South China Normal University (SCNU) is a provincial public normal university in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

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 ...

, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Guangdong, and co-sponsored by the provincial government and 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 ...

. The university is part of 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 ...

and

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 ...

. The university is featured distinctively by both teaching and research, consisting of diverse branches of learning such as

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

. There is also an elementary school affiliated with this university.

Motto

For more than 80 years, the school has changed its name and moved several times. Although it has gone through vicissitudes of life, it has never stopped. Generations of Chinese teachers have inherited the fine tradition of "researching advanced academics and nurturing professional talents in the society" of the Teachers' College of Mengqin University, and inherited Southern University's revolutionary spirit of "loyalty, unity, simplicity and humility, hardworking and courage, seeking truth from facts", and practiced it The school motto of arduous struggle, rigorous academic research, truth-seeking and innovation, and being a good example of others" has been passed down from generation to generation, and has jointly created the prosperity and development of the university today.

History

Location and campus

The university has four campuses: * Main campus (Shipai campus),

Tianhe District Tianhe District () is one of the eleven districts of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. In Chinese, the name Tianhe literally means "River of Heaven", which is also a Chinese name for the Milky Way. It is bordered by Yuexiu District ...

* HEMC (

Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center (HEMC), Guangzhou University Town or Guangzhou University City ( zh, s=广州大学城) is an area featured by higher education institutions, located on Xiaoguwei Island ( zh, s=小谷围岛) in Panyu Distri ...

) campus,

Panyu District Panyu, Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanized as Punyü, is one of 11 District (China), urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, Guangdong Province, China. Since January 1975, Panyu County has bee ...

, Guangzhou, Guangdong * Nanhai campus,

Nanhai District Nanhai District (), is a district of Foshan, Guangdong, China. Its government is the first to have developed e-government informatization at the county level in China. History Establishment of Nanhai is traditionally attributed two brothers c ...

Foshan Foshan (, ; Chinese: 佛山) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the Pearl River Delta m ...

, Guangdong * Shanwei campus, Chengqu district,

Shanwei Shanwei ( zh, c= ), or Swabue, or also commonly known as Hailufeng ( zh, c= , portmanteau of Haifeng and Lufeng) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Jieyang to the east, Meizhou and ...

, Guangdong

Administration

South China Normal University (SCNU) was founded in 1933, before which it was named Guangdong Provincial Teacher's College of Xiangqin University. It became a member of

in 1996, after which it was constructed and supported by People's Government and Ministry of Education in Guangdong Province in 2015. In 2017, SCNU became a member of the country's

. South China Normal University provides a variety of subjects, including philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, science, technology, agriculture, medical, management and art. South China Normal University has more than 30 schools and colleges, and offers 84 undergraduate programs, over 200 graduate programs, and over 100 doctoral programs. In 2017, there were 24,894 undergraduates, 7553 postgraduates and 842 doctoral candidates. There are approximately 1000 long-term international students from more than 100 countries every year. The university has a group of highly qualified experts, professors and teachers. There are now 1979 full-time teachers, among which more than a half are postgraduates' tutors and doctoral supervisors. At present, SCNU has dozens of State Key Laboratory and engineering research centers. The current president is Dr. Wang Enke.

Academics

Schools and Departments

Shipai Campus

* School of Education * School of Politics & Administration * School of Marxism * School of History & Culture * School of Foreign Studies * School of Special Education * College of International Culture * School of Fine Arts * School of Tourism Management * School of Information Technology in Education * School of Mathematical Sciences * School of Life Sciences * School of Geography * School of Computer * School of Psychology * College of Continuing Education * School of Internet Education * Phoenix International School * Institute of Optoelectronic Materials and Technology * College of Biophotonics * School of Professional Development and Research on Primary and Secondary Education * Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation * South China Research Center for Applied Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Studies

HEMC Campus

* School of Literature * School of Economics& Management * School of Law * School of Politics and Public Administration * School of physical education & sports science * School of Music * School of Physics and Telecommunications Engineering * School of Chemistry * School of Tourism Management * School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering * South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics * Institute of Quantum Matter * Academy of Front-line Physics Science (物理前沿科学研究院)_{No official translation.} * School of Environment * Academy of Environment * Department of Physics (物理学部)_{No official translation.} * School of Entrepreneurship * Institute for Science, Technology and Society * South China Nuclear Science Computing Center (南方核科学计算中心)_{No official translation.} * Academy of Future Technology (未来科技研究院)_{No official translation.}

Nanhai Campus

* School of Urban Culture * International Business College * School of Software * College of Vocational and Technical Education * College of Nanhai

Shanwei Campus

* Xingzhi College * School of Data Science and Engineering * Department of General Education, Shanwei Campus * School of Meterials and New Energy * College of Vocational and Technical Education * School of Basic Education * School of Business * School of Creative Design

Teaching and Auxiliary Departments

* Network Center * Research Resources Center * Journal of South China Normal University * Archives of SCNU * Libraries of SCNU * Center of Teachers’ Learning and Development * Center of Education and Development

Affiliated Departments

* South China Normal University Hospital * The Affiliated Kindergarten of South China Normal University * The Affiliated High School of SCNU * The Affiliated Primary School of SCNU

South China university libraries

There are the multi-functional libraries on three campuses with more than 3.74 million books. * Shipai campus: Built in 1998, Shipai campus library has an area of 29 thousand square meters. It has around 1.83 million books and 1700 reading seats. * HEMC campus: Built up in 2004, HEMC campus library has an area of 39 thousand square meters. It has around 1.12 million books and 1800 reading seats. * Nanhai campus: Built up in 2002, Nanhai campus library has an area of 14 thousand square meters. It has around 0.61 million books and 1100 reading seats.

Rankings and reputation

As of 2023, South China Normal University was ranked # 400–500th 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 ...

''.

Student life

Student associations

South China University has more than 120 student associations covering five domains: theory and study, society and practice, academic and science technology, entertainment and sport, interest and hobby. To name a few: Student Association of English, Student Association of Psychology, Student Association of Huayun Han Chinese Clothing, Literature Association of Hai Pengzi, Martial Art Association, Guitar Association, etc.

Canteens

Shipai Campus

* Tao Yuan (陶园) * Yong Yuan (雍园) * Qin Yuan (沁园)

HEMC Campus

* Han Yuan (翰园) * Nan Yuan (楠园)

Nanhai Campus

* Xi Yuan (熹园) (renamed to ''Xi Yuan'' in 2017)

References

External links

South China Normal University Official webpage

3D map
{{authority control Teachers colleges in China Universities and colleges established in 1933 Universities and colleges in Guangzhou Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center Tianhe District 1933 establishments in China 1933 in Guangzhou