Xiamen University CSC Scholarship 2026 — Full Guide

Private period

In 1919, Tan Kah Kee, a Chinese expatriate in Singapore, businessman, investor, and philanthropist, donated then 4 million dollars to endow Amoy University in the city of Amoy (former romanization of 'Xiamen' until 1970s). When the university was founded in 1921, there were no more than 20 faculty members and just 98 students.

At the 1926 Sesquicentennial International Exposition in Philadelphia, United States, Amoy University was one of five institutions selected to participate in an exhibit on education in China, representing the country's higher education system.

National university period

In 1937, Tan transferred administration of the university to the Nationalist government, and the institution became a national university.

In 1938, at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the university was temporarily relocated to Changting in western Fujian to escape Japanese invasion of Chinese coastal regions.

In 1946, after the war, the university moved back to Xiamen and resumed normal operations.

In 1952, it was transformed into a comprehensive university embracing both arts and science.

In 1963, it was designated as a key university in China.

In 1995, Xiamen University was selected to participate in Project 211, a Chinese government initiative to provide increased financial resources for the country's most promising universities.

In 2000, the university was selected for 985 Project, a national and local government initiative to provide funding for facilities construction and faculty hiring to bolster China's top universities.

On January 25, 2013, the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia submitted an invitation letter to Xiamen University to establish a branch campus in Malaysia.

On July 3, 2014, the foundation of Xiamen University Malaysia Campus was laid near Kuala Lumpur.

On February 22, 2016, Malaysia Campus officially opened.

In September 2017, the university was recognized as a Class A institution in the Double First Class University Plan, a Chinese government initiative to cultivate a group of elite Chinese universities into "world-class" institutions by 2050.

Main campus (Siming campus)

The main campus of XMU is located in Siming District on Xiamen island, covering an area of 167 hectares. It is situated at the foothills of mountains, facing the ocean and surrounded by Xiamen bay. It mainly houses such academic divisions as the Humanities and Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Engineering and Technology.

The scope and level of its campus high-speed information network is rated first among all universities in China and has become one of the main nodes of CERNET2.

The Haiyun Campus is part of the main campus, located near the Pearl Bay, south end of Xiamen, adjacent to Xiamen Software Park. The School of Software, School of Information Science and Technology, School of Mathematics Science are located in the campus.

Zhangzhou campus

Zhangzhou Campus is located in Zhangzhou China Merchants Economic and Technological Development Zone (CMZD), Zhangzhou, covering an area of 171 hectares, with architecture consistent with the main campus. In July 2012, most facilities were allocated to XMU Tan Kah Kee College. In September 2020, the new Xiamen University College of Creativity and Innovation moved to the campus, and part of the International College relocated back. The campus now hosts the College of Creativity and Innovation, International College, Gulei Petrochemical Research Institute, Institute of Industrial Technology, and XMU Tan Kah Kee College. It aims to be a hub for international cooperation, applied talent cultivation, result transformation, and talent gathering. In addition, the college actively organizes students to innovate and start businesses.

Xiang'an campus

In September 2012, Xiamen University began operations at its Xiang'an Campus, located 34 kilometers from the main campus. The three stated goals of the new campus are to provide facilities for "newly developing disciplines and applied subjects" such as bioscience and energy, to establish "innovation platforms for applied sciences," and to house the southern headquarters of the Confucius Institute.

Currently, the Xiang'an Campus hosts over 10,000 students and faculty from ten schools: the Overseas Education College (which serves international students), the Medical College, the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the School of Life Sciences, the School of Public Health, the Nursing Department, the College of Earth Sciences, the College of Environment and Ecology, the School of Energy Research, and the School of Aerospace Engineering.

Malaysia campus (XMUM)

Upon the invitation of the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education to set up a branch campus in Malaysia, Xiamen University accepted the offer and thus, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) was born in 2015.

In keeping with the vision of our founder Mr. Tan Kah Kee, XMU began in earnest to build our first offshore campus in Malaysia and became the pioneer university from China to establish a branch campus in Malaysia. XMUM aspires to become a university with a distinct global outlook, featuring first-class teaching and research, and embracing cultural diversity.

The campus is located in Bandar Serenia, Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan. It is a 10-minute drive from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and a 15-minute drive from Putrajaya, the administrative center of the government of Malaysia.