Northwest University has its origin in Shaanx iCollege founded in 1902, and assumed its present name in 1912.

The University, located in the famous ancient Chinese capital Xi’an, has 3 campuses with a total area of 370 acres, and 22 schools and departments offering 67 undergraduate programs. It is one of the first institutions empowered to set up doctoral, postdoctoral and master’s programs, to approve the promotion to professorship, and to select Ph. D. supervisors. To date the University has established 37 doctoral programs (of which 6 belong to the first-category disciplines), 92 Master’s programs (including special programs like MBA, MPA and Master of Engineering) and 9 postdoctoral programs. The University also boasts 6 national bases for talent training, one national education base for cultural education of college students, 3 national key disciplines, 39 provincial key disciplines, one national engineering and technology center, 11 ministerial or provincial key labs and engineering and technology research centers.

The University has a faculty and staff of over 2,300, of which 1,100 are full-time faculty, and nearly 600 are professors and associate professors. The faculty is also distinguished by 2 academicians and 7 part-time academicians of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences, and 4 honored professors under the auspices of “the Cheung Kong Scholars Program”. The University’s student population amounts to about 18,000 including 2,000 doctoral and graduate students, and 150 international students.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the University has educated more than 100,000 graduates of different disciplines for the nation, and most of them have become the professional, academic and administrative backbone of the country, fulfilling leading roles in different regions and sectors. The University was once praised as “the Mother of Chinese Petroleum Engineering Talents” and “the Cradle of Economists”.

The University pays close attention to international exchange and cooperation, and has established collaborative relations with nearly 50 institutions of higher learning and research in foreign countries, and Hong Kong and Taiwan regions. The exchange and cooperation, covering various areas of study, have contributed to the rise of the University’s academic level and international renown. To its credit, Encyclopedia Britannica once listed Northwest University as one of the world-famous Chinese universities.