Beijing Normal University

Beijing Normal University

For over a century, Beijing Normal University has from the beginning shared a fate as regards the Chinese people’s struggle to gain independence, freedom, democracy, and prosperity, and the school has played a significant role in patriotic movements that include the May 4th Movement (1919) and the December 9th Movement (1935). Over the years, the school has been home to a large group of renowned intellectuals and scholars, who have promoted culture and stimulated education. Among them Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Liang Qichao, Qian Xuantong, Wu Chengren, Li Jinxi, Chen Yuan, Fan Wenlan, Hou Wailu, Bai Shouyi, Zhong Jingwen, Qi Gong, Hu Xiansu, Wang Kunren, and Zhou Tingru. Adhering to a fine tradition of “Patriotism, Progress, Honesty, Sincerity, Truth-Seeking, Innovation, and being a paragon of virtue and learning”, meanwhile embodying the spirit of “Learn to be an Excellent Teacher; Act as an Exemplary Person”, for over one hundred years, Beijing Normal University has formed a philosophy of “Pursuing study, Cultivating oneself, and Helping the whole world.”

Among the National Key universities constructed during the time of China’s Seventh and Eighth Five-Year Plans, Beijing Normal University was confirmed as one of the nation’s first 10 key universities and entered into the first “211 Project” Construction Program during the Ninth Five-Year Plan. During the 2002 Centennial Celebration, the Ministry of Education and Beijing Municipality attached great importance to collaboration in the development of Beijing Normal University. The Ninth Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing listed Beijing Normal University among the institutions that they support to build into world-class universities. Over the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, the university was listed among the nation’s “985 Project” Construction programs.

The total area of Beijing Normal University covers 172.6 acres, and the school has over 3,000 faculty and 21,000 full-time students, including 8,700 undergraduates, 10,000 graduates, and 1,800 long-term international students. The campus has one education faculty, 22 schools and colleges, 2 departments, and 24 research institutes (centers). The library boasts over 3.88 million volumes and some 100,000 GB of digital resources.

The comprehensive disciplinary strength of Beijing Normal University puts the school at the forefront of the nation’s advanced teaching institutions. In 2002, it was one of the first six universities with independent examination and approval authority for undergraduate majors. The university offers 57 different undergraduate majors, 162 Master’s degree programs, 100 Ph.D. programs, 18 different rotating post-doctoral posts, and 16 primary subjects Ph.D. and Master’s degree programs. At present, there are five primary subjects, 11 secondary subjects accorded national key subject status, and two secondary subjects accorded national key (fostering) subject status. Moreover, there are three primary subjects accorded key subject status of Beijing Municipality, nine secondary key subjects of Beijing Municipality, and one interdisciplinary program accorded key subject status of Beijing Municipality. These programs cover 11 disciplinary categories, excluding military science, and comprise a comprehensive curriculum. According to the assessment results of primary subjects in 2009 as issued by the Ministry of Education Academic Degree Center, the three primary subject, education, psychology, and Chinese language and literature ranked first, and 15 other subjects ranked among the top ten in China.

Beijing Normal University is a staunch force in the nation’s research in the humanities, social sciences and technology innovation. The university houses four key state laboratories (2 joint programs), 8 Ministry of Education key laboratories, 5 Ministry of Education engineering research centers, 5 Beijing Municipality key laboratories, 2 Beijing Municipality engineering and technology centers, and 7 key research bases in human and social sciences of the Ministry of Education. The university regularly publishes 14 professional journals.

Renowned for its rich educational resources, Beijing Normal University is one of the national bases for talent development with high quality and creativity. It houses 3 national bases for arts’ foundation subjects’ talent development and scientific research, 5 national bases for science offering a foundation in scientific research and teacher development, 5 innovative exemplary laboratories for human resource development of the Ministry of Education, and 2 national exemplary centers for experimental education. . The school simultaneously has a national base for talent training in life sciences and technology, a national base for teaching Chinese as a second language, and a national base for university students in quality-oriented education.

At present, there are 1734 full-time instructors at Beijing Normal University, of whom 82 percent hold doctoral degrees and 12 percent obtained their degrees abroad. In addition, there are 8 academicians from the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering, 11 academicians employed simultaneously by the two academies, 3 emeritus professors, 5 senior professors, 24 Changjiang scholars, 25 winners of the China national foundation awards for distinguished young scientists, 21 candidates for the outstanding talents projects, 113 winners of inter-millennium and new century talents awards supported by the Ministry of Education, 7 winners of the national famous teachers awards, and 29 winners of the Beijing Municipality famous teachers awards in higher education. Beijing Normal University has a national natural sciences foundation for innovative research group, 3 subject innovation and talent introduction groups for higher institutions, a Ministry of Education and State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, P.R. China, 9 national teaching teams, and 10 Beijing Municipality teams in teaching excellence.

Beijing Normal University enjoys a program of broad international cooperation and exchange, having signed cooperative agreements with almost 300 universities and research institutes from more than 30 nations and districts and having cooperative programs for exchange students with over 20 universities, in places that include the United States, the UK, Japan, South Korea, and Canada. Moreover, BNU has co-established Confucius Institutes with the University of Manchester, UK, the University of Oklahoma, USA, San Francisco State University, USA, Dawson University, Canada, and Sherbrooke University, Canada. There are long-term international students at BNU from over 69 different countries and regions, 65% of whom are pursuing academic degrees.

Since the implementation of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan of China, the development objective of which is to create a comprehensive, distinctive and high-quality “World-Renowned Research-Oriented University,” Beijing Normal University has followed the developmental philosophy of “Stabilizing the Current Scale, Optimizing the Structure, Highlighting the Characteristics, and Innovating Independently” and has vigorously implemented strategies for development in teacher education, subjects , talents , scientific research, talents for strengthening the university, internationalization,, insurance of development conditions, and institution innovation. The school has grasped the opportunity of reform and development available now and is actively meeting national strategic needs, while striving to make ever greater contributions to strengthening the country via human resources and innovative national construction., a key university under the guidance of the Ministry of Education, is a renowned institution of higher learning, emphasizing teacher education and basic learning in both arts and sciences. The university’s predecessor, the Normal College of the Imperial University of Peking, was founded in 1902. In 1908, the school changed its name to the Advanced Normal College of the Imperial University and became independent. In 1912, the name again changed, to Beijing Advanced Normal School, and finally, in 1923 the name changed to Beijing Normal University, the first Normal University in Chinese history. In 1931 and 1952, respectively, Peking Women’s Normal University and Fu Jen Catholic University were merged into Beijing Normal University.

 

• 1902: The Faculty of Education of the Capital Metropolitan University was founded on the initiative of the Emperor of Qing Dynasty. It was the first university in Chinese history with the main mission of training excellent teachers and specialists.
• 1908: The Faculty of Education was named as the Capital Metropolitan School of Supreme Teacher Training, and was separated from the Capital Metropolitan University.
• 1912: The Capital Metropolitan School of Supreme Teacher Training was named as Peking Normal College, establishing her own affiliated primary school and secondary school.
• 1920: Establishment of graduate programs
• 1921: Recruitment for female students
• 1923: Peking Normal College was renamed as Peking Normal University which was the first normal university in Chinese modern education history.
• 1931: The Peking Women’s College of Education merged into Peking Normal University.
• 1937: Peking Normal University had to move to Xi’an since Peking was occupied by Japanese invaders. Together with National Peking University, National Beiyang College of Engineering, the three institutions formed Xi’an Temporary University.
• 1938: Xi’an Temporary University moved to Han Zhong and was renamed as National Northwest Union University and Peking Normal University was renamed as Faculty of Education, National Northwest Union University.
• 1946: Faculties and students gradually moved back to Peking. Those faculties remaining in Xi’an became teaching staff in Northwest University and Northwest Normal College, supporting the development of Higher Education in Northwest China. In November 1946, Peking Normal University reopened in Peking.
• 1949: The city was renamed as Beijing in February. In September, the university was renamed as Beijing Normal University.
• 1952: Fu Jen Catholic University merged into Beijing Normal University.
• 1954: The new campus established at BeiTaiPingZhuang.
• 1956: The university sent 76 professors to 15 provinces, supporting to establish local normal schools.
• 1967: Culture Revolution broke out and the university had to close.
• 1973: The university restarted to recruit undergraduate students.
• 1984: The University reopened the graduate programs.
• 1991: Post doctoral workstation established.
• 1996: Became member of Project 211
• 1999: Became member of Project 985 Phase I
• 2002: Signing an agreement with Ministry of Education and Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing Normal University became the 10th university on the list to get special support from the Chinese Government, aiming to be a world prestigious university.
• 2002: Celebration of Centennial Anniversary
• 2004: Became member of Project 985 Phase II
• 2006: On May 4 2006, Premier WEN Jiabao took a special visit to Beijing Normal University, enjoying the Youth Day together with BNU students.
• 2007: In 2007, the Chinese government implemented the Fee-Waiver Policy for teacher training programs in six normal universities which are supervised by the Ministry of Education. On September 9, Premier WEN Jiabao took a special visit to Beijing Normal University in order to meet the freshmen enrolled in the Fee-Waiver Program for teacher training. Premier WEN delivered an important speech on education reformation and improving the education for students enrolled in teacher-training programs, which recognized the educational achievements at Beijing Normal University and directed the future reformation in teacher training programs.
• 2007: In 2007, Beijing Normal University had 16 national key disciplines, including 5 general disciplines and 11 specialized disciplines. Beijing Normal University became a comprehensive university, covering almost all the disciplines except military science.

Address: No. 19, Xin Jie Kou Wai St., Haidian District, Beijing

Source: english.bnu.edu.cn