Soochow University (abbreviated as Suda; ) is a provincial

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is affiliated with the Province of Jiangsu, and co-funded by the SASTIND and the provincial government. The university is part of

Project 211 Project 211 ( zh, c=, links=no, s=211工程) was a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the government of China for "preparing approximately 100 universities for the 21st century", initiated in November 1995. There were 115 ...

and the

Double First-Class Construction The World First-Class Universities and First-Class Academic Disciplines Construction (), together known as Double First-Class Construction (), is a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the Chinese central government, initiated ...

. The university's genesis can be historically traced to the original Soochow University (東吳大學) founded by

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

s in 1900, which was later split and merged with a couple of institutions.

History

The original Soochow University () was founded by

s in Suzhou in 1900 as a merger of three existing institutions: the Po-hsi Academy, the Kung-hsiang Academy, and the Chung-hsi Academy by David Lawrence Anderson who became its first president. Originally known as the Central University of China, it was renamed the Soochow University in the Republic of China period. The word Soochow in its English name is the old spelling of the city's Chinese name according to the early postal romanisation. The original Chinese name 東吳 (Tung-wu) refers to one of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

in the ancient time, of which the region of Suzhou was an important part. The university was split in 1949 as a result of the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

, and merged with the Southern Jiangsu College of Culture and Education and the Department of Mathematics and Physics at

Jiangnan University Jiangnan University () is a public university located in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-sponsored with the Jiangsu Provincial Government. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First- ...

to form the ''Jiangsu Teacher's College'' in 1952. The English name Soochow University was revived in 1982; however, the original Chinese name 東吳 (Tung-wu) was not adopted, and the institution was given the Chinese name 蘇州 (Soochow). The Suzhou College of Sericulture, Suzhou Institute of Silk Textile Technology and Suzhou Medical College were each merged into the university in 1995, 1997 and 2000 successively. Members of the Soochow Alumni Association who fled to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

after 1949 established the Soochow University in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, starting with its College of Law in 1951 and becoming a full-fledged university with five schools in 1971.

Academics

Accreditation and memberships

The university is part of the national " 211 Project" and is a "2011 Plan" university. It is also one of the Jiangsu provincial key comprehensive universities. Soochow University currently has 26 post-doctoral programs, 24 main discipline doctoral programs, including 167 doctoral programs with different areas of emphasis, one professional doctoral program, 47 main discipline master's programs, including 244 master's degrees with different areas of emphasis, 21 professional master's programs, and 124 undergraduate programs. Today, Soochow University has developed into a comprehensive university with 12 major disciplines: philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, management science, and art. Soochow University is one of the top 5% research universities (overall ranking 28 within 704 Chinese universities in 2017), and a member of the "2011 plan" - the latest program launched in 2011 by the Chinese Ministry of Education to develop into world class top universities. Soochow University is a member of

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...

University Alliances.

Rankings and reputation

The U.S. News & World Report 2023 ranked Soochow University 331st in the world, 56th in Asia and 30 in China. The Times Higher Education Word University Rankings ranked Soochow University 17th in China, and 501–600 in the world. CWUR World University Ranking 2023 ranked Soochow University 233rd worldwide and 27th nationwide.

Campus

The university consists of 6 campuses covering an area of 135 hectares and with 940,000 square meters of building area. The main and most beautiful campus is located at No.1 Shizi Street. The total enrollment is more than 39,000 students, including more than 28,000 graduates/undergraduates and more than 11,000 adult students of formal education. The campus grounds have been described as among China's most beautiful, in part based on the incorporation of "typical features of the classical gardens in Suzhou".

Schools and Departments

*School of Humanities *School of Communication - received financial support provided by

Phoenix Television Phoenix Television is a majority State-owned enterprise, state-owned television network that offers Standard Chinese, Mandarin and Cantonese-language channels that serve mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and other markets with substantial C ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

until 2018. *School of Social Science *School of Politics and Public Administration *School of Education *School of Business *Kenneth Wang School of Law *School of Foreign Languages *Gold Mantis School of Architecture and Urban Environment *School of Mathematical Sciences *School of Physical Science and Technology & School of Energy *School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science *School of Computer Science and Technology *School of Electronic Information *School of Mechanic and Electronic Engineering *School of Textile and Clothing Engineering *School of Arts *School of Music *School of Sports Science *Medical College - merged with the previously independent Suzhou Medical College in 2000. *School of Rail Transportation *School of Iron and Steel *Applied Technology College *Wenzheng College *School of Overseas Education

International collaboration

The university has established several joint programs with foreign universities: *Soochow University and

Athabasca University Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first Canadian ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

offer a joint degree program for Chinese undergraduate students, who study in Suzhou and are awarded a Bachelor of Management degree (from Athabasca) and a Bachelor of Administration degree (from Soochow) upon completing four years of coursework. All courses are delivered in English. * Daejin University, a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n private university, operates one of its two China campuses on the Soochow University grounds, with the other campus located at Harbin Normal University. Daejin maintains its own building with accommodation and classrooms. *

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private university, private, Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, Cornell Law School offers four degree programs (Juris Doctor, JD, Maste ...

(United States) and Bucerius Law School (Germany) operate a Summer Law Institute in partnership with Soochow's Kenneth Wang School of Law. *

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

, a private

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

college in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in the United States, and Soochow University will offer a comprehensive partnership that will include a joint programme between Soochow University School of Music and Bard College Conservatory of Music, exploration leading to the creation of The

Bard College Liberal Arts Academy at Soochow University In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's an ...

, and student exchange.

Notable alumni

The following people attended Soochow University after 1900, or one of the institutions that later merged with the university:Soochow University, Suzhou (2010)
Alumni
. Retrieved 4 October 2010. * Yang Jiang (Yang Chiang, 楊絳) - playwright, author and translator. * Tan Jiazhen (Tan Chia-Chen, 談家楨) - geneticist, founder of modern Chinese genetics; member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of United States. *

Zhao Puchu Zhao Puchu (November 5, 1907 – May 21, 2000) was a religious and public leader who promoted cultural progress and religious tolerance in China. Zhao was best known as president of the Buddhist Association of China and also one of the most r ...

(趙樸初) - religious and public leader, president of the Buddhist Association of China, renowned Chinese calligrapher. *

Lu Zhiwei Lu Zhiwei (; 6 February 1894 – 21 November 1970), also known as C. W. Luh, was an influential Chinese psychologist and linguist from Wuxing, Zhejiang. He was also an important figure in Chinese poetry, both for his critical ideas and as a poe ...

(Lu Chih-wei, 陸志韋) - psychologist and linguist, influential figure in Chinese modern poetry. * Chiang Wei-kuo (蔣緯國) - adopted son of Chiang Kai-shek, former Army general of Republic of China. *

Jin Yong Louis Cha Leung-yung (; 10 March 1924 – 30 October 2018), better known by his pen name Jin Yong (), was a Hong Kong wuxia novelist and co-founder of '' Ming Pao.'' Cha authored 15 novels between 1955 and 1972 and became one of the most pop ...

(Louis Cha Leung-yung, 金庸) - novelist and essayist, co-founder of the Hong Kong daily newspaper Ming Pao and its first editor-in-chief. * Thomas Dao - Chinese American physician and specialist in breast cancer. * Nora Lam (Neng Yee-sung, 宋能爾) - Christian religious leader, Chinese Protestant Christian minister. * Li Haopei - international law academic and jurist * Ma Ke - fashion designer * Chen Yanqing - weightlifter, Olympic gold medalist. *

Sun Yang Sun Yang (; ; born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Swimming at the Summer Olympics, Olympic and former List of world records in swimming, world-record-holding competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete ...

– Swimmer, Olympic and world-record holder.

References

External links

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{{authority control Project 211 Universities in China with English-medium medical schools Universities and colleges established in 1900 Universities and colleges in Suzhou 1900 establishments in China 1900 in Suzhou