Beijing Normal University (BNU) () is a public university in Haidian,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China. It is affiliated with the

Ministry of Education of China The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China is a constituent department of the State Council, responsible for basic education, vocational education, higher education, and other educational affairs throughout the country. The ...

, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the

Beijing Municipal People's Government The Beijing Municipal People's Government is the local administrative agency of Beijing. It is officially elected by the Beijing Municipal People's Congress and is formally responsible to the BMPC and its Standing Committee. The municipal governm ...

. It is a renowned institution of higher education known for teacher education, education science and basic learning in both the arts and the sciences. 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 ...

Project 985 Project 985 () was a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the Chinese central government for creating world-class higher education institutions, initiated in May 1998. There were 39 universities selected to be part of this ...

, 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 ...

History

Beijing Normal University (BNU) traces its origins to 1902, when the Department of Education of Imperial University of Peking () was established under the decree of the Qing Dynasty Emperor. As the first institution in Chinese history dedicated primarily to teacher training and educational specialization, it laid the foundation for modern higher education in China. In 1908, the school became independent and was renamed the Supreme Education School of Peking (). By 1923, the institution had evolved into the National Beijing Normal University (), marking the first use of the " Normal University" designation in China. A significant expansion occurred in 1931 when the Peking Women's Normal University () merged with the university, then known as Peking Normal University (). Following the

establishment of the People's Republic of China The proclamation of the People's Republic of China was made by Mao Zedong, the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on October 1, 1949, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The government of a new state under the CCP, formally called t ...

in 1949, the institution was renamed Beijing Normal University. The university underwent further consolidation in 1952 when

Fu Jen Catholic University Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private education, private Catholic university in Xinzhuang District, Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and ...

was merged into BNU as part of a nationwide reorganization of higher education. Seven years later, in 1959, the Chinese Ministry of Education designated BNU as one of China's 20

National Key Universities National Key Universities () is a term previously used to refer to universities recognized as prestigious and which received a high level of support from the central government of the People's Republic of China. The term is no longer in official u ...

, affirming its leading role in academia. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, BNU strengthened its position through participation in major national initiatives. It was included in

(1996), a program aimed at enhancing around 100 universities for 21st-century development, and later in

(2002), which sought to elevate a select group of institutions to global prominence. The university gained international recognition in 2009 when ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described it as "one of the most progressive institutions" in China. BNU's academic standing was further solidified in 2017 when it was listed among China's

universities (comprising 36 institutions), with 11 of its disciplines ranking among the nation's best. That same year, BNU expanded its footprint by partnering with the Guangdong Provincial Government and Zhuhai Municipal Government to establish a new campus in

Zhuhai Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...

. The BNU Zhuhai Campus received official approval from the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

in April 2019, marking a new phase in the university's development. Lize building BNUZ

Academics

International collaboration

Beijing Normal University is part of a university consortium, including the University for Continuing Education Krems,

Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in ...

, Hochschule Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology and the

University of Tampere The University of Tampere (UTA) (, ) was a public university in Tampere, Finland that was merged with Tampere University of Technology to create the new Tampere University on 1 January 2019. The university offered undergraduate, postgraduate an ...

, which offers an

Erasmus+ Erasmus+ is the European Commission's programme for education, training, youth, and sport for the 2021–2027 period, succeeding the previous programme (2014–2020). As an integrated programme, Erasmus+ offers more opportunities for the mobi ...

joint master's degree and a Master in Research and Innovation in Higher Education. Beijing Normal University was among the first Chinese institutions to accept international students. It is particularly popular for its

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

study programs. Among its most prestigious programs is ''Princeton in Beijing'', a collaboration with

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in the United States. The university collaborates with the

Singapore University of Social Sciences The Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) is a public autonomous university in Singapore. Established in 2017, SUSS focuses on applied degree programmes primarily in the social sciences. In 2017, SUSS received its inaugural class of ...

(SUSS) on SUSS's Master of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature. Beijing Normal University is the seat of the BRICS Universities League Secretariat with BNU as a leading university in terms of

BRICS BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The idea of a BRICS-like group can be traced back to Russian foreign ...

higher education and academic cooperation.

Rankings and reputation

As of 2025, BNU was ranked first in China, 2nd in Asia, and 7th the world by the ''QS World University Rankings by Subjects'' for "Education and Training", which are historical strengths for the Faculty of Education that originated as a " normal university". BNU is ranked 36th among the Global Top 100 Innovative Universities according to the World's Universities with Real Impacts (WURI) Ranking 2021. According to the 2021

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

, BNU was ranked among the top 170 in "Arts and Humanities", "Social Sciences & Management" and "Natural Science" related subjects. Beijing Normal University consistently features in the top 300th global universities as ranked by the

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

, the

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...

and the U.S. News & World Report. Beijing Normal graduates are highly desired in China and worldwide; in 2017, its graduate employability rankings placed in the global top #200+ universities with high-achieving graduates. Internationally, Beijing Normal University was regarded as one of the most reputable Chinese universities by the ''

Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...

'' where, it has ranked #126 globally. *

QS World University Ranking The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with ''Times Hig ...

: 262nd, 12th in China *

: 151-200th *

: 146th worldwide, 26th in Asia and 9th in China

Campus

The main campus is in the

Haidian District Haidian () is a northwest urban district of Beijing, bordering Xicheng, Beijing, Xicheng and Fengtai, Beijing, Fengtai. It is in area, making it the second-largest district in urban Beijing area (after Chaoyang, Beijing, Chaoyang), and is home ...

, with other Beijing campuses in the

Changping District Changping District (), formerly Changping County (), is a district situated in the suburbs of north and northwest Beijing. Changping has a population of 2,269,487 as of November 2020, making it the most populous suburban district of Beijing. Hist ...

and

Xicheng District Xicheng () is a district of the city of Beijing. Its cover the western half of the old city (largely inside the 2nd Ring Road; the eastern half is Dongcheng District, Beijing, Dongcheng District), and has 1,106,214 inhabitants (2020 Census). It ...

as well as a campus in

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. The original campus was near Hepingmen and

Liulichang Liulichang () is a street in Xicheng, Beijing, Xicheng District, Beijing that is known for a series of traditional Chinese stone dwellings selling various craftwork, artistry, and antiques. It is one of Beijing's traditional old quarters. Histo ...

in the center of Beijing during the

Republic of China 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 ...

period. After Fu Jen University merged with BNU the Fu Jen campus in

Shichahai Shichahai () is a historic scenic area consisting of three lakes in the north of central Beijing. They are located directly northwest of the Forbidden City and north of the Beihai Lake. Shichahai consists of the following three lakes: Qianhai () ...

became the Northern Campus of BNU. Beijing Normal University's current campus was built in 1954. It is located in central northwest Beijing in Haidian district between the second and third ring roads. It is the closest of all Haidian universities to

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

. Its campus hosted the

U.S. Olympic Team The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The United ...

during the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Notable alumni

Mo Yan Guan Moye (; born 5 March 1955), better known by the pen name Mo Yan (, ), is a Chinese novelist and short story writer. In 2012, Mo was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work as a writer "who with hallucinatory realism merges fol ...

, writer, 2012

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

laureate *

Liu Xiaobo Liu Xiaobo (; 28 December 1955 – 13 July 2017) was a Chinese literary criticism, literary critic, human rights activist, philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who called for political reforms and was involved in campaigns to end Ch ...

, writer and dissident, 2010

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

laureate * Su Tong, novelist * Bi Shumin, writer *

Cao Shui Cao Shui (; born June 5, 1982), also known as Shawn Cao, courtesy name Yaou (Eurasian), pseudonym or ''hao'' Lord of Tower of Babel, is a Chinese poet, novelist, screenwriter and translator. He is one of the representative figures of Chinese Co ...

, poet, novelist and screenwriter *

Xie Jun Xie Jun (born October 30, 1970) is a Chinese chess grandmaster and is the first Asian woman to become a chess grandmaster. She had two separate reigns as Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 and again from 1999 to 2001. Xie is one ...

, chess grandmaster *

Zhu Jin Zhu Jin () (867–918) was a warlord late in the Chinese Tang dynasty who would later be a major general of the Wu (also known as Hongnong) state during the subsequent Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. In the late Tang years, Zhu Jin, a ...

, astronomer *

Lang Ping "Jenny" Lang Ping (; born 10 December 1960) is a Chinese former volleyball player and coach. She is the former head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team and U.S. women's national volleyball team. As a player, Lang won the mos ...

, gold medalist in

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

women's volleyball, and former head coach of the U.S. women's national volleyball team *

Chen Yibing Chen Yibing (; born 19 December 1984) is a Chinese gymnastics, gymnast, a four-time world champion on still rings. Chen was part of the Chinese team that won the gold medal in the team event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2006 ...

, gymnast,

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

gold medalist * Xu Jialu, professor of Chinese, politician, and former vice chairman of the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

* Yuan Guiren, professor of philosophy, and the former

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

of the People's Republic of China * Chen Zongxing, a Chinese male politician, who served as the vice chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. * Liu Bin, a Chinese official who previously served as the National Chief Educational Inspector * Yu Dan, professor well known for her popular and controversial lectures about the

Analects The ''Analects'', also known as the ''Sayings of Confucius'', is an ancient Chinese philosophical text composed of sayings and ideas attributed to Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been compiled by his followers. ...

broadcast on

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is the State media, national television broadcaster of China, established in 1958. CCTV is operated by the National Radio and Television Administration which reports directly to the Publicity Department of th ...

* Wang Dezhao or Ouang Te Tchao, prominent Chinese physicist, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, student of French physicist Paul Langevin and founder of

underwater acoustics Underwater acoustics (also known as hydroacoustics) is the study of the propagation of sound in water and the interaction of the mechanical waves that constitute sound with the water, its contents and its boundaries. The water may be in the oce ...

in China, Officier of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour. * Wang Xiaodong, elected member of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

, former biochemist at the

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern or UTSW) is a public academic health science center in Dallas, Texas. With approximately 23,000 employees, more than 3,000 full-time faculty, and nearly 4 million outpatient ...

, and currently Director and Investigator at the National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing (NIBS, Beijing) * Liang Jun, teacher and women's rights activist *

Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the 4th premier of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from ...

, a Chinese physiologist who is a professor at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

, and currently president of

Zhengzhou University Zhengzhou University (ZZU; ) is a provincial public university in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Henan. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. Zhengzhou University is rank ...

. * Chang Kai, a Chinese physicist currently serving as research fellow at the Institute of Semiconductors,

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

(CAS). *

Timothy Geithner Timothy Franz Geithner (; born August 18, 1961) is an American former central banker who served as the 75th United States secretary of the treasury under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank o ...

, 75th

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

. He attended as a language student studying

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

in 1982 as an undergraduate at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. *

Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York since 2009 ...

, United States Senator from New York. She attended as an undergraduate in

's FSP program. *

Connie Britton Connie Britton (born Constance Elaine Womack; March 6, 1967) is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. She gained prominence for her roles in the television series ''S ...

, actress. She also attended as a language student in

's FSP program and was the roommate of

Affiliated high schools

* Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University *

The High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University The High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University () is a public secondary school affiliated with Beijing Normal University, located in Xicheng, Beijing, Xicheng, Beijing, China. Alumni *Zhao Shiyan *Ma Dayou *Qian Xuesen *Ma Dayou *Li Landi ...

* The Second High School Attached to Beijing Normal University

References

External links

BNU Official Site

MDJS BBS @BNU (, telnet, ssh)BNU Student Forum
{{authority control Teachers colleges in China Universities and colleges in Beijing Universities and colleges in Haidian District Universities and colleges in Guangdong Project 211 Project 985 Plan 111 Universities and colleges established in 1902 1902 establishments in China Zhuhai Vice-ministerial universities in China 1902 in Beijing