Jishou University

Jishou University was founded in 1958 and is located in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture and Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province. It is a comprehensive university in Hunan Province and the only comprehensive university in the Wuling Mountain area.

The school is a university jointly built by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and the People's Government of Hunan Province, a university in the national "Basic Capacity Building Project for Colleges and Universities in Central and Western China", a key university in the "Wuling Mountain Area Regional Development and Poverty Alleviation Plan", an excellent school in the undergraduate teaching level assessment of the Ministry of Education, an excellent school in the quality assessment of the postgraduate training process in Hunan Province, and a general university that recommends outstanding undergraduate graduates to study for a master's degree without examination. In 2018, it was approved as a doctoral degree-granting institution and enrolled students in the first batch in Hunan and other provinces and cities.

The school has a complete range of disciplines, including 21 teaching colleges, 41 first-level disciplines, and 78 undergraduate majors, covering 12 major disciplines. There are 5 provincial key disciplines (including 1 key discipline with advantages and characteristics), 1 provincial domestic first-class construction discipline, 1 provincial domestic first-class cultivation discipline, and 2 key disciplines of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission; there are 2 postdoctoral research stations, 1 "Postdoctoral Research Station Collaborative R&D Center"; there is 1 first-level discipline doctoral program, 15 first-level discipline master's programs, and 13 professional master's programs; there are 3 national characteristic majors, 1 national undergraduate major comprehensive reform pilot major, 1 "Excellent Doctor Education and Training Program" major, and 1 "Excellent Agricultural and Forestry Talent Education and Training Program" major; there are 8 national first-class undergraduate major construction sites and 32 provincial first-class undergraduate major construction sites. There are more than 30 teaching and research platforms such as national and local joint engineering laboratories, national experimental teaching demonstration centers, and national engineering practice education centers.

The school has nearly 1,500 faculty members and more than 1,100 full-time teachers, including more than 700 senior professional titles and more than 560 doctoral and master's supervisors. There are 14 experts with "Special Government Allowance of the State Council", 1 national candidate of "New Century Hundred Thousand Talents Project", 6 candidates of "New Century Excellent Talents Support Program" of the Ministry of Education, and 1 outstanding young and middle-aged expert in ethnic issues research of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission; 2 candidates of Hunan Province's "Hundred Talents Program", 28 candidates of Hunan Province's "121 Talent Project", 4 experts with "Special Government Allowance of Hunan Province", 1 Hunan Youth Talent, 7 Hunan Furong Scholars, 1 candidate of Hunan High-level Talent Aggregation Project, 1 Hunan Cross-Century Academic Leader, 1 Hunan "Furong Teaching Master", 2 Hunan Outstanding Young and Middle-aged Experts; there are 2 national teaching teams, 3 provincial outstanding teaching teams, and 4 provincial science and technology innovation teams. There are 1 national advanced educator, 2 May 1st Labor Medals, 9 national outstanding teachers, 1 national advanced teacher ethics individual, 1 national model teacher, 1 Xu Teli Education Award winner, 5 Zeng Xianzhi Education Fund Award winners, and 2 Baosteel Education Fund Award winners.

The school currently has more than 30,000 students of all kinds, including 20,000 undergraduates, masters, doctoral students, and international students. The school has built a "Liren Education" system with "curriculum-led, environmental influence, practical training, and self-shaping" as the system. Students have strong hands-on ability and many social practice activities. They have won special prizes and first prizes in various competitions and competitions such as the China "Internet +" College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and the National "Challenge Cup" College Student Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition. The college student ethnic minority art troupe has performed in the United States, Hong Kong and other places many times, with a wide influence. The school has been awarded the title of "National College Student "Three Going to the Countryside" Activity Advanced Unit and "Western Plan Project Excellent University" for many times. The employment rate of graduates remains above 90%. Over the past 60 years, the school has trained more than 300,000 graduates who can "go down, stay, be used, and do well".

The school focuses on serving the local economic and social development, undertakes a large number of major national and local scientific research projects, and has formed its own characteristics in academic research. Social science research focuses on regional economy, ethnic culture, and ethnic history. The research results of difference philosophy, ethnic anthropology, ethnic traditional sports culture, Shen Congwen research, cultural and creative industries, and tourism economy have a great influence at home and abroad. Natural science research focuses on the development, utilization and protection of characteristic resources in the Wuling Mountain area, proposes the "three belts" theory, develops the "Miliang No. 1" kiwifruit variety and in-depth development, and has achieved a series of influential scientific research results in Eucommia, kiwifruit, Pueraria, and Ponkan vinegar.

The school has created a distinctive "Xiangxi National Culture Expo Park" and built six cultural venues such as the Huang Yongyu Art Museum and the Shen Congwen Memorial Hall.

The school has the qualifications to recruit foreign students and students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and has carried out cooperation and exchanges with dozens of universities in countries and regions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Australia. It has implemented international cooperation and exchange projects such as student exchange and study abroad.

The school has successively won honorary titles such as "National Model Collective for National Unity and Progress" and "National May Fourth Red Flag Youth League Committee". Party and state leaders Zhu Rongji, Zeng Qinghong, Wei Jianxing, Jia Qinglin, Liu Yunshan and others have visited the school to inspect and guide the work. Former Premier of the State Council Zhu Rongji highly praised "Jishou University is the pride of Hunan", former Vice President Zeng Qinghong affirmed that "Jishou University has special value", and former Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Jia Qinglin happily said during his inspection of the school that "seeing Jishou University, we see the hope of poverty alleviation and prosperity in the Wuling Mountain area".

Entering the new era, Jishou University is seizing opportunities, improving its connotation, and striving to build the school into a distinctive and high-level comprehensive university for teaching and research.