Hunan University is also known as the “One Thousand Year Old University”, thanks to its incredible longevity. Developed from the Yuelu Academy founded in 976 AD, Hunan University is China’s oldest higher education institution.

Hunan University is part of both “Project 211” and “Project 985”, two of the Chinese government’s main investment projects in higher education. The university has been state-run since 1937.

For much of the 20th century, the university was primarily a technology and engineering university. Around 30 of its alumni have gone on to become members of either the Chinese Academy of Science or the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Most of the programmes in the engineering department can be studied in English.

In the 2000s the university broadened its curriculum to offer a comprehensive range of subjects. The university now has 23 colleges and departments, as well as the Graduate School.