Xiangtan University, colloquially known as “Xiang Da” in Chinese, is a comprehensive national key university initiated by Chairman Mao Zedong. It is now recognized as a “Double First-Class” university, which is a prestigious initiative to develop world-class universities and disciplines in China. Founded in 1958, Xiangtan University received its name inscribed by Chairman Mao Zedong on September 10 of the same year, along with his earnest instruction of “building Xiangtan University into an outstanding one”. With the official approval of Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Li Xiannian, Xiangtan University resumed its operations in 1974. In 1978, the university was recognized by the State Council as one of China’s 16 key comprehensive universities with programs covering the arts, sciences and engineering. In 1981, it was authorized as one of the country’s first institutions to confer master’s degrees.
Since its resumption, Xiangtan University has received unremitting attention and support from the leadership of the Communist Party of China. On September 6, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping issued an important instruction, urging the university to build on its legacy in the hometown of Chairman Mao Zedong and strive for greater excellence with distinct characteristics. In February 2022, Xiangtan University was included in the list of “Double First-Class Universities”.
Building on sustained growth in the overall educational quality and core competitiveness since its establishment, Xiangtan University has achieved key distinctions marked by its designation as a “Double First-Class” university, its status as an institution jointly supported by both the People’s Government of Hunan Province and the Ministry of Education, as well as by the People’s Government of Hunan Province and the National Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, and, notably, its recognition as one of the few Chinese provincial universities featured in authoritative global rankings such as THE and U.S.News.
The university comprises a graduate school and 24 colleges/ teaching departments, offering programs across ten major academic fields including philosophy, economics, law, education,literature, history, sciences, engineering, management and arts. The Mathematics discipline is recognized as a world first-class discipline, while seven disciplines— chemistry, materials science, engineering, mathematics, computer science, environment/ ecology, and physics—rank among the top 1% globally according to the Essential Science Indicators (ESI). Altogether Xiangtan University boasts a world first-class discipline, three national key disciplines, one world First-Class cultivation discipline, and 13 provincial key disciplines under Hunan’s 14th Five-Year Plan. The university also holds 18 doctoral degree programs in first-level discipline, 33 master’s degree programs in first-level disciplines, 22 professional master’s programs, and 16 post-doctoral research centers. It also has 41 national-level and 15 provincial-level First-Class undergraduate programs, 11 national-level and 23 provincial-level characteristic majors, 1 national-level and 8 provincial-level comprehensive reform pilot majors. In addition, 13 majors were accredited by the China Engineering Education Accreditation Association.
Xiangtan University hosts a National Applied Mathematics Center, a National Base for International Science and Technology Cooperation, two National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratories, a National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center, a National-Level Platform for Attracting Foreign Expertise. It is also home to three Key Research Institutes of Humanities and Social Sciences under the Ministry of Education, two Registered Centers for International and Regional Studies under the Ministry of Education, a Research Base for Innovation and Development of Red Tourism under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, three Key Laboratories of the Ministry of Education, two Engineering Research Centers of the Ministry of Education, a Collaborative Innovation Center supported by the Ministry of Education and Hunan Province, three Hunan 2011 Collaborative Innovation Centers, a Key Think-Tank Construction Unit, a Specialized Think-Tank of Hunan Province, 15 Provincial Key Research Centers in Philosophy and Social Sciences, one Provincial Key Laboratory in Philosophy and Social Sciences, and one Provincial-Level Center for International and Regional Studies.
In addition, it has four innovative teams recognized by the Ministry of Education, five innovative research groups supported by Hunan Natural Science Foundation, three innovation teams for Huxiang High-level Talents Gathering Program, 10 scientific and technological innovation teams from universities in Hunan Province. Xiangtan University is also among the first universities designated as a National Pilot Institution for Patent Collaboration and Application, a National Intellectual Property Information Service Center for Universities, a Hunan Provincial Base for Transforming Scientific and Technological Achievements and Facilitating Technology Transfer, and a Hunan Provincial University Intellectual Property Center.
The university currently has 2,079 full-time faculty members, among which 89% hold senior professional titles or doctoral degrees, and 19% have overseas study or research experience. At present, 52 faculty members are selected for National High-level Talent Programs or hold equivalent honors, and 199 have been selected for Provincial High-level Talent Programs or recognized at a comparable level.
Recent years have witnessed outstanding achievements of Xiangtan University in securing national-level projects. The number of approved annual and youth projects under the National Social Science Fund ranks among the top 40 universities nationwide. Three academic works have been included in the “National Achievements Library of Philosophy and Social Sciences”. Both the volume of social science papers reprinted by the Renda Copying Materials and the comprehensive impact index place within the top 3% of all universities in the country. Seven of its think tanks are listed in the China Think Tank Index (CTTI). The university has also received more than 120 ministerial-level and provincial-level awards or its research achievements, including the National Natural Science Award, the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the Ministry of Education’s Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement Award for High Education Institutions, the Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Award, and the Hunan Provincial Outstanding Achievement Award in social sciences. The university has established high-level industry-academia-research platforms such as Academician Workstations and Innovation Research Institutes. Over the past five years, it has signed more than 1,600 industry-academia-research collaboration projects and been granted 3,039 patents.
The university has a total enrollment of over 44,000 full-time students, including more than 11,000 post-graduates and doctoral students. It offers a Base or Top Students in Basic Disciplines Training Program 2.0 of the Ministry of Education, one of the first National Bases for Cultivating Outstanding Legal Talents, a National Pilot Zone for Innovative Elite Cultivation Models, a National Great Ideological Education Practical Teaching Base, three National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Centers, and a National Cultural and Moral Education Base for College Students. The university is also recognized as an implementing institution for the National Undergraduate Innovative Experiment Program, a participating unit of the National Youth Talent Program, a national-level innovation and entrepreneurship college construction unit, one of the first National Model Universities for Deepening Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Reform, a National Exemplary University for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and a National Model University for Graduate Employment. Since its founding, Xiangtan University has more than 490,000 alumni, many of whom have made significant contributions to national development and social progress.
The university advocates an internationalized approach to education and has been selected as a member of several major international higher education cooperation platforms initiated by the Ministry of Education, including the China-Africa Universities 100 Cooperation Plan, the China-Africa University Alliance, the Sino-Russian University Alliance of the Upper and Middle Reaches of Yangtze River and the Federal District along Volga River, and the Belt and Road University Alliance. It is also a partner of the China-UK University Consortium on Engineering Education and Research. The university has co-established Confucius Institutes with the University of León in Spain and Makerere University in Uganda. It is among the first group of institutions in Hunan Province authorized to enroll international students as well as students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. Furthermore, the university is authorized to host students under both the Chinese Government Scholarship and the International Chinese Language Teacher Scholarship, and it is certified for the Quality Accreditation of Higher Education for International Students in China. The university maintains a robust international partnership network, encompassing over 80 universities and research institutions across more than 20 countries and regions, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. A key outcome of this global engagement is the establishment of over 30 joint degree or exchange programs. Notable among these is its cooperative education program with Spain's University of León.
“High rises Shaofeng Peak, long flows the Xiangjiang’s tide,
a sacred land of culture, where science and learning reside...”
Guided by the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Xiangtan University will thoroughly implement the important instructions given by General Secretary Xi Jinping, uphold its spirit of "bearing in mind the entrusted mission, striving with perseverance, and pursuing excellence." As a university located in the hometown of the great leader Mao Zedong, Xiangtan University will advance the development of a socialist university with Chinese characteristics, and accelerate its progress in the “Double First-Class” initiative, striving to make greater contributions to realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.
（updated in November 2025）
