Xiamen University

Overview

Xiamen University (Xia Da) is a public university located in Xiamen, Fujian, in China. Founded in 1921, it is considered a top university in Southern China with strong academic programs in law, fine arts, journalism, chemistry, mathematics, and communication. Xia Da has three major campuses in the province of Fujian hosting around 40,000 students across all levels. An offshore campus in Malaysia is also being managed by the university.

The degree programs are administered through ten schools. These include the School of Life Sciences, the College of Earth Sciences, the School of Energy Research, the College of Environment and Ecology and the School of Aerospace Engineering. Meanwhile, health-related courses fall under the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the School of Public Health, the Nursing Department, and the Medical College.

Other divisions include the School of Mathematics, Software School, School of Public Affairs, School of Law, the Xiamen Academy of International Law, and the School of Economics. Xia Da also offers special academic programs through its Adult Education College, Professional Technical College, and Internet Education College.

Likewise, Xia Da has a range of international exchange programs with more than 300 institutions overseas. To name a few, it collaborates with universities such as Tokyo Institute of Technology, Cardiff University in Wales, UK, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Eckerd College.

The academic programs in Xiamen University is supported by its high-speed intranet network that provides access, among others, to 3.5 million volumes of library materials. This network is rated the best infrastructure in China, for which it is assigned as one of the nodes of the country’s next-generation internet project: CERNET2.

Looking back, Xia Da can trace its roots to the year 1919 when a Chinese businessman living abroad sponsored the establishment of Amoy University in Amoy (now Xiamen). Evolving eventually into Xiamen University of today, Amoy University would expand throughout the decades. In 1952, it started offering degrees in Arts and Science. About ten years later, it was designated as a state key university. By the seventies, its name was changed to Xiamen after the city’s new name. In 1981, Xiamen University started accepting foreign students.

The university would become a strategic institution in China as it was endowed with state funding to help it become one of the country’s top universities and one of the world’s best universities by 2050.

Notable alumni include personalities in the fields of mathematics, literature, politics, and entertainment. These include Chen Jingrun (mathematics), Lu Xun (literature), Wong Ker-lee (politics, Hong Kong), Zhang Gaoli (politics, China), and Faye Wong (entertainment).