SWJTU at a Glance

Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU) was founded at Shanhaiguan in 1896, named then Imperial Chinese Railway College. It is one of the oldest universities in China majoring in engineering. In 1905, it was moved to Tangshan, Hebei Province, and was renamed Tangshan Jiaotong University, Tangshan Railway Institute, and so on. In 1972, the university was removed to Emei, Sichuan province, and began to use its present name----Southwest Jiaotong University. In 1989, it was moved to Chengdu, and in 2002, the construction of a new campus covering an area of over 3,000 acres was started in Chengdu. With this, a new pattern of “one university, in two places, with three campuses” is coming into being.

Currently, the university has 18 schools, 3 departments and 2 divisions, with more than 38000 students, teachers and staff over 3900, which includes about 1800 full-time teachers, 1000 professors and associate professors, 3 CAS academicians and 2 CAE academicians. In addition, there are also 29 academicians from CAS and CAE who serve as part-time professors at the university’s invitation. At present there are 45 PHD programs, 95 master degree accredit posts, 61 undergraduate majors and 7 post-doctorate research centers, 3 national basic scientific research and teaching talents training bases, 6 national key disciplines and 1 national key lab.

In over a century’s development, the university has cultivated large amounts of outstanding people. There are 43 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, “the two-bomb hero”, and many experts, professors, leaders of various fields and outstanding entrepreneurs. The university has also fostered many excellent engineers who have designed and constructed project with huge construction quantities and difficulties. For instance, the Jingzhang Railway which is designed and constructed by Chinese, the first electrified railway----Baocheng Railway, and the prestigious Qinghai-Tibet Railway, all these projects assembled the intelligence and diligence of the alumni of SWJTU. In recent years, the university has made breakthroughs and improvements in many important fields, and has made a series of achievements for the scientific construction of the country.

Moreover, SWJTU pays great attention to international exchanges and cooperation. It has now established collaboration relationships with over 70 universities of 50 countries and regions. Each year, SWJTU invites over 250 long and short-term international experts, and over 300 long-term international students from more than 20 countries and states study here.

In light of the inscription by Comrade Jiang Zemin, “Carry forward the cause and forge ahead into the future, be bold in scaling heights, and strive even harder to turn the Jiaotong University into a first-class university in the world”, SWJTU will adhere to the fine tradition of “Rigorous Scholarship” and accelerate its development so as to make itself a first-class university in the world.