StudyQA — Peking University — Peking — China: Fees, Rankings, Courses, Admissions

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About Peking University

Peking University (abbreviated PKU and colloquially known by the Chinese as Běidà 北大; Chinese: 北京大学, pinyin: Běijīng Dàxué), is a major Chinese research university located in Beijing and a member of the C9 League. It is the first modern national university established in China, founded as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the ancient Taixue orGuozijian, or Imperial Academy. It also served as the highest administration for education in China at the beginning of its founding. By 1920, it had become a center for progressive thought. Peking University is consistently ranked as the top higher learning institution in mainland China. In addition to academics, Peking University is especially renowned for its campus grounds, and the beauty of its traditional Chinese architecture.

Throughout its history, the university has educated and hosted many prominent modern Chinese thinkers, including figures such as:Mao Zedong, Lu Xun, Gu Hongming, Mao Dun, Li Dazhao, and Chen Duxiu. Peking University was influential in the birth of China's New Culture Movement, May Fourth Movement, the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989 and many other significant events.

Institute of Ocean Research

Institute of Ocean Research is dedicated to research and education in order to promote the ocean science and serve the society. With the jointefforts of Center for Maritime Strategic Studies, Ocean Mega-data Research Center and One Belt One Road Research Center,IOR commits to developing PKU ocean sciences and technology, cultivating marine talents, exploring an innovative way and supporting the national ocean strategy intellectually.
School of Software & Microelectronics

SSM was born in accordance with the overall planning of PKU to become a world-class university. As a new baby of PKU, SSM was established with a new mode and operating mechanism. The School is managed by the dean under the leadership of the School Council, and it explores a new management system and operating mechanism featuring the collaboration with famous universities and well-known enterprises both home and abroad in order to attract social resources and investments. SSM runs in an enterprise style, and seeks to achieve professional management and socialized logistics. Its goals are to cultivate top level, globalized talents with practical and multidisciplinary capabilities. As a part of PKU, SSM inherits its tradition of "Democracy, Science and Inclusiveness" and sticks to its learning style featuring “Diligence, Preciseness, Truth-seeking and Innovation". Our mission is to uphold innovation and entrepreneurship, and to cultivate top-quality talents in a demand-oriented way.
School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science

The school of EECS was formally established on September 2002. It was reorganized based on four former units: Department of Computer Science and Technology, Department of Electronics, Institute of Microelectronics, and Center for Information Science. Each of these former units has a long history. In 1958, the Department of Radio Science (renamed as Department of Electronics in 1996) was founded based on disciplines of Radio Physics and Electronic Physics in the former Department of Physics. In 1978, the Department of Computer Science and Technology was formally established, whose origin could be traced back to the programming specialty in the Department of Mathematics since 1957. In 1985, the Center for Information Science was founded based on related departments to promote the interdisciplinary research. The Institute of Microelectronics was founded in the same year, whose origin could be traced back to the semiconductor specialty in the Department of Physics since 1956. In their history, the dedicated efforts of prominent faculty in these units made great contributions to the society on information technology research and education, as well as information industry development in China.

The school now covers four departments: Department of Computer Science and Technology, Department of Electronics, Department of Microelectronics, and Department of Machine Intelligence. Under these four departments are 12 research institutes, which are responsible for research activities and graduate students education. About 390 faculty and staff members work in the school. Among them are 83 full professors, including three members of Chinese Academy of Sciences (one is an adjunct faculty) and one member of Chinese Academy of Engineering. About 2600 students are enrolled in the school. Roughly half of them are enrolled in the undergraduate program, while the others are pursuing graduate degrees.
ShenZhen Graduate School

Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School (PKU Shenzhen), primarily focused on full-time graduate education, is an integral part of PKU's progression toward becoming a world-class university. PKU Shenzhen's goal is to build a world-class international PKU campus in Shenzhen, a pioneer city leading China’s Reform and Opening-Up Policy, while adhering to the academic principles of “New Frontiers, Interdisciplinary Studies, Applied Research and International Standards.”

PKU Shenzhen's faculty members include scholars with previous teaching appointments at prestigious schools including Cornell University, Harvard University and the University of California system. Concurrently, PKU Shenzhen's unique disciplines and degrees with PKU’s prestige, attract top students from China and abroad. PKU Shenzhen also seeks to develop expertise in demand on the Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta region job market.
School of Arts

Growing out of the Teaching & Research Section of Arts constructed in 1986 and Department of Art Studies set up in 1997,the School of Arts of Peking University was founded in January 11, 2006. Its present dean, Professor Ye Lang, a senior professor of philosophy and social sciences of the university, is a renowned aesthetician.

The School of Arts composed of the Department of Art Studies, the Department of Musicology, the Department of Fine Arts, the Department of Movie &Television currently provides 3 BA programs, viz. movie & TV program editing and directing, art studies(including minor courses and dual degree programs of art studiesand cultural industries), and public utility management (especially arts management) , 3 MA programs, namely,art studies, film studies, art history and theory, 2 MFA programs, and 1 PhD program in the first-level discipline of Arts.
School of Foreign Languages

The School of Foreign Languages, whose origin dates back to Jingshi Tongwenguan (The Capital House of Foreign Languages) founded in 1862, formed excellent traditions and distinguished features during its 150 years of history. Today, the School of Foreign Languages is carrying on the traditions in more fields to forge new milestones. In 2004 and 2008 national primary discipline evaluation, Foreign Language and Literature of Peking University ranked No. 1 successively.

The School of Foreign Languages has dual missions: one is to conduct study in foreign languages, literature, and cultures, to educate competent talents in this field, and to introduce world academic achievements and cultures into China; the other is to provide the country and society with high quality language-related services. Foreign language provides access to first hand information about world peoples and cultures and allows efficient connections and communication with other countries in many fields. As China's international visibility increasing, the School of Foreign Languages will provide the society with services greater in number and quality and forge new milestones.
Law School

Peking University (PKU) Law School was officially inaugurated on June 26, 1999. Its precursor was the Law Department of Peking University, which was founded in the year of 1904, and therefore the institution with the longest history of modern legal education in China. In the 1952 “grand adjustment of law departments,” it was once merged into Beijing Politics and Law College. In 1954, however, PKU Law Department regained its independency, supported directly by Vice Premier Dong Biwu, then director of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the Government Administrative Council of China's Central People's Government . During the “Cultural Revolution” (1966-76), PKU Law Department was one of the only two law departments survived on the Chinese mainland.

PKU Law School has 40 full professors, of who 29 are Ph.D. Candidate Supervisors (in addition to five adjunct Ph.D. Candidate Supervisors). Meanwhile, there are 33 associate professors, nine lecturers, and 23 teaching and administrative staff. They are playing an important role in delivering the top quality legal education, cutting-edge research, responsive works for legislation and enforcement of the law.
School of Marxism

School of Marxism is the earliest cradle spreading and studying Marxism in China. As early as the beginning of 20th century, teachers and students from Peking University such as Li Dazhao begun to study and spread Marxism at Peking University. For the following 80 years, the tradition of studying Marxism was carried on and on at Peking University. As the main institution studying Marxism, School of Marxism has taken the lead in passing this tradition as well as carrying forward the Marxist theoretical moral of moving along with the time ever since it’s founding. It now serves as an important base to promote Marxism theoretical disciplinary construction and a unit to conduct education of theoretical courses on ideology and politics as well as social training.
School of Archaeology and Museology

Peking University is the first university in China where archaeological education and research were carried out. In 1922, the Laboratory for Archaeology was established in the Department of Sinology; in 1952 archaeology as a major was set up in the Department of History. The history of archaeological research in Peking University is nearly as long as the history of archaeological research in China. From 1950s, thanks to the unfailing dedication of its faculty, archaeology research and education in PKU have enjoyed continued success; the Laboratory has grown in strength to the School of Archaeology and Museology with fully functioning facilities and has cultivated large numbers of excellent professionals for Chinese archaeology.
School of Physics

The School of Physics was established in 2001, and includes not only the traditional fields of study in physics, but also related physical sciences. Today, the School of Physics includes Physics, Astronomy, Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, and Nuclear Science & Technology and consists of eleven divisions and seven related research institutes, including the State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics and the State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology.

Today, the School of Physics has about 200 faculty and staff, including 15 Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (double employment included), 4 “Qianren” Scholars, 14 “Cheung Kong” Scholars and 16 National Distinguished Young Scholars. There are 3 innovative research groups sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC): QCD & Hadron Physics, Femtosecond Optical Physics & Mesoscopic Optics, and Biological Networks.

The School of Physics grants Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Around 200 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students are admitted each year by the School of Physics (100 for PhD degrees and 100 for Master degrees). Most undergraduate students pursue advanced studies after finishing their Bachelor degrees, and about one-third of them go to leading international universities for their advanced study.
- Institute of Theoretical Physics
- Institute of Condensed Matter and Material Physics
- Institute of Modern Optics
- Institute of Heavy Ion Physics
- Institute of Plasma Physics and Fusion Study
- Department of Technical Physics
- Department of Astronomy
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
School of Life Sciences

Biology is one of the oldest disciplines at PKU, which originated from the Imperial University of Peking (founded in 1898), the first national comprehensive university in China.

The Department of Biology at PKU was established in 1925 with Botany and Zoology as majors. After merging with two other leading Biology departments in 1952, the Department of Biology of Yenching University (established in 1923) and the Department of Biology of Tsinghua University (established in 1927), a wide spectrum of subjects was gradually added to the initial majors, including Plant Physiology, Animal Physiology and Animal Genetics in the early 1950s, Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1956, Cell Biology, Microbiology, Environmental Biology and Ecology in 1980s, and Biotechnology in 1993. The Department of Biology was reorganized as the School of Life Sciences (SLS) in 1993 to meet the needs of rapid development, expansion, and interdisciplinary collaborations in life sciences.

Currently, the school has two national laboratories, one key laboratory supported by the Ministry of Education, five research centers and two research institutes. Among 165 staff members, there are 115 academic faculty members working in both teaching and research, including 5 academicians, 6 members of the"The Recruitment Program of Global Experts", 12 members of"The Recruitment Program of Global Youth Experts", 10"Cheung Kong Scholars", 10 chief scientists of Major National Scientific Research Plan and"973"Project, 1 National Teaching Master, 1 National Model Teacher and 16 NSFC Distinguished Young Scholars.

Nearly seventy research groups in the school carry out research in the forefront of life sciences: cell biology, biochemistry, structural biology, plant developmental and molecular biology, genetics, developmental biology, bioinformatics, physiology, neurobiology, ecology, conservation biology. The school has approximately 230 research projects with an annual research budget of more than 100 million (RMB) from external funding resources.

The school has active cooperation and exchange programs with international institutions. The school also collaborates with some global corporations such as Bayer HealthCare Company Ltd. In the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016, Peking University ranks 48thin the biological sciences.
School of Earth and Space Sciences

The school of earth and space science of Peking University was set up on October 26th, 2001. The newly established school comprises the former department of geology, solid earth physics of the geophysics department, department of space physics, institute of remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS) from the department of urban and environgmental sciences in Peking University.

It offers five undergraduate specialities, including geology, geochemistry, solid earth physics, space science and technology as well as geographic information system, and has three doctor’s or master’s degree authorization centres on first class disciplines, three post-doctoral mobile stations on geology, geophysics and geology. The school has among its faculty 51 professors, including seven academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences, five Changjiang Scholarship professors, and fourty associate professors. It has one national talent training centre on basic sciences ( in the field of geology ), one innnovation group awarded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China ( in the field of geophysics ), three national key disciplines, which are structural geology, solic earth physics and geographic information system, one key laboratory under the Ministry of Education ( in the sphere of orogenic belt and crustal evolution ), one key laboratory of Beijing city ( in the sphere of spatial information integration and application of 3S projects, which are remote sensing, geographic information system and global positioning system ) and a key discipline of Beijing city, namely, space physics. As a major talent training centre in geosciences in China and a significant force with which Peking University is striving to evolve into a world-class university, the school is charged with the important task of supplying for the country’s modernization drive senior professionals in geology, geophysics, space science, remote sensing, geographic information system, surveying and mapping science and technology and other domains.
School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences

The Department of Psychology of PKU is comprised of a team of leading scholars in the field. We have 13 professors, 15 associate professors, and 11 assistant professors. Among them are 3 winners of China National Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists, 3 winners of the China Youth Science and Technology Award, 1 Changjiang scholar distinguished professor, 1 winner of the national “Thousand Young Talents Program”, 3 winners of the “Hundred Talents Program” of Peking University, 2 winners of the New Program for New Century Excellent Talents, 3 research leaders of The National Basic Research Program of China, 1 member of the subject review group of the State Council, 1 member of the expert panel of major programs for the National Natural Science Foundation of China, etc.. The per-faculty-member number of research articles published in international academic journals is higher than the average level published by scholars in other disciplines at Peking University.
Guanghua School of Management

Grounded in the rich cultural legacy of Peking University, Guanghua School of Management is at the forefront of China’s social and economic progress.
Our mission extends beyond business or management. We are an institution comprised of scholars, pioneers, and innovators.We are determined to advance management knowledge and cultivate leaders. We are dedicated to the betterment of China and the global society.
With a team of over 120 faculty, comprised of a diverse group of prominent business leaders and experts, students of all programs have unparalleled academic support. Faculty serve as mentors and their research goes beyond the publication - actively shaping China’s national policies. It is this wealth of knowledge and experience that is incorporated into the learning experience and will advance your studies here at Guanghua.
As an international student, you will be among the best and the brightest minds in China and around the world. We want you to add to the conversation, challenge your thinking and, most of all, experience global business in China. As a business school at the forefront of the world’s most rapidly growing economy, studying in China is a unique opportunity to start your global career.
School of Government

Peking University School of Government was established on December 22, 2001, based on combination of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and the Program of Regional Economics within the Department of Urban and Environmental Studies. The school has more than 50 faculty members who respectively work in six departments of political science, public administration, public policy, public economics, urban and regional management, and political economy. The school also has various teaching and research centers and institutes, and with collaborative research organizations like Institution of Political Development and Governance (also the Key Research Base of the Ministry of Education) mainly composed of the school faculty. The school recruits students annually in 3 undergraduate majors, 7 graduate programs, 4 doctorate programs, MPA education, and continuing education.

The school aims at establishing a world-class government school and relevant disciplines. It also intents to become a key base of government and public management, of training and educating talents with high quality, a consultative base for decision-making of the party and government, a first-rate base producing academic achievements, and an exchange platform for internal and external academic communities. The school focuses on discipline building and talents training, combining political science and economics, integrating academic research and practical applications, combining normative and positive research, academic training and professional training. The school will strengthen contact, communication and collaboration with academic communities and governmental institutions in and outside China, so as to promote discipline development and the cause of modernization.
College of Engineering

Over the past few years, Peking University has been actively pursuing its goal of becoming a world-class university. To fulfill such an aspiration, Peking University has committed itself to developing cutting-edge technologies, promoting innovation in its students, providing opportunities for young leaders to emerge, and encouraging higher academic standards. Building a leading engineering program is one crucial strategy of Peking University’s route in becoming an internationally renowned university.
In March 2005, Peking University reestablished the College of Engineering. From its inception, the College has sought to be a top-tier engineering institution. By drawing upon Peking University’s vast resources in fundamental and extensive research studies, the College of Engineering has successfully created a program that promotes interdisciplinary research. It is our hope that if provided with a broad spectrum of knowledge, the students are able to take different approaches in the pursuit of progress and development. We encourage students to be innovative in future engineering and technology exploration for the prospect of national socio-economic development. It is our greatest hope that our students will become future leaders and entrepreneurs.

History of Peking University

When it was established on July 3, 1898, the school was known as the Imperial University of Peking (simplified Chinese: 京师大学堂;traditional Chinese: 京師大學堂; pinyin: Jīngshī Dàxuétáng). It was established to replace Taixue or Guozijian, or Imperial Academy, as part of the Hundred Days' Reform. In 1912, following the Xinhai Revolution, the Imperial University was renamed "National Peking University" (simplified Chinese: 国立北京大学; traditional Chinese: 國立北京大學; pinyin: Guólì Běijīng Dàxué). The noted scholar Cai Yuanpei was appointed president on January 4, 1917, and helped transform the university into the country's largest institution of higher learning, with 14 departments and an enrollment of more than 2,000 students. Cai, inspired by the German model of academic freedom, recruited an intellectually diverse faculty that included Hu Shih, Chen Duxiu, and Lu Xun. In 1919, students of Peking University formed the bulk of the protesters of the May Fourth Movement. Efforts by the Beiyang government to end the protests by sealing off the Peking University campus led to Cai's resignation. In 1920, Peking University became the first Chinese university to accept female students.

After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 (and the resulting expansion of Japanese territorial control in east China), Peking University moved to Changsha and formed the Changsha Temporary University along with Tsinghua University and Nankai University. In 1938, the three schools moved again, this time to Kunming, and formed theNational Southwestern Associated University. In 1946, after World War II, Peking University moved back to Beijing. At that time, the university comprised six schools (Arts, Science, Law, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture), and a research institute for humanities. The total student enrollment grew up to 3,000.

In 1949, after the People's Republic of China was established, Peking University lost its "national" appellation to reflect the fact that all universities under the new socialist state would be public. In 1952, Mao Zedong's government re-grouped the country's higher education institutions with individual institutions tending to specialize in a certain field of study. As a result, some arts and science faculties of Tsinghua University and former Yenching University were merged into Peking University. At the same time, however, the university lost its Law, Medicine, Engineering and Agriculture schools. These schools and faculties were either merged into other universities or to found new colleges. During the re-grouping, Yenching University was closed up. Peking University moved from downtown Beijing to the former Yenching campus.

The first disturbances of the Cultural Revolution began at Peking University in 1966; education there ceased between 1966 and 1970.

In 2000, Beijing Medical University was merged back into Peking University and became the Peking University Health Science Campus. Beijing Medical University used to be Medical School of Peking University and was separated from Peking University at 1952. Peking University now has eight affiliated hospitals and 12 teaching hospitals.

In 2001, Peking University established the Yuanpei Program which was formalized in 2007 as Yuanpei College, named in honor of a highly respected former university presidentCai Yuanpei. The college hosts an elite undergraduate liberal program for select students.

In 2001, Peking University set up a satellite campus in Shenzhen. The university's second business school was launched on this campus in 2004.

Accreditation

Institutional Accreditation or Recognition - Ministry of Education of The People's Republic of China

Global Rankings

101-150 - ARWU
42 - Times
41 - QS

Asia Rankings

6-15 - ARWU
4 - Times
9 - QS (Global version)
7 - QS (Asia version)

Student life at Peking University

The campus of Peking University was originally located northeast of the Forbidden City in the center of Beijing, and was later moved to the former campus of Yenching University in 1952. The main campus is in northwest Beijing, in Haidian district, near the Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace; the area is traditionally where many of Beijing's most renowned gardens and palaces were built.

The university campus is in the former site of the Qing Dynasty imperial gardens and it retains much traditional Chinese-style landscaping, including traditional houses, gardens, pagodas, as well as many notable historical buildings and structures. There are several gates that lead into campus — East, West and South gates, with the West Gate being the most well known for the painted murals on its ceiling. Weiming lake is in the north of the campus and is surrounded by walking paths and small gardens.

The university hosts many museums, such as the Museum of University History and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology. Notable items in these museums include funerary objects that were excavated in Beijing and date back thousands of years from the graves of royalties of the Warring States period. There are ritual pottery vessels as well as elaborate pieces of jewelry on display. There are also human bones set up in the traditional burial style of that period.

Beyond its main campus, Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) is on Xue Yuan Road where the country's most distinguished colleges are. The PKUHSC's campus is less aesthetically appealing than the main Peking University campus but is nonetheless a fitting site for academics and research.

In 2001, Peking University's Shenzhen campus, the Shenzhen Graduate School, opened its doors. The campus is located in the northwest part of Shenzhen City.

In 2008, the THE-QS World University Rankings ranked the Peking University as the 23rd best university in the world in arts andhumanities; it is also the highest ranked university from Asia in this field. The Peking University was ranked as the 18th (2007 rankings), 10th (2006 rankings), 6th (2005 rankings), and 7th (2004 rankings) best arts and humanities university in the world.

Peking University is well known for its contribution to modern Chinese literature, poetry and art, and for the publications of groundbreaking modern Chinese books such as Hong Zicheng's A History of Contemporary Chinese Literature. Peking University has participated in many joint art-research projects, such as the Center for the Art of East Asia (CAEA) with the University of Chicago, and developing the Peking University, Department of Digital Art and Design with UNESCO.

Peking University partners with Stanford University for its Asian cultural studies programs such as the Stanford Program in Beijing and the Stanford-Peking University Summer Program, which encourages Stanford students interested in exploring Chinese language, history, culture, and society to study on campus at Peking University.

Why choose Peking University?

Peking University has been a leading institution in China’s higher education since its very establishment in 1898. Over the past century, it has developed into a comprehensive institution of higher learning, embracing diverse branches of knowledge such as humanities and social sciences, engineering and applied sciences, education and medical science, linguistics and management science. Its inclusiveness of liberal arts and sciences highlights the University’s long-standing strength in a well-balanced disciplinary structure.
According to the latest data published by the ESI (Essential Science Indicators), Peking University, among universities and research institutions worldwide, ranked among the top 1% in 18 fields including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and biochemistry, monocular biology and genetics, computer science, engineering, materials science, botany and zoology, earth science, agronomy, psychiatry and psychology, environmental science and ecological science, clinical medicine, pharmacology and toxicology, neuroscience and behavioral science, social science, economics and business, standing out as the best in Mainland China.
The latest data from China’s Ministry of Education regarding the academic performance of universities nationwide also indicate the University’s prominence in humanities, natural sciences and medical sciences. 16 out of its 48 disciplines evaluated were the best in China, 35 ranked the top 3, overtaking other universities by a considerable margin and showing its incomparable comprehensiveness. 16 No.1 disciplines: mathematics, physics, chemistry, geophysics, mechanics, Chinese language and literature, foreign languages and literature, Chinese history, world history, archeology, philosophy, political science, art theory, basic medicine, pharmacology, nursing; 35 disciplines ranked among the top 3 were evenly distributed in 5 faculties, 14 in the faculty of humanities and social sciences, 10 in the faculty of sciences, 5 in engineering, and 6 in medical science.
The employability of graduates in the international job market has become an important criterion to evaluate the performance of a university and the quality of education it offers. The 2012 Global Employability Survey, conducted by the French consultancy ‘Emerging’ and the German research institute ‘Tendence’ among thousands of recruiters from top companies in 20 different countries, ranked PKU graduates No.11 on the list, trailing straight behind other world-renowned universities such as Harvard and Yale, Cambridge and Oxford.
PKU graduates also stand out in the academic community. Among others, Mr. Xiaoliang Xie (B.S. in chemistry at PKU, Prof. of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard) were elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2012, Mr. Xingwang Deng (78’ Biology at PKU, Prof. of Plant Biology at Yale) and Ms. Xuemei Chen (84’ Biology at PKU, Prof. of Plant Cell and Molecular Biology at UCR) were elected Fellow of the American Academy of Sciences in 2013. 7 PKU graduates were awarded Sloan Research Fellowships in 2013 alone.