Established in 1907 by German physicians in Shanghai, the university now has a faculty of more than 2,815 scholars, including 27 members from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.[2] Currently, Tongji University owns 29 colleges, 11 affiliated hospitals, and 7 affiliated primary and secondary schools.[3]
The history of Tongji University can be traced back to 1907 when the German Medical School for the Chinese (Deutsche Medizinschule für Chinesen in Shanghai) in Shanghai was founded by the German government together with the German physicians Erich Paulun, Oscar von Schab and Paul Krieg. The school was affiliated with the Tongji-Hospital the German physicians had established in Shanghai on the initiative of Paulun.[4] The name Tongji, which is a phonetic approximation in Shanghainese of German deutsche ("German"), suggests cooperating by riding the same boat. The school was expanded to include engineering in its programs and got its new name as German Medical and Engineering School for the Chinese in Shanghai in 1912. It was formally established as a Chinese university under the name of Tongji University in 1923/1924 and was renamed as National Tongji University in 1927. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the university campus was moved from Shanghai first to Zhejiang Province, then to Jiangxi Province and Yunnan Province and later to Sichuan Province. It was eventually moved back to Shanghai in 1946.[note 1]
Tongji became one of the first universities authorized by the State Council to establish a graduate school. It became a member of the Project 211, which provided universities with substantial government fund. In 1995, the university became one to be jointly supported by the State Education Commission and the Shanghai Municipal Government. In 1996 the university merged with Shanghai Institute of Urban Construction and Shanghai Institute of Building Materials. The merger was acknowledged by the State Council as "Tongji Model" in the system renovation of higher institutions in China. In April 2000, the expanded Tongji merged again with Shanghai Railway University. The university is now a comprehensive university which offers a wide range of programs in science, engineering, medicine, arts, law, economics and management.[5]
November 2010 - Signed a cooperation agreement with Instituto Superior Técnico making IST the Portuguese Campus of Tongji University
July 2005 - Signed a cooperation agreement with Politecnico di Milano and Politecnico di Torino concerning the development of Sino-Italian University Campus in Shanghai and establishment of a Sino-Italian House, one year later a dual bachelor's degree project in engineering, called PoliTong, was launched
October 1995 - Declared to be jointly built by the former State Education Commission and the Shanghai Municipal Government
December 1978 - Upon consent by the State Council, resumed connection with Germany and became the window of the cultural, technology and science exchanges between China and Germany
1952 - The Departments of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry in College of Science merged into Fudan University, the Departments of Machinery, Electrical Engineering and Ship Manufacture merged into Shanghai Jiaotong University. In the meanwhile, Tongji University merged the Civil Engineering Department and School of Architecture from Saint John's University, Shanghai and several other universities.
1951 - The Department of Biology in College of Science merged into East China Normal University, the Medical School and the Department of Survey in College of Engineering moved to Wuhan, Hubei Province
September 1949 - College of Literature and Arts, College of Law merged into Fudan University
June 1949 - Tongji University was taken over by Shanghai Military Control Commission
August 1946 - College of Science expanded as College of Literature and Science moved back to Shanghai
The university now registers over 50,000 students at all levels from certificate and diploma courses to Bachelor's Degrees, Master's, Ph.D. programs and post doctoral attachments. There are over 4,200 academic staff for teaching and/or research, among whom there are 6 Members of Chinese Academy of Science, 7 Members of Chinese Academy of Engineering, over 530 professors and 1,300 associate professors. The university offers diverse courses in its 81 Bachelor's degrees, 151 Masters, 58 PhD programs and 13 post doctoral mobile stations. Tongji University is particularly famous for its Civil Engineering and Architecture programs. Its Civil Engineering, Architecture programs and Transportation Engineering are ranked Top 1 in P.R. China and its architecture program is by far the most difficult to gain entry into. As one of the state leading centers for scientific research, the university has 5 state key laboratories and engineering research centers.[citation needed]
The university is active in promoting cooperation and exchanges with other countries. It has established links with Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Spain,[8] Switzerland, UK and USA in the fields of education, science, technology and economics. A number of international joint programs have been established between the university and its counterparts in other countries in recent years. In 2006, the university enrolled 1,829 international students.[9]
On June 3, 1907, German Medical School was opened in Shanghai. On October 1 of the same year, a ceremony was held. The Anniversary Day was initially set to May 18, on which day in 1924 the Wusong campus was opened. In 1925 and 1926, ceremonies were held on May 18. On the staff meeting on January 19, 1931, the Anniversary Day of National Tongji University was decided to be postponed to May 20, two days after the national mourn with half-mast over the death of Mr. Chen Yingshi (Chen Qimei), a politician.[10] Tongji celebrates the Anniversary Day on May 20 since then.[citation needed]
Coincidentally, on May 20 of 1924, Tongji Medical School was approved to be a "university" by the Department of Education of China. At that moment, both the medical school and the engineering school were approved.[citation needed]
Tongji University is titled the State-level Garden Unit for Excellent Afforestation. lts five campuses are located in the municipal city of Shanghai, covering an area of 2,460,000 m2. The Siping Campus is situated on Siping Road; the West Campus on Zhennan Road; the North Campus on Gonghexing Road; the East Campus on Wudong Road and the Jiading Campus is located in Shanghai International Automobile City in Anting, Jiading District. In the year 2009, the East Campus was sold to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.[11]
Siping Campus (Main campus)
The entrance part of Siping Campus
The Sanhao Wood Restaurant (三好坞) in the Siping Campus
Tongji graduates are highly desired in China and worldwide. In 2017, its Graduate Employability rankings placed at #101 in the world in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings.[34] Tongji University is regarded as one of the most reputable Chinese universities by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings where it ranked # 151 globally.[35]
Tongji's College of Architecture and Urban Planning is home to one of the best architecture programs in the world. As of 2022, Tongji University was ranked the best university in the world in "architecture" by the University Ranking by Academic Performance[41] and ranked as the number 12 architecture school worldwide in the QS World University Rankings[42] and the top overall architecture program in China according to China's University and College Admission System (CACUS).[43]
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(August 2018)
Some noted alumni of Tongji University are:
Li Guohao, Former President of Tongji University, World Famous Bridge Engineering Expert
^With a few exceptions, the German members of the Faculty of Medicine stayed behind in Shanghai and established in 1940 in the International Settlement the Shanghai German Medical Academy (Deutsche medizinische Akademie Shanghai; alternative spelling Schanghai). The school functioned at 82 Tongfu Road (later Shimenyi Road) and at #10, 100 Changshu Road, continuing medical and educational activities throughout the war. Upon the return of the National Tongji University to Shanghai, the Academy, with all its students, was re-integrated in the Faculty of Medicine. See (History of) #10, 100 Changshu Road (Shanghai)Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, in Chinese.
