Huazhong Normal University is a key normal university directly under the Chinese Ministry of Education. Located in Wuhan, a major hub of transportation, it has a campus of over 2,000 mu with a construction area of more than 600,000 square meters on Guizishan, a hill bordering the East Lake and the South Lake. It has brilliant flowers and green woods all year round. With a serene environment, especially the fragrance of osmanthus flowers all over, the campus is an ideal place for teaching and studying.

The university attaches great importance to the development of disciplines. After adjusting and expanding some of the disciplines, HZU has formed a complete and optimized disciplinary system consisting literature, history, philosophy, natural science, engineering, education, economics, law, agriculture and management. Now, it comprises 18 schools, 9 department and 82 research institutes(centers) and offers 53 doctoral programs and 94 master's degree programs. The university also has 5 first-grade doctor's degree disciplines, 3 national key disciplines, 9 provincial and ministerial level key disciplines, 5 post-doctoral programs. Moreover, it has established 2 national bases for personnel training &scientific research, and 3 national key bases for the research of humanities and social sciences. Our university has set up its Continual Education College, Higher Vocational Education College, Network Education College and International Cultural Exchange College. Entrusted by the Ministry of Education, it also established a Teachers Training Center for Teachers Universities and Colleges in South Central China and a Training Center for Education Administrators from the same region.

HZU boasts an array of qualified teachers as well as scholars full of vigor and vitality. Among a total of over 700 professors and associate professors, there are 3 experts with national achievements and 22 with provincial achievements. Apart from that, 8 are selected by the Ministry of Education for " Cross-Century Talents Project" and 1 for "Talent Project". HZU also has many of honorary professors and adjunct professors, such as famous writer Wang Meng, sociologist Zheng Hangsheng, historian Zhang Zhengming, physicist Meng Dazhong, the academician of Chinese Academy Yuan Longping, the chief scientist in the field of Nanometer 973 project Zhang Lide, and the academician of Chinese Academy of Science Ding Xiaqi.

HZU has made noticeable achievements in scientific research. Since the 7th Five-Year Plan was carried out, our teaching staff have been entrusted with a great many important scientific research projects such as national high-tech project 863,national "Torch Program" and some international cooperation projects. During the period of the 8th Five-Year Plan, our faculty members were involved in 744 scientific research projects, and more than 130of them won different awards at the provincial/ministry level or above.

The university puts fostering qualified talents in the first place, carries out teaching reform to improves its teaching quality. Since the country began its reform and opening-up endeavor, the university had enrolls undergraduate students and graduates students from all parts of China. It admits ethnic minority students from Guizhou, Guangxi, Xinjiang and Tibet to attend the college preparatory classes. HZU also recruits international students. At present the university has a student body of over 20,000, of whom 2000 are postgraduates. In 1999 and 2000, 3 doctorate these were awarded "Best Hundred Doctorate Theses" in China. As the university has attached great importance to quality-oriented education, the graduates are widely welcomed by the society. In the years from 1999 to 2003, its one-time employment rate of undergraduates ranked the 19th, 12th, 6th, 5th, and 2nd in the country respectively.

HZU carries on a wide range of international academic exchanges. It has regular academic links and cooperation with more than 20 universities, colleges and research institutes in America, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, France, Italy, Britain, Japan, Switzerland, Bulgaria.

Foreign experts and teachers are regularly invited to teach at the university and many faculty members have been sent abroad for further study, visit or joint research. Most of them have returned home and become the backbone in teaching and research; a good number of them are active on international academic rostrum and have made admirable contributions to science, technology, culture and education exchanges between China and foreign nations.

Huazhong University had set a goal to reshape itself to be comprehensive in curriculums and research-oriented with distinctive features. With boundless enthusiasm and enterprising spirit, the faculty and students of Huazhong University are determined to make greater progress o build HZU into a high-level university well-known both at home and abroad.

Source: Huazhong Normal University