Tongji University CSC Scholarship 2026 — Full Guide

History

The history of Tongji University can be traced back to 1907 when the German Medical School for the Chinese (Deutsche Medizinschule für Chinesen in Shanghai) in Shanghai was founded by the German government together with the German physicians Erich Paulun, Oscar von Schab and Paul Krieg. The school was affiliated with the Tongji-Hospital the German physicians had established in Shanghai on the initiative of Paulun. The name Tongji, which is a phonetic approximation in Shanghainese of German deutsche ("German"), suggests cooperating by riding the same boat. The school was expanded to include engineering in its programs and got its new name as German Medical and Engineering School for the Chinese in Shanghai in 1912. It was formally established as a Chinese university under the name of Tongji University in 1923/1924 and was renamed as National Tongji University in 1927. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the university campus was moved from Shanghai first to Zhejiang Province, then to Jiangxi Province and Yunnan Province and later to Sichuan Province. It was eventually moved back to Shanghai in 1946.

Tongji became one of the first universities authorized by the State Council to establish a graduate school. It became a member of the Project 211, which provided universities with substantial government fund. In 1995, the university became one to be jointly supported by the State Education Commission and the Shanghai Municipal Government. In 1996 the university merged with Shanghai Institute of Urban Construction and Shanghai Institute of Building Materials. The merger was acknowledged by the State Council as "Tongji Model" in the system renovation of higher institutions in China. In April 2000, the expanded Tongji merged again with Shanghai Railway University. The university is now a comprehensive university which offers a wide range of programs in science, engineering, medicine, arts, law, economics and management.

Present

The university now registers over 50,000 students at all levels from certificate and diploma courses to Bachelor's Degrees, Master's, Ph.D. programs and post doctoral attachments. There are over 4,200 academic staff for teaching and/or research, among whom there are 6 Members of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7 Members of Chinese Academy of Engineering, over 530 professors and 1,300 associate professors. The university offers diverse courses in its 81 Bachelor's degrees, 151 Masters, 58 PhD programs and 13 post doctoral mobile stations. Tongji University is particularly famous for its Civil Engineering and Architecture programs. Its Civil Engineering, Architecture programs and Transportation Engineering are ranked Top 1 in P.R. China and its architecture program is by far the most difficult to gain entry into. As one of the state leading centers for scientific research, the university has 5 state key laboratories and engineering research centers.

The university is active in promoting cooperation and exchanges with other countries. It has established links with Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA in the fields of education, science, technology and economics. A number of international joint programs have been established between the university and its counterparts in other countries in recent years. In 2006, the university enrolled 1,829 international students.

Anniversary Day

On June 3, 1907, German Medical School was opened in Shanghai. On October 1 of the same year, a ceremony was held. The Anniversary Day was initially set to May 18, on which day in 1924 the Wusong campus was opened. In 1925 and 1926, ceremonies were held on May 18. On the staff meeting on January 19, 1931, the Anniversary Day of National Tongji University was decided to be postponed to May 20, two days after the national mourn with half-mast over the death of Mr. Chen Yingshi (Chen Qimei), a politician. Tongji celebrates the Anniversary Day on May 20 since then.

Campus

Tongji University is titled the State-level Garden Unit for Excellent Afforestation. lts five campuses are located in the municipal city of Shanghai, covering an area of 2,460,000 m². The Siping Campus is situated on Siping Road; the West Campus on Zhennan Road; the North Campus on Gonghexing Road; the East Campus on Wudong Road and the Jiading Campus is located in Shanghai International Automobile City in Anting, Jiading District. In the year 2009, the East Campus was sold to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

• Siping Campus (Main campus)
• West Campus
• North Campus
• Jiading Campus

• The entrance part of Siping Campus
• The Sanhao Wood Restaurant (三好坞) in the Siping Campus
• The north teaching building (北楼) in Siping Campus
• The obelisk (国立柱) in Siping Campus
• The Qianqiu Garden (千秋园) in Siping Campus
• Maglev
• Maglev Test track
• The obelisk

Academics

Rankings and reputation

As of 2025, Tongji features in the top 200th 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 Best Global Universities Ranking.

Tongji University was ranked #3 in Shanghai, #9 nationwide and #131 globally in 2025 in terms of aggregate performance from the three most widely observed university rankings (THE+ARWU+QS) as reported by the Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 placed Tongji #141 worldwide, #22 in Asia, #11 in China and #3 in Shanghai.

Tongji graduates are highly desired in China and worldwide. In 2017, its Graduate Employability rankings placed at #101 in the world in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings. Tongji University is regarded as one of the most reputable Chinese universities by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings where it ranked # 151 globally.

Presidents

Notable alumni

Some noted alumni of Tongji University are:

• Li Guohao, Former President of Tongji University, World Famous Bridge Engineering Expert
• Wang Shu, 2012 Pritzker Prize recipient
• Qiao Shi, Former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, PRC
• Li Linsi, China's Mahatma Gandhi, diplomatic consultant to Chiang Kai-shek
• Qian Xinzhong, Minister of Health of the People's Republic of China
• Tang Dengjie, Minister of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China
• Qiu Fazu, Surgeon
• Wu Mengchao, Surgeon, Winner of the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award of China (2005)
• Pan Yunhe, Computer Scientist, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Academy of Engineering
• Bei Shizhang, Physiologist, "Father of Chinese Biophysics"
• Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China
• Andy Xie, Economist
• Wang Guangtao, Minister of Construction of the People's Republic of China
• Kwong-Chai Chu (Zhu Guangcai), Hydraulic Engineer
• Shi Xiaolin, Communist Party Secretary of Chengdu
• Luo Xiaowei, Founder of the Architectural History and Theory department at Tongji University