When the Imperial University of Peking opened a Normal College in 1902, it did more than establish a new school — it drew the blueprint for modern Chinese education itself. No institution had ever been tasked with training teachers for an entire nation before. Over the decades that followed, that college became Beijing Normal University, absorbing Peking Women’s Normal University in 1931 and Fu Jen Catholic University in 1952, growing into the template that virtually every normal university in China would follow. Now a Class A Double First-Class institution with 12 first-class disciplines, BNU operates across five campuses in Beijing and one in Zhuhai, enrolling 9,491 full-time undergraduates and 12,803 full-time graduate students at its Beijing campuses, with an additional 7,446 undergraduates and 4,401 graduate students in Zhuhai. Its 2,762 full-time faculty members include 7 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, and 430 recipients of national-level talent program designations across fields as varied as education, psychology, geography, and history.
BNU was selected for Project 211 during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, entered the 985 Project in 2002, and was designated a Class A Double First-Class university in 2017 with 11 first-class disciplines, expanding to 12 in the second round in 2022. The academic structure spans 3 academic divisions, 29 schools, and 9 research institutes, offering 77 undergraduate programs, 35 first-level master’s degree authorization points, 34 first-level doctoral authorization points, 10 professional doctoral categories, 26 professional master’s categories, and 30 post-doctoral research stations. BNU was among the first 6 universities granted independent authority to approve undergraduate program offerings in 2002 and among the first 20 universities authorized for independent degree-conferring review in 2018. The university’s motto, “Learn to be a teacher, act to be a model,” was inscribed by the renowned scholar and calligrapher Qi Gong and is one of the most widely quoted university mottos in China, appearing at campus entrances and in official materials across generations of educators.
BNU’s research infrastructure includes 4 National Key Laboratories, 2 National Engineering Research Centers, 1 National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station, 1 National Collaborative Innovation Center, and 5 National Textbook Construction Key Research Bases. The university also hosts 10 Ministry of Education Key Laboratories, 7 MOE Engineering Research Centers, 2 MOE Field Scientific Observation Stations, and 1 MOE International Joint Laboratory. One national high-end think tank and 7 MOE Key Research Bases for Humanities and Social Sciences anchor BNU’s policy influence. The faculty of 2,762 full-time teachers includes 2,175 with senior professional titles. Generations of BNU faculty and alumni have shaped China’s education system and social sciences since the early 20th century, making it the intellectual home of education policy in China.
BNU maintains institutional partnerships with more than 160 universities and research institutions across 40 countries, including sustained collaborations with Oxford University, Stanford University, the University of Helsinki, and other world-leading institutions. The Zhuhai campus, formally approved by the Ministry of Education in 2019, operates as a full second campus rather than a branch, offering its own undergraduate and graduate programs with 7,446 undergraduates and 4,401 graduate students enrolled. BNU’s global engagement includes hosting the Chinese Culture International Communication Research Institute in partnership with the State Council Information Office, and its Confucius Institute network extends across multiple continents. With 34 first-level doctoral programs, 30 post-doctoral stations, and 12 first-class disciplines, BNU continues as China’s oldest and most influential teacher-training institution among the 36 Class A Double First-Class universities, carrying forward its founding commitment to education as the foundation of national development.
Data Source: BNU Official Website