoge, the first person to introduce high-tech venture funds into China
- Zeng Guofan, the first Chinese to initiate the Modernization Movement (at the time called Yangwu Yundong, a movement to imitate overseas technology and industry) and to make arrangements for a modern factory in China
- Zhang Fengxuan, the first Chinese to set foot on the continent of Antarctica<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Zuo Zongtang, a national hero who arranged to build China's first modern navy and took great pains to defend and develop Xinjiang
See also
- President of Hunan University
- Hunan University faculty
- Hunan University station
- List of universities in China
References
External links
- Template:Official website Template:In lang
- Template:Official website Template:In lang
- University history
Template:Universities and colleges in Hunan Template:Project 985 Template:Project 211 Template:Plan 111 Template:BRICS Universities League Template:Hunan topics Template:Associations of independent college admissions of Chinese universities Template:Authority control Template:Coord