Hunan University Explained

Hunan University (HNU;) is a national public university in Yuelu, Changsha, Hunan, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction.^[4] It is also a member in the BRICS Universities League.

History

See also: Yuelu Academy. Yuelu Academy was founded in the year 976, during the Song dynasty, as a Confucian shuyuan.

In 1903, during the final years of the Qing dynasty, the Hunan Institute of Higher Education was established.

In 1926, the name of the institution was then changed to Hunan Normal College, and then Hunan Public Polytechnic School, before finally arriving at the name Hunan University.^[5]

In 1937, the academy was transformed from a provincial university into a national university, renamed the National Hunan University, and designated by the Ministry of education, becoming the fifteenth national university.^[6]

From April 1938 to May 1941, the National Hunan University suffered serious losses and, made it difficult to run the school. During the Battle of Changsha, the National Hunan University was suspended.

In 1949, the name Hunan University was again adopted, and the calligraphy of "Hunan University" was written by Mao Zedong in 1950 as soon as the People's Republic of China was founded.^{[7] [8]}

In 1959, Hunan University was officially restored after the national readjustment of higher education institutions.^[9]

In 1963, HNU was subordinated to the First Ministry of Machinery Industry.

In 1978, Hunan University's status as one of the 88 National Key Universities in China was reaffirmed.In 1996, Hunan University became one of the universities sponsored by Project 211.^[10]

In 2000, Hunan University was selected as a member of Project 985.^[11]

In November 2010, the National Supercomputing Changsha Center was built on the Hunan University campus under the management and operation of Hunan University.^[12] It is the first National Supercomputing Center in Central China and the third of its kind apart from other two national centers situated in Tianjin and Shenzhen.^[13]

In 2011, HNU participated in the Excellence League, an alliance of 10 Chinese universities with a strong background in engineering.^[14]

In 2015, HNU joined the BRICS Universities League, a consortium of leading research universities from BRICS countries.^[15] In 2017, Hunan University was listed in the Double First-Class Construction.^{[16] [17]}

Academics and administration

Hunan University is a national key university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of China and a member of Project 211 and Project 985, as well as the Double First Class University Plan.^[18] The administration is led by a CPC secretary and a president. The current secretary is Deng Wei, and the president is Duan Xianzhong.

It has the following colleges and departments:^[19]

• Architecture
• Biology
• Business Administration
• Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
• Chinese Language and Literature
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
• Design
• Economy and Trade
• Educational Science
• Electrical and Information Engineering
• Robotics
• Environmental Science and Engineering
• Finance and Statistics
• Foreign Languages and International Studies
• Journalism and Communication and Film and Television Arts
• Law
• Marxism Studies
• Mathematics and Econometrics
• Materials and Engineering
• Mechanical Vehicle Engineering
• Physical Education
• Public Administration
• Physics and Microelectronics Science
• Yuelu Academy
• Semiconductors (Integrated Circuits)^[20]
• Interdisciplinary Institute of Life Medicine^[21]
• Hunan University Library
• Hunan University Press

Students and Academics

There are more than 30,000 full-time students, including more than 20,800 undergraduates and more than 14,000 graduate students.^[22] Hunan University has started to recruit international students since 1990s and is one of the Project 985 universities in China to launch an international student program taught entirely in English.^{[23] [24]}

Rankings and reputation

As of 2025, Hunan University was ranked in the top 200 research universities in the world by several global university rankings such as the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking and the CWTS Leiden Ranking.^{[25] [26] [27]}

Hunan University was ranked 259th worldwide in 2024 in terms of aggregate performance by the three widely observed university ranking (THE+ARWU+QS) as reported by the Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities.^[28]

General Rankings

• In the 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), Hunan University ranked #151 globally.
• As of 2025, the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking ranked Hunan University # 109 globally, #21 in Asia, and #12 in China.

Research Rankings

• Hunan University ranked 14th worldwide in the 2016 Nature Index Rising Stars.^[29] In 2018, Hunan University was elected among 16 universities in the world by Nature, called "Movers and Shakers".^[30] In the 2024 Nature Index Research Leaders, which measures the largest groups of papers published in 145 leading high-quality science journals,^[31] Hunan University ranked 45th among the leading academic institutions globally and 24th in the Asia-Pacific region.^[32]
• Hunan University was ranked 89th globally by the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2025 based on the number of their scientific publications in the period 2020–2023.^[33] For the proportion of their scientific publications that rank among the top 10% and 50% in their fields by citations in the 2024 CWTS Leiden Ranking Open Edition, Hunan University ranks 7th globally (1st in Eurasia) and 1st in the world, respectively.^[34]
• In 2020, a research paper by Loet Leydesdorff, a famous scientometrician, employs data from 205 China's leading research-intensive universities, including in the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2020, to classify them into three main groups: Top, Middle, and Bottom. Hunan University (with a Z-score of 10.2) ranks 2nd only to Tsinghua University (z=11.0), which leads the "High Group of 32 Universities".^[35]
• In 2022, 32 HNU faculty members were included in Clarivate's list of Highly Cited Researchers, placing HNU at No. 33 globally and third in China, behind only the Chinese Academy of Science and Tsinghua University.^{[36] [37]}

Subject Rankings

• Hunan University has been ranked in the top 30 global universities in "engineering" by several international rankings, including the U.S. News Rankings, the URAP ranking, and the NTU Ranking.^{[38] [39] [40]} As of 2025, it was ranked #12 globally in "engineering" by the U.S. News Rankings.^[41]

Notable alumni

Among its prominent alumni are

• Cai E, a major leader in defending the Republic of China
• Ci Yungui, the chief designer of China's first super computer^[42]
• Guo Songtao, China's first ambassador to a foreign country
• Wang Fuzhi, a celebrated philosopher in Chinese history
• Wei Yuan, a reformist who first advocated to learn from the West
• Xiong Xiaoge, the first person to introduce high-tech venture funds into China
• Zeng Guofan, the first Chinese to initiate the Modernization Movement (at the time called Yangwu Yundong, a movement to imitate overseas technology and industry) and to make arrangements for a modern factory in China
• Zhang Dafang, former vice Chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
• Zhang Fengxuan, the first Chinese to set foot on the continent of Antarctica^[43]
• Zuo Zongtang, a national hero who arranged to build China's first modern navy and took great pains to defend and develop Xinjiang

See also

• President of Hunan University
• Hunan University faculty
• Hunan University station
• List of universities in China

External links

• • • University history

Notes and References

1. Web site: 学校简介. July 1, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150307204933/http://www.hnu.edu.cn/html/hudagaikuang/xuexiaojianjie/. March 7, 2015.
2. Web site: Admonition of Hunan University . July 1, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714110458/http://www-en.hnu.edu.cn/About%20HNU/HNU%20Values/2010-12-02/76.html . July 14, 2014 . dead .
3. Web site: https://www.hnu.edu.cn/hdgk/xxjj.htm . zh:湖南大学简介 . 2019 . Hunan University . zh . 2020-02-18.
4. Web site: "双一流"-湖南简况 . 2025-04-25 . www.hunan.gov.cn.
5. Web site: Yuelu Academy . 2024-03-06 . www-en.hnu.edu.cn.
6. Web site: 湖南大学改归国立 . 2015-07-07 . 微信湖南大学.
7. Web site: 历史沿革-湖南大学 (Historical evolution - Hunan University) . 2021-11-09 . www.hnu.edu.cn.
8. Web site: History-湖南大学英文网 . 2021-11-09 . www-en.hnu.edu.cn.
9. Web site: History of Hunan University . 2022-04-30 . www-en.hnu.edu.cn.
10. Web site: Developmental History-Hunan University . 2022-06-05 . mve.hnu.edu.cn.
11. Web site: Project 211 and 985 - China Education Center . 2021-10-10 . www.chinaeducenter.com.
12. Web site: National Supercomputing Center in Changsha Settles in Hunan University . 2022-10-11 . www-en.hnu.edu.cn.
13. Web site: 2010-11-28 . Hunan starts building supercomputing center . 2022-10-11 . www.chinadaily.com.cn.
14. Web site: 2011-11-07 . "卓越联盟"津门聚会强强联合培养卓越人才 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130126094132/http://www.tju.edu.cn/newscenter/headline/201111/t20111107_115402.htm . 2013-01-26 . 2013-05-26 . 天津大学.
15. Web site: 2017-08-23 . BRICS Network University . https://web.archive.org/web/20170823151524/http://nu-brics.ru/university/49/ . 2017-08-23 . 2022-10-02 .
16. News: 21 September 2017 . China to develop 42 world-class universities . People's Daily .
17. Web site: September 20, 2017 . 教育部 财政部 国家发展改革委 关于公布世界一流大学和一流学科建设高校及建设 学科名单的通知 (Notice from the Ministry of Education and other national governmental departments announcing the list of double first class universities and disciplines) . zh-Hans.
18. Web site: 2005-06-29. 全国重点大学名单. live. 2016-03-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220926/http://www.eol.cn/article/20050629/3142081.shtml.
19. Web site: Schools & Colleges-湖南大学英文网 . 2023-07-15 . www-en.hnu.edu.cn.
20. Web site: 学院简介-湖南大学半导体学院(集成电路学院) . 2023-07-15 . sic.hnu.edu.cn.
21. Web site: 生命医学交叉研究院简介-湖南大学生命医学交叉研究院 . 2023-07-15 . smyjy.hnu.edu.cn.
22. Web site: 学校简介 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150307204933/http://www.hnu.edu.cn/html/hudagaikuang/xuexiaojianjie/ . March 7, 2015 . May 3, 2019 . Hunan University . 1.
23. Web site: International Students at Hunan University . 2020-11-12 . www.at0086.com.
24. Web site: Degree Programs Open to Foreign Applicants in 2009-2010 Academic Year-湖南大学英文网 . 2020-06-28 . Hunan University.
25. Web site: ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities . 2025-10-30 . www.shanghairanking.com.
26. Web site: 2025-06-17 . Best Global Universities Rankings: Hunan University . 2025-06-17 . U.S. News & World Report.
27. Web site: Studies (CWTS) . Centre for Science and Technology . CWTS Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition . 2025-10-30 . CWTS Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition . en.
28. Web site: Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities . 2024-12-17 . research.unsw.edu.au.
29. Web site: Top 100 institutions Nature Index 2016 Rising Stars Nature Index Supplements. 2020-05-13. Nature Index.
30. Krieger . Anja . Nogrady . Bianca . Savage . Neil . Zastrow . Mark . 2018-09-19 . Movers and shakers . Nature . en . 561 . 7723 . S26–S29 . 10.1038/d41586-018-06625-5 . 30232446 . 2018Natur.561S..26K . free.
31. Web site: FAQ Nature Index . 2024-06-18 . www.nature.com.
32. Web site: 2024 Research Leaders: Leading academic institutions Nature Index . 2024-06-18 . www.nature.com.
33. Web site: Studies (CWTS) . Centre for Science and Technology . CWTS Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition . 2025-10-30 . CWTS Leiden Ranking Traditional Edition . en.
34. Web site: Studies (CWTS) . Centre for Science and Technology . CWTS Leiden Ranking Open Edition . 2024-10-26 . CWTS Leiden Ranking Open Edition . en.
35. 2011.08591 . cs.DL . Loet . Leydesdorff . Caroline S. . Wagner . Are University Rankings Statistically Significant? A Comparison among Chinese Universities and with the USA . 2020-11-17 . Zhang . Lin.
36. Web site: November 28, 2022 . The Most Highly Cited Researchers and Institutions of 2022 . 2022-12-01 . www.laboratoryequipment.com . en.
37. Web site: Highly Cited Researchers - Analysis . 2022-12-01 . Clarivate . en.
38. Web site: 2022-10-25 . US News: Best Global Universities for Engineering 2023 . 2022-10-25 . U.S. News & World Report.
39. Web site: Field - Engineering By 2022 Ranking . 2022-09-25 . nturanking.csti.tw.
40. Web site: URAP - University Ranking by Academic Performance: 2023 Engineering . 2023-08-01 . URAP - University Ranking by Academic Performance.
41. Web site: 2025-06-17 . US News: Best Global Universities for Engineering 2025 . 2024-10-02 . U.S. News & World Report.
42. Web site: 慈云桂：中国巨型计算机之父-科普中国 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180923054323/http://www.xinhuanet.com/science/2018-09/22/c_137484278.htm . dead . September 23, 2018 . 2020-10-13 . www.xinhuanet.com.
43. Web site: 歙县人张逢铿博士仙逝，第一个登上南极中国人！曾4回故土，重培育儿子爱祖国爱家乡情怀！-湖南大学校友总会 . 2020-10-13 . xyzh.hnu.edu.cn.