The University

Its Glorious History

There are not too many great figures in the world, and schools founded by the great figures are even fewer. We are proud that, however, Sun Yat-sen University is one of such schools. It was founded in 1924 by Dr. Sun Yat-sen (Zhongshan being his alias),  the great leader of the Chinese democratic revolution. Its original name was Guangdong University. In 1926, it was renamed Sun Yat-sen University in memory of its founder.

Approved by the Central Government of China, on October 26, 2001, the former Sun Yat-sen University and the former Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences were merged into a new Sun Yat-sen University.

Its academic strength

Sun Yat-sen University is one of the key universities directly under the Ministry of Education of China and it is also a multi-disciplinary tertiary institution achieving the state projects of “985” and “211”, ranking as one of the leading universities in China and at the top in South China.

Sun Yat-sen University offers an extensive range of curricula covering the fields of natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, medical sciences, technology and managerial sciences. Altogether there are 29 schools and other colleges in the University, including the Graduate School, School of Software, College of Network Education and the College of Continuing Higher Education. At the undergraduate level the courses are offered in 97 subject areas; at the graduate level, Master’s degrees are conferred in 251 subject areas and doctorates in 180. Currently the University also offers 23 new specialized degree programs. Furthermore, there are  23 postdoctoral programs.

At present, the student body totals more than 70,000, including nearly 1,600 international students，nearly 4,100 for their doctorate’s degrees, over  9,500 working for their Master’s degrees, about 31,000 pursuing their bachelor’s degrees and near  5.500 for on-job training for doctorate’s or master’s degrees.  Nearly 30,000 are the other categories of students.

The number of faculty members and administrators is about 13,000, of whom 1,004 are professors and 1,672 associate professors, 963 Ph.D supervisors and 2,941  master’s degree supervisors.

Its Beautiful Campus

Sun Yat-sen University has four campuses:

The Guangzhou South Campus

Situated on the southern bank of the Pearl River, the Guangzhou South Campus (the main campus and it is the former Sun Yat-sen University) covers an area of 1.17 square kilometers. In the central area, there are many old buildings of red bricks and green tiles in delighted contrast with new modern ones. With its green lawns, tall trees, bamboo groves, and other lush subtropical vegetation, the campus offers a quiet and pleasant environment for learning and research.. On this campus, there are postgraduates of liberal arts and sciences and parts of senior undergraduates working for their degrees and the Chinese learners from overseas..

The Guangzhou North Campus

Situated in downtown of Guangzhou, the Guangzhou  North  Campus  (the campus of former Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences) has a total area of 0.39 square kilometers. In 1886, Dr. Sun Yat-sen studied medicine and undertook revolutionary activities here. On this campus, there are postgraduates and senior undergraduates for medical sciences working for their degrees. Zhongshan School of Medicine originated from former “South China Medical College” which had a history of more than 140 years and was the first medical school practising western medicine in China.

The Zhuhai Campus

Situated in Tangjia Wan (Tangjia Bay), Zhuhai City, the Zhuhai Campus covers a total area of 3.428 square kilometers, about 120 kilometers away from Guangzhou.  With three sides surrounded by hills and one side facing the sea, the campus enjoys a beautiful landscape and fresh air. Parts of undergraduates (from the 1^st  year to 4^th year students) and parts of first year and second years undergraduates are arranged to study on this campus.

The Guangzhou East Campus

Located in Guangzhou University Town in Xiaoguwei, Panyu, where ten universities have their new campuses including Sun Yat-sen University, the Guangzhou East Campus covers an area of 1.13 square kilometers.  It was opened from September, 2004. Parts of undergraduates (from the 1^st  year to 4^th year students) and parts of first year and second years undergraduates are arranged to study on this campus.

Its Good Facilities

The University boasts excellent facilities and offers satisfactory services. There are special international student dormitory buildings on the Guangzhou South Campus and the Guangzhou North Campus. At present, the international students studying on the Guangzhou East Campus and the Zhuhai Campus have to live in the same dormitory buildings with the Chinese students, but they can apply for the independent rooms there.

On each Campus, there are modern sports facilities including a stadium, swimming pools, tennis courts, volleyball grounds, a gymnasium and so on.

The four Campuses all have libraries and computer networks. The University possesses a collection of more than 4,500,000 volumes of books, together with 15,000 kinds of periodicals, and provides on-line international retrieval service.