Huazhong Agricultural University

Located in Wuhan, the biggest city and transportation hub of Central China, Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) is a national key university of “Project 211” directly under the Ministry of Education. With a history tracing back to Hubei Farming School founded in 1898 by Zhang Zhidong, governor of Hubei and Hunan province, HZAU enjoys a history of 120 years. The university was entitled National Civilized Unit in 2008 and 2011, and was ranked 11th in the nation among the 72 MOE universities in the latest Performance Appraisal in Higher Education by China’s MOE National Institute for Education Research, and is one of the top universities in Wuhan. Covering an area of 495 hectares, the campus contains well-spaced teaching blocks and lab buildings and is surrounded on three sides by clear lakes and backed by green hills, making it an ideal place for teaching and research. HZAU consists of 18 colleges and departments. Featuring life science, HZAU also gives much emphasis on the rational disciplinary construction of agriculture, sciences, engineering, arts, law, economics, and management. There are more than 2600 faculty members, of whom 312 are professors, 4 academicians of the Chinese Academies of Sciences and Engineering, 2 academicians of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, 1 foreign associate of U.S. National Academy of Sciences. HZAU boasts 6 national key (specialized) laboratories, 4 national R&D centers, 19 provincial and ministerial key (open) laboratories, 24 provincial and ministerial R&D centers, and 2 provincial humanities and social sciences research base. Significant results have been achieved in the fields of hybrid rapeseeds, green super rice, lean swine, animal vaccines, high-quality citrus, potato microtuber, and transgenic cotton. HZAU is the only higher education institution which has obtained the title of Advanced Unit in the Implementation of the National Program "863". HZAU has constructed 32 national top-quality courses, and the annual employment rate of college graduates has been kept at around 94% for the past few years, taking the leading position among the national colleges and universities while 30% of the graduates has entered into postgraduate schools for further study right after graduation with 60% of them specializing in the fields of professional superiority and characteristics. HZAU has produced alumni distinguished in their respective fields; among them are academicians of the two Academies, senior government officials, well-known entraprenuers. HZAU has established exchange and cooperation relationships with over 150 institutions of 40 countries and regions such as the United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Britain and France, built up joint training programmes with many foreign universities. In addition, there are 20 international foundations and organizations who have developed cooperation programmes with HZAU.