Northwest University (NWU) can trace its origins back to Shaanxi Imperial College and Peking Imperial College in 1902. The University received its current name in 1912, and was renamed Northwest National University in 1923. With institutions such as Peking National University, Peking National Normal University and Beiyang National Engineering College, which moved inland to Shaanxi province when the War of Resistance against Japan broke out in 1937, the University merged to form Xi’an National Provisional University. It was then renamed Northwest Associated University in 1938 and regained the name Northwest National University in 1939.
In the early years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Northwest University was a comprehensive university under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. In 1950, the University was renamed Northwest University. In 1958, NWU came under the administration of Shaanxi province. In 1978, NWU was designated as one of the national key universities. NWU has been selected among the first group of the universities with first-class disciplines and the leading universities sponsored by the national “211 Project”. It also enjoys national support from the “One University for One Province Initiative”.
Over the years, following its vision of “promoting the national spirit, integrating the ideas from around the world and shouldering responsibility of developing northwest China” and its motto of “Fairness, Integrity, Diligence and Simplicity”, NWU has attracted a generous number of distinguished scholars, cultivated generations of talents, made a series of significant academic achievements and enjoyed high academic and social reputation. NWU has been honored as “the Mother of Chinese Petroleum Engineering”, “the Cradle of Economists” and “the Cradle of Writers”.
NWU has 3 campuses: the Taibai Campus, the Taoyuan Campus and the Chang’an Campus. They cover a total area approximately 400 acres, and comprise 24 schools and departments, a graduate school, plus one Chinese-Foreign Cooperative Institution, 1 affiliated hospital under the direct administration and 7 affiliated hospital under the indirect administration of NWU. In addition to 87 undergraduate programes, NWU has been authorized to confer master's degree in 37 first-tier disciplines and 20 professional programs, as well as doctoral degrees in 24 first-tier disciplines and 24 Post-doctoral programs. There are 2 national “double first-class” construction disciplines, namely geology and archaeology, 1 first-tier national key discipline (covering 5 second-tier disciplines), 4 second-tier national key disciplines and 1 national key discipline under cultivation. At present, the university has 3 bases for training of top students in basic disciplines of the Ministry of Education, 7 national bases for talent cultivation and national base for the cultural quality education of college students, 7 national experimental teaching demonstration centers and 1 national virtual simulation experimental teaching center, NWU houses 1 national key laboratory, 1 national research center for engineering and teleology, 1 national “Belt and Road” joint laboratory, 1 national innovation talent training demonstration base, 3 national bases for international scientific & technological cooperation, 3 Discipline Innovation and Talent Introduction Bases for Higher Education Institutions, 3 bases of Overseas Expertise Introduction Project for Discipline Innovation (111 Project) 1 national key laboratory jointly-established by Ministry of Education and Shaanxi Province (Preparation), 1 national collaborative Research Center for Archaeology of the Silk Roads, 1 research base for Strengthening the Consciousness of the Community For the Chinese Nation, 1 key research base for the humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education, 3 national and regional research centers of the Ministry of Education and 1 national and regional center of the “Belt and Road” of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. In addition, there are 114 research bases of provincial and ministerial level.
NWU has about 3,080 members of faculty and staff, including 4 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5 double-employed Academicians (professors), 1 member of International Academy of the History of Science, 1 academician of the Academy of the Academy of Sciences of developing countries, 1 foreign academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, 12 winners of the National Outstanding Young Science Fund, 13 winners of the National Excellent Young Science Fund, 18 teachers selected by national “Millions of Talents Program”, 4 Nationally Distinguished Teachers, 26 winners of “the New Century Outstanding Talents Plan” of the Ministry of Education, 6 “Leading Young Talents of Science and Technology Innovation” of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Currently NWU has a student population of over 28,000 including 13,700 undergraduate students, 14,600 graduate students and 600 international students.
To date, NWU has won a number of major scientific research awards, including the National Natural Sciences Awards (the first and second prized), the National Technological Invention Awards (the second prize), the National Scientific & Technological Progress Awards (the second prize), National Teaching Achievements Awards (the first and second prize), Chinese Patent Gold Award, Excellence Scientific Research Award for Institutions of Higher Learning in Humanities and Social Sciences (the first prize).
NWU attaches great importance to international exchanges and cooperation, and has established collaborative relations with more than 120 institutions of higher learning and research in more than 30 foreign countries, including USA, UK, France, Germany and Japan, as well as regions such as Hong Kong and Taiwan. To its credit, NWU is listed as one of the leading universities of the world by the Encyclopedia Britannica.