Introduction

As one of the national key universities directly under the State Ministry of Education (MOE) as well as one of the State ¡°211 Project¡± universities enjoying privileged construction in the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, the present Sichuan University (SCU) was first incorporated with Chengdu University of Science and Technology (CUST), another national key university under the MOE in1994, and West China University of Medical Science (WCUMS), a key university directly subordinated to the State Ministry of Health in 2000. The present Secretary of the Party committee is Prof. Yang Quan-ming, and the President currently in office is Prof. Xie He-ping (academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering).

At present, SCU has the widest coverage of disciplines and the largest scale of operation in West China. There are 15 key disciplines at the national level, 14 ¡°211 Project¡± key construction disciplines, 29 key disciplines at the provincial and ministerial level, 4 national bases for personnel training in basic disciplines and scientific research, and a teaching base for engineering courses. Besides, it has 12 first-class disciplines to grant Doctor¡¯s degree and Master¡¯s degree, 111 second-class disciplines to grant Doctor¡¯s degree, 178 Master programs, 6 specialized degree programs, and 16 post-doctor stations. The 109 bachelor programs cover the major fields in liberal arts, sciences, engineering, medicine and agriculture.

SCU has a current student population of more than 70 thousand. Ever since the birth of New China, it has cultivated over 200 thousand students, and therefore it has been identified by the MOE as the Collegiate Cultural Quality Education Base.

SCU has a competent teaching force. It has a current total staff of 11,357, among whom 969 are professors, 2192 associate professors, 6 academicians of Chinese Academy of Science and Chinese Academy of Engineering, 434 tutors of doctor students, and 17 members of the Academic Degrees Committee and the Discipline Appraisal Group under the State Council. Besides, the university has 14 posts of the ¡°Yangtze River Scholar Award Plan¡± for specially engaged professors (9 engaged plus 1 lecture professor).