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About Northwest Minzu University

Northwest University for Nationalities is located in Lanzhou, an important node city of “the belt and road initiative”. It is the first institution of higher learning for nationalities established after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which is affiliated to the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, an institution jointly established by the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Education, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and the Gansu Provincial People’s Government, and a high-level university construction unit determined by Gansu Province.

The school was founded in Yan ‘an by the Communist Party of China（CPC） in 1941, and then merged into Yan ‘an University. In 1949, Yan ‘an University was renamed as Northwest People’s Revolutionary University. In August 1950, Northwest Institute for Nationalities was formally established on the basis of the third part of Lanzhou Branch of Northwest People’s Revolutionary University, and was renamed Northwest University for Nationalities in April 2003. In 2007, the school passed the evaluation of undergraduate teaching level of the Ministry of Education with “excellent” results. The school has Northwest New Village Campus, Yuzhong Campus, affiliated hospitals, affiliated middle schools, affiliated primary schools and affiliated kindergartens. The total campus area is over 3,000 mu, with a total construction area of 740,000 square meters. The library has more than 4 million books and documents (including e-books), and the total value of teaching and scientific research instruments and equipment is about 500 million yuan. After more than 70 years of development, the school has formed the spirit of Northwest University for Nationalities, characterized by “Yellow Land” and “Yellow River”, with “unpretentious, willing to be poor, indifferent to fame and fortune, selfless dedication” and “ambitious, relentless, indomitable and brave” as the core, and has trained more than 180,000 professionals at all levels for the country. The school has the right to confer bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctor’s degree. There are 25 teaching and scientific research units, with disciplines covering 11 categories, including economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, management and art. There are 72 undergraduate majors, 1 first-level discipline authorized by doctor’s degree, 15 first-level disciplines authorized by master’s degree, 2 two disciplines authorized by master’s degree, 1 interdisciplinary subject authorized by master’s degree, 8 master’s degree categories and Chinese language and literature. Recruiting students from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. There are more than 30,000 teachers and students. The school has one “National Outstanding Contribution Collective for Western Development”, one “National Huang Danian-style Teacher Team”, one “National Advanced Collective of Professional and Technical Talents”, one national teaching team, one candidate for “National Millions of Talents Project”, one “National Model Worker”, and seven experts who enjoy special stickers from the State Council government. There are 27 provincial and ministerial-level key disciplines, among which ethnology is the dominant discipline, Chinese language and literature, computer science and national information technology, and bioengineering are the characteristic disciplines in Gansu province. There are 4 national specialties, 27 national and provincial first-class undergraduate specialties and 21 provincial first-class undergraduate courses. It is a pilot project unit for comprehensive reform of national specialties and reform of national outstanding agricultural and forestry talents training mode. The school has two national experimental teaching (demonstration) centers, one key research base of the National Education Research and Development Center of the Ministry of Education, one Gansu research base of ethnic and religious theory of China United Front Theory Research Association, four key research bases of humanities and social sciences of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, 10 research bases of humanities and social sciences at other provincial and ministerial levels and 10 new think tanks. There is one national joint laboratory for international cooperation, one key laboratory of the Ministry of Education, four key laboratories of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, and 12 laboratories and research bases at other provincial and ministerial levels. Periodically publish Northwest Ethnic Studies (CSSCI Source Periodical) and Journal of Northwest University for Nationalities, among which Northwest Ethnic Studies was rated as “My Favorite Excellent Gansu Edition Periodical in the 40 Years of Reform and Opening-up”.

In recent years, the school has undertaken more than 4,000 scientific research projects at all levels and has won the second prize of national scientific and technological progress twice. The compilation of Gesar Library has become an academic center in the study of Gesar in the new era. Publishing Dunhuang documents collected in English and French is regarded as another milestone in the collation of Dunhuang documents. Minhai Bioengineering Co., Ltd. was selected as “the first batch of backbone enterprises of strategic emerging industries in Gansu Province”, and provided more than 70% serum for production of inactivated COVID-19 virus vaccine in China. The school has successively established inter-school cooperation and exchange relations with universities and scientific research institutions in dozens of countries such as the United States, Russia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and expanded substantive cooperation and exchange with universities and scientific research institutions in countries along the “the belt and road initiative”.

In Yushu earthquake relief, teachers and students of Chinese Language and LiteratureDepartment received awards from the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission. In the fight against COVID-19 epidemic, the affiliated hospital of the school selected 32 people to take armour in white and rush to Wuhan, which showed the great love of unity of all ethnic groups. The school has been awarded the honorary title of “National Model Collective of National Unity and Progress” by the State Council twice, and has been rated as “Excellent Unit of Social Practice Activities of” Three Rural Areas “by the National College Student Volunteers in Summer” by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League for many times, and twice won the “Excellent” grade in Gansu Province’s poverty alleviation work.

Guided by Xi Jinping’s socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, based on the new development stage, implementing the new development concept, integrating into the new development pattern, adhering to the initial mission of educating people for the party and cultivating talents for the country, persisting in serving the people, serving the Communist Party of China（CPC）’s governance of the country, serving the consolidation and development of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, serving the reform, opening up and socialist modernization, and taking the awareness of the Chinese national community as the main line of work. We will fully implement the fundamental task of cultivating people by virtue, strive to build the school into a strong position for upholding the leadership of the Party, a highland for training builders and successors of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, a model place for building a spiritual home shared by the Chinese nation, and a characteristic think tank for serving and coordinating the promotion of the “four comprehensive” strategic layout, and strive to build a modern high-level university.