University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute

History

In 1896, the Nanyang Public School (南洋公學) was founded in Shanghai by the imperial edict of the Guangxu Emperor, under the Business and Telegraphs Office of the Qing imperial government. Four schools were established: a normal school, a school of foreign studies, a middle school, and a high school. Sheng Xuanhuai, the mandarin who proposed the idea to the Guangxu Emperor, became the first president and is, along with missionary educator John Calvin Ferguson, regarded as the founder of the university.

The Ministry of Commerce assumed administration of the college in 1904, and in 1905 changed the college's name to Imperial Polytechnic College of the Commerce Ministry. In 1906, the college was placed under the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs, and its name was changed to Shanghai Industrial College of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. When the Republic of China was founded, the college was placed under the Ministry of Communications and its name was once again changed, this time to Government Institute of Technology of the Communications Ministry.

In 1918, the Republic of China government founded the School of Management. After a merger with two other colleges in 1920, the name changed to Nan Yang College of Chiao Tung.

The college achieved world renown in the 1930s, and was referred to as the "Eastern MIT".[9] In 1938, the Ministry of Education assumed administration of the university and renamed it to National Chiao Tung University (Chinese: 國立交通大學), the name by which daughter institution National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, is known to this day. In 1943, the graduate school was founded.

When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, neither the Communist Party of China (CPC) nor the Kuomintang KMT trusted each other or were actively cooperating. After American-sponsored attempts to negotiate a coalition government failed in 1946, the Chinese Civil War resumed. The CPC defeated the Nationalists in 1949, forcing Chiang's government to retreat to Taiwan. During the evacuation, a part of faculty and alumni was taken to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-shek, founding National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan in 1958.

After the Chinese Civil War, the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. Chiao Tung lost its "National" appellation and became Chiao Tung University to reflect the fact that all universities under the new socialist state would be public.

In the 1950s, the pinyin romanization system was developed in Mainland China and Chiao Tung University changed its English name to Jiao Tong University.

Shanghai Second Medical University was merged into Shanghai Jiao Tong University on July 18, 2005, under the name Medical School of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Since the reform and opening up policy in China, SJTU has grown substantially. It is composed of five campuses, including Xuhui, Minhang, Luwan, Qibao, and Fahua (法华), taking up an area of about 3,225,833 square meters. [10]

In 2013, François Hollande inaugurated the SJTU-ParisTech Elite Institute of Technology (SPEIT), an institution based on the French engineering education system. The four founding member universities are École Polytechnique, ENSTA ParisTech, Mines ParisTech and Télécom ParisTech[11]

The university was also producer of the Academic Ranking of World Universities until 2008.

Advantages of studying here

Internationally, SJTU is ranked among 82nd globally by ARWU (2019). The institution came sixth in the QS BRICS University Rankings and was 27th in the counterpart conducted by Times Higher Education. In 2019, it ranked 17th among the universities around the world by SCImago Institutions Rankings.

Areas of specialisation

Engineering Majors

Description

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU; simplified Chinese: 上海交通大学; traditional Chinese: 上海交通大學) is a major research university in Shanghai. Established on April 8, 1896 as Nanyang Public School by an imperial edict issued by the Guangxu Emperor, it has been referred to as "The MIT of the East" since the 1930s.[5][6][7] It is renowned as one of the oldest, most prestigious and selective universities in China. Shanghai Jiao Tong is a C9 League university and a Chinese Ministry of Education Class A Double First Class University.[8]