Yangzhou University (YZU) is a key comprehensive provincial university, who pioneered in China in the merging of institutions of higher learning. The university was established in 1992 as a merger of 6 colleges namely, Teachers College of Yangzhou, Agricultural College of Jiangsu, Engineering College of Yangzhou, Medical College of Yangzhou, Water Conservancy Engineering College of Jiangsu and Business School of Jiangsu. The history of YZU can be traced back to as early as 1902, when Mr. Zhang Jian, a renowned modern entrepreneur and educator, set up the Teachers School of Tongzhou and Tonghai Agricultural School (which became part of Nantong College later). The former Agricultural School of Jiangsu and Teachers College of Yangzhou, 2 components of the YZU merger, were developed out of the agriculture section of Nantong College and of the literature and history section of Teachers College of Tongzhou respectively. The other four all had a history of more than 60 years.
Currently in YZU there are 34,700 full-time undergraduate students, 8,400 postgraduate (doctorate and master) students and 11,000 students of continuing education. YZU’s 27 colleges offer 110 undergraduate programmes in 12 disciplines. YZU has 6 State-level Specialized Majors, 14 State-level Key Quality Courses, 1 State-level Bilingual Teaching Demonstration Course, 3 State-level Teaching Teams, 1 State-level Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center, 2 National Base for Talent Training with Cooperation in Agriculture, Science and Education, 20 Joint Labs with the Central Government, 29 Provincial-level Distinctive Majors, 15 Provincial-level Prestigious Majors and 13 Provincial-level Experimental Teaching Demonstration Centers in Basic Course. 2 majors are approved as State-level Experimental Programme for their innovative modes of talent cultivation. YZU was also winner of the Second Prize of National Award in Teaching as well as Special Award in Teaching in Higher Education in Jiangsu.
