Southeast University (SEU), located in Nanjing, the ancient capital of six dynasties, is a prestigious university with an outstanding reputation both at home and abroad.

As a National Key University administered directly by the Ministry of Education of China and jointly supported by the Ministry of Education and the People’s Government of Jiangsu Province, SEU is also designated as a key university under China’s national “Project 985 “ and “ Project 211”. In 2017, SEU was selected as a Class A university for the Construction of World-class Universities in China. Twelve disciplines have been selected for China’s national “Double First Class” construction list, placing SEU 8th among universities nationwide.

Southeast University (SEU) boasts a long history and profound cultural heritage. Tracing its origins to Sanjiang Normal College founded in 1902, the university later evolved through historic phases including Liangjiang Normal College, Nanjing Higher Normal School, National Southeast University, and National Central University.

In 1952, Nanjing Institute of Technology was established at the Sipailou campus, primarily formed from the engineering college of the former National Central University, incorporating relevant departments from eight other institutions, namely, the University of Nanking, Fudan University, Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, Wuhan University, Xiamen University, Jiangnan University, and Shandong Engineering Institute. The Institute cultivated a large number of high-level specialists for China’s industrialization and the development of its educational and scientific sectors, earning significant social prestige.

In May 1988, the university resumed the name Southeast University. In 2000, Southeast University had evolved into a comprehensive and research-oriented institution, enjoying an international reputation for its outstanding engineering disciplines. As one of China’s key universities under the “985 Project” and “211 Project”, it was selected as the national list of China “Double First-Class” universities as a Class-A institution in 2017.

Over its 120-year history, SEU has always embraced a spirit of patriotism and global vision, striving for scientific progress and national rejuvenation. It has cultivated the school spirit of “ Rigour, Truthfulness, Unity, and Diligence “ and the educational philosophy of “Renown through Science, Service through Talent “, while embodying the motto: “Strive for Perfection”.

At present, SEU has 38 schools, which offer 85 bachelor’s degree programs, 53 Master’s degree programs, and 44 doctoral degree programs. SEU has a total enrollment of 41,756 full-time students, including 17,049 undergraduates and 24,707 graduate students. Of the graduate student population, 2,165 are international students, among whom 1,767 are degree-seeking students. Right now, SEU operates three campuses, respectively, Sipailou Campus, Jiulonghu Campus and Dingjiaqiao Campus, covering an area of 3.93 km² in total, of which, Jiulonghu Campus covers an area of 2.50 km² with the total building area of 0.9804 km². The university’s library covers an area of 66,900m² , comprising 4.8 million volumes of books of all sorts. In addition, the university has also set up Wuxi Branch and Suzhou Campus. 

Southeast University is a comprehensive research university distinguished by its strength in engineering, covering a full spectrum of disciplines including philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, science, medicine, management, art, and history.  Seventeen disciplines rank among the top 1% globally in ESI. Among them, Engineering places 13th and Computer Science 4th worldwide, both sitting within the top 0.01% globally. Additionally, Materials Science and Chemistry rank among the top 0.1% globally in ESI.

SEU operates a wide range of top-tier research platforms, including 8 National Key Laboratories, 3 National Technology Innovation Centers, 1 National Engineering Research Center, 2 National Engineering Technology Research Centers, 3 National & Local Joint Engineering Research Centers, 1 National Platform for Industry-Education Integration and Innovation, 1 Frontier Science Center, and 1 National Collaborative Innovation Center for the China 2011 Project. The university also hosts 1 Belt and Road Joint Laboratory of the Ministry of Science and Technology, 2 Joint International Research Laboratories of the Ministry of Education, 14 Key Laboratories of the Ministry of Education, 7 Engineering Research Centers of the Ministry of Education, and 1 Medical and Pharmaceutical Basic Research Innovation Center of Ministry of Education. Furthermore, SEU has 39 Postdoctoral Research Stations, 3 National-Level Liberal Arts Platforms, 2 Jiangsu Provincial Key High-End Think Tanks, and 1 Jiangsu Provincial Key Nurturing Think Tank.

SEU boasts a high-caliber faculty team. Currently, the university has 2,669 faculty members with senior or associate senior titles, as well as 1,967 doctoral supervisors. Its distinguished faculty includes 20 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, along with approximately 700 leading scholars with significant global academic influence. SEU is now deepening the strategy of “Strengthening the University through Talent” and fully implementing the “Top Priority Project” for Talent Development, striving to build a world-class faculty team.

Up to now, a total of 53 majors have been selected as the National First-class Undergraduate Major Construction Sites, 5 majors enrolled as National Comprehensive Reform Pilot Projects, 9 recognized as Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Program Construction Sites. Additionally, 5 programs are included in the National Comprehensive Reform Pilot Projects, and 23 majors recognized as national characteristic specialties. The university also boasts 36 national-level quality resource-sharing courses (first batch), 89 national first-class undergraduate courses, and 3 national demonstration courses for curriculum ideology and politics. It has been selected for 2 typical cases of the Ministry of Education’s “AI + Higher Education” initiative.

Since 2018, 51 faculty members were selected as members of the National Teaching Steering Committees, including 3 chairpersons and 10 vice-chairpersons. Besides, the university has established 12 National Experimental Zones for Talent Cultivation Models and 12 National Engineering Practice and Education Centers, National Teaching Innovation Teams, and 11 national pilot programs for virtual teaching and research offices. Notably, SEU has won the First Prize for National Teaching Achievement for five consecutive terms (held every four years). In 2022, the university won 10 awards as the lead institution, reaching a historical high.

SEU has won 11 awards at the First National Textbook Construction Awards, ranking joint 9th nationwide. Additionally, 21 textbooks authored by SEU have been included in the Ministry of Education’s planning for standard higher education textbooks in strategic emerging fields during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period. Upholding the fundamental mission of moral education in the new era, SEU carries forward its fine traditions and reshapes its talent cultivation goals. It strives to foster leading talents who possess a deep dedication to the nation and a global vision, and capable of leading the future and benefiting humanity.

SEU is an important base for scientific research and technology dissemination in China. The university upholds the integration of industry, academia, and research. In 2024, SEU filed 3,088 Chinese invention patent applications and was granted 2,378 patents. As of the end of December 2024, the university held 15,234 valid invention patents, ranking third among universities  nationwide. In addition, the number of papers indexed by SCI and EI ranks among the top in national universities. From 2011 to 2024, the university took the lead in obtaining 38 national science and technology awards, including 1 First Prize for National Technology Invention in 2011, and 1 First Prize for National Science and Technology Progress in both 2014 and in 2020. In recent years, SEU has participated in several major projects, such as " Lunar Exploration Program", the Three Gorges Project, the FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope), Beijing Sub-center construction, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, high-speed rail technology, Antarctic expeditions, and wireless charging technology. Since 2020, the university has led projects that won 21 Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Scientific Research in Colleges and Universities (Humanities and Social Sciences) granted by the Ministry of Education, including 2 first-class awards. The SEU National University Science Park was recognized as an "Outstanding National University Science Park." At present, SEU is endeavoring to create a high-level ecosystem for scientific and technological innovation to better serve China's major development strategies.

SEU is one of the most active universities in China for international exchanges and cooperation. As of the end of 2024, SEU has established a global network for world-class international cooperation network, and has built close collaborative partnerships with nearly 60 world-class universities and high-level research institutions from 20 countries and regions worldwide. Partners include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States; University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley); University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada; University of Cambridge, University College London (UCL), University of Edinburgh and University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom; ETH Zurich in Switzerland; KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden; Paris Institute of Technology (ParisTech) in France; National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore; Monash University in Australia; Osaka University and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) in Japan; as well as The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST),etc. In particular, in 2017, SEU initiated the establishment of the “UK China University Consortium on Engineering Education and Research”, which is the first university consortium of its kind featuring engineering education and research. In 2021, SEU and the University of Birmingham, UK, co-initiated the World Alliance of Universities on Carbon Neutrality, the world’s first university alliance dedicated to technological advancement and talent cultivation in the carbon neutrality field. The university also collaborated with Monash University to establish the Southeast University-Monash University Joint Graduate School (Suzhou), which is the first international joint graduate school approved by the Ministry of Education of China. Besides, the university partnered with the University of Rennes 1 to establish Southeast University-Rennes 1 Graduate School. Guided by the principle of “positioning at the global high-end, pursuing substantive cooperation, and leading development,” SEU is accelerating efforts to build a comprehensive, prioritized, multi-level, and wide-ranging framework for high-quality international exchange and cooperation.

Forging ahead in the new era to write a new chapter, SEU will continue to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We will uphold and practice the school motto of “striving for perfection”, foster a “first-class” mindset, focus on first-rate objectives, implement top-tier standards. We will remain committed to targeting academic frontiers, serving national needs, placing faculty and students first and prioritizing talent development. We will promote the integration of multi-disciplines, convergence of science, engineering, liberal arts, social science, and medicine, the synergy of industry, academia, and research as well as international collaboration, deepen comprehensive reform in an all-round way, endeavor to realize major breakthroughs in terms of talent cultivation, scientific research, staff development and international cooperation, etc. Our goal is to build a world-class university with distinctive Chinese characteristics and the unique spirit of SEU that is satisfactory to the people, making outstanding contributions to realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and promoting the progress and advancement of human civilization.

（Information Updated on March 28, 2025)