Beijing Normal University

Beijing Normal University (BNU; 北京师范大学) is a public university in Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction.[3]

Beijing Normal University
北京师范大学
Latin: Universitas Normalis Pechinum
Motto学为人师,行为世范[1]
Motto in English
Learn, so as to instruct others; Act, to serve as a model for all.[2]
TypePublic
Established1902; 122 years ago (1902)
PresidentDong Qi (董奇)
Academic staff
Over 3,086
StudentsOver 24,700
Undergraduates10,260
Postgraduates12,891
Address
19 Xinjiekou Wai St, Haidian
, ,
CampusUrban, 738,779 m2 (7,952,150 sq ft)
AffiliationsBHUA, GHMUA
Websitebnu.edu.cn
english.bnu.edu.cn
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese北京师范大学
Traditional Chinese北京師範大學

History edit

The university grew out of the Faculty of Education at the Imperial University of Peking, which had been founded by the Guangxu Emperor after the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898. In 1908, the Faculty of Education was named the "Imperial Capital School of Supreme Teacher Training" and separated from the Imperial University of Peking which subsequently became Peking University.

 
A memorial for three students killed in the March 18 Massacre, 1926

In 1912, after the Republic of China was established, the Imperial Capital School of Supreme Teacher Training was renamed Peking Normal College. The college established its first graduate programs in 1920 and began accepting female students in 1921. In 1923 it was renamed Peking Normal University and became the first normal university in modern Chinese history. The Peking Women's College of Education merged into Peking Normal University in 1931.

When the Communist Party established the People's Republic of China in 1949 the capital of Peking was renamed, via pinyin, as Beijing and the university was consequently renamed Beijing Normal University. During a national initiative of university rearrangement in 1952 Fu Jen Catholic University merged with Beijing Normal University. In 1954 BNU moved from its Hepingmen campus to the newly established campus at Beitaipingzhuang. In 1959, BNU was designated by the Ministry of Education as one of 20 national key universities of China.[4]

Historically, students at Beijing Normal University have played major roles in patriotic, democratic and other social movements, including the May Fourth Movement in 1919, and other significant cultural and sociopolitical events. The New York Times described it as "one of the most progressive institutions" in China.[5] During the Cultural Revolution Beijing Normal University students made up the majority of Red Guards, a Maoist movement that killed thousands of people and attempted to destroy what they saw as "outdated" and "backwards" artifacts and cultural institutions.[6][7]

Present edit

Beijing Normal University was selected to be a Project 211 institution in 1996. In 2002, BNU signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education and Beijing municipal government to become the 10th university participating in Project 985, through which it receives special support from the Chinese government aimed at elevating its reputation to the level of a "world-class" university.[8]

 
Campus view

During its centennial celebration in 2002 an asteroid discovered in 1996 was named after the university as 8050 Beishida.

After a special visit by Premier Wen Jiabao to the university on May 4, 2006, the Chinese government implemented a tuition-waiver policy for teacher training programs in six normal universities that are supervised by the Ministry of Education, including Beijing Normal University.

The university has a strong emphasis on increasing educational equity. Its 2009 demographic data shows that 40% of its enrolled students were from western China, one third were from rural areas and a quarter were from low-income families. Ethnic minorities comprised more than 10% of students.[9]

Academics edit

As of the year 2020, the university has 74 undergraduate degree programs, 185 master programs and 142 doctoral programs. Sixteen of them are honored as "national key disciplines", including 5 general disciplines and 11 specialized disciplines, which are recognized among the top ranked programs in China:

National Key Disciplines at Beijing Normal University
Education Psychology
Chinese Language and Literature Mathematics
Geography Cell Biology
Marxist Philosophy Physical Chemistry
Ancient Chinese History System Sciences
Theory of History Theoretical Physics
Folklore/Anthropology Environmental Science
Ecology Educational Economics and Management

Beijing Normal University possesses 74 research laboratories, including 4 National Key Labs, 7 Key Labs of the Ministry of Education and 5 Key Labs of the Beijing Municipality. Key research centers and facilities include 7 key research facilities in humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education, 2 research centers of Engineering and Technology of the Beijing Municipality, 3 research centers jointly established with the Beijing Municipality, and more than 40 other research centers. Additionally, the university has an institute dedicated to Proteomics, the only one established in a university by the Ministry of Education. The university has also established a Science Park comprising 6 hectares.

 
The Mu Duo Gilded Bell
National Key Laboratories at Beijing Normal University
National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning[10]
National Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology[11]
National Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science[12]
National Key Laboratory of Water Environmental simulation[13]

Beijing Normal University's annual research budget in the sciences exceeds RMB 100 million. In 2010, 150 projects were funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, with a record high amount of RMB 62 million (compared with 44.7 million in 2009 and 37 million in 2007).[14]

Funding for research in the humanities and social sciences has increased rapidly in the last five years to RMB 150 million, the third largest budget nationally. Since 2002, the annual increase in budget has been over RMB 30 million, equating to RMB 40,000 per capita. This increase in funding reflects BNU's institutional commitment to basic theory and research in the humanities and social sciences.

International Collaboration edit

Beijing Normal University is part of a university consortium, including the University for Continuing Education Krems, Eötvös Loránd University, Hochschule Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology and the University of Tampere, which offers an Erasmus+ joint master's degree and a Master in Research and Innovation in Higher Education.[15]

Beijing Normal University was among the first Chinese institutions to accept international students. It is particularly popular for its Mandarin Chinese study programs. Among its most prestigious programs is Princeton in Beijing, a collaboration with Princeton University in the United States.[16]

The university collaborates with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) on SUSS's Master of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature.[17]

Beijing Normal University is the seat of the BRICS Universities League Secretariat with BNU as a leading university in terms of BRICS higher education and academic cooperation.[18]

Rankings and reputation edit

University rankings
BCUR National[19] Domestic 19
Wu Shulian National[20] Domestic 28
CUAA National[21] Alumni =14
QS National[22] General 11
THE National[23] General 17–20
QS Asia
(Asia version)[24]
General 52
THE Asia
(Asia version)[25]
General 42
ARWU World[26] Research 151–200
QS World[27] General =272
THE World[28] General 251–300
USNWR World[29] General =269

As of 2023, BNU was ranked 18th by the QS World University Rankings by Subjects,[30] and 19th globally by the Times Higher Education Rankings by Subjects,[31] for "Education and Training", which are historical strengths for the Faculty of Education that originated as a "normal university".

BNU is ranked 36th among the Global Top 100 Innovative Universities according to the World's Universities with Real Impacts (WURI) Ranking 2021.[32]

According to the 2021 QS World University Rankings, BNU was ranked among the top 170 in "Arts and Humanities", "Social Sciences & Management" and "Natural Science" related subjects.[33][34][35]

Beijing Normal University consistently features in the top 300th global universities as ranked by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, the QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the U.S. News & World Report.[36][37][38][39] Beijing Normal graduates are highly desired in China and worldwide; in 2017, its graduate employability rankings placed in the global top #200+ universities with high-achieving graduates.[40] Internationally, Beijing Normal University was regarded as one of the most reputable Chinese universities by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings where, it has ranked #126 globally.[41]

Schools and Departments edit

 
The administration building (front) and library (behind) of Beijing Normal University
  • Faculty of Education[43]
  • School of Chinese Language and Literature[44]
  • School of Law
  • School of Economy and Business Administration
  • School of Foreign Language and Culture[45]
  • School of Life Science
  • School of Chemistry
  • School of Resources[46]
  • School of Geography
  • Department of Astronomy[47]
  • School of Mathematics
  • School of History
  • School of Philosophy
  • Department of Physics
  • School of Systems Science[48]
  • School of Psychology[49]
  • School of Social Development and Public Policy[50]
  • School of Arts and Mass Media
  • School of Environment
  • School of Sociology

Beijing Normal University also has many other areas of study not mentioned above.

Campus edit

 
Gymnasium and Recreation Complex

The main campus is in the Haidian District,[51] with other Beijing campuses in the Changping District and Xicheng District as well as a campus in Zhuhai, Guangdong.[52]

The original campus was near Hepingmen and Liulichang in the center of Beijing during the Republic of China period. After Fu Jen University merged with BNU the Fu Jen campus in Shichahai became the Northern Campus of BNU.

Beijing Normal University's current campus was built in 1954. It is located in central northwest Beijing in Haidian district between the second and third ring roads. It is the closest of all Haidian universities to Tiananmen Square.

Its campus hosted the U.S. Olympic Team during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[53][54]

Notable alumni edit

Affiliated high schools edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "北京师范大学简介". Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  2. ^ "Beijing Normal University". English Home Page. Beijing Normal University. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  3. ^ "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)".
  4. ^ "建国以来重要文献选编第十二册". 2019-04-25. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019.
  5. ^ Wines, Michael (2 November 2009). "China Dismisses Minister of Education". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Ma, Aiping; Si, Lina; Zhang, Hongfei (2009), "The evolution of cultural tourism: The example of Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius", in Ryan, Chris; Gu, Huimin (eds.), Tourism in China: destination, cultures and communities, Routledge advances in tourism, Taylor & Francis US, p. 183, ISBN 978-0-415-99189-6
  7. ^ "Asiaweek article". Asiaweek. 3 January 1984 – via Google Books.
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  9. ^ "钟秉林谈师范生教育:毕业生已供大于求(图)". Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  10. ^ "National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning". 2015-07-06. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  11. ^ "State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology (Beijing Normal University)". Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  12. ^ "遥感科学国家重点实验室". www.slrss.cn. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  13. ^ "欢迎访问水环境模拟国家重点实验室网站". 2011-05-22. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
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  32. ^ "Global Top 100 Innovative Universities - WURI". WURI. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
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  56. ^ Cross, Ester. "Folt celebrates Beijing Normal University partnership". The Dartmouth. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
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External links edit

39°57′26″N 116°21′45″E / 39.95722°N 116.36250°E / 39.95722; 116.36250