About Us - Shanghai Jiao Tong University

1896-1949

The Founding of the University and the Development of Engineering Education

1896

Xuanhuai Sheng founded Nanyang College in Shanghai, marking the beginning of modern higher engineering education in China.

1905-1911

The college was renamed Imperial Polytechnic College and later, Imperial Polytechnic College of Ministry Communication. The college established courses in railways (1906), electrical engineering (1908), and maritime studies (1909), as well as built an electrical engineering laboratory (1910). The school adopted the motto “Diligence, Thrift, Respect, and Integrity.”

1912-1921

The college operated as the Government Institute of Technology. Railway administration was added as a discipline in 1918—introducing China’s first model of integrating engineering education with administrative training.

1921-1928

The Government Institute of Technology of Shanghai, Tangshan Engineering College, College of Railway Administration, and the College of Telegraph and Posts of Peking merged to form what was initially named Chiao Tung University. In 1922, the Shanghai branch became known as Chiao-Tung-Pu Nanyang University. Afterwards, China’s first university-based industrial research institute was established here in 1926.

1928-1949

The university was renamed to National Chiao Tung University, developing into an institution with strengths in engineering, sciences, and management. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the campus had to be relocated to Chongqing from 1942 to 1946. In 1943, the university established a telecommunications research institute and began cultivating master’s students in engineering.

1949-1959

Department Reorganization and Relocation

1952

The university carried out Soviet-based educational reforms and restructured its departments, retaining key programs in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, shipbuilding, and others.

1955

The main body of Chiao Tung University relocated westward to Xi’an.

1957

The university established two branches in Shanghai and Xi’an under a unified administration, with the Shanghai campus including institutions such as Shanghai Naval Architecture College and the Nanyang Institute of Technology.

1959

These two branches became independent institutions, with the Shanghai branch officially named Shanghai Jiao Tong University and recognized as one of China’s 16 key universities.

1959-2005

Development and Expansion of SJTU

1984

SJTU was designated as a key institution with state-level support and began trial operations of the graduate school. The Minhang Campus opened in 1985.

1995

The university was selected for Project 211 in 1995, and merged with Shanghai Agricultural College in 1999, forming SJTU’s School of Agriculture. That same year, SJTU was also included in Project 985.

2005

SJTU merged with Shanghai Second Medical University to form the School of Medicine, which is jointly supported by both the Ministry of Education and the Shanghai Municipal Government.

From 2005 to the Present

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is one of the most prestigious and long-standing institutions of higher education, recognized both at home and abroad.