East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), originally named East China Institute of Chemical Technology, was founded in 1952. Its history dates back to 100 years to Nanyang Public School and Aurora University, its predecessor institutions. It was the first single-subject institute in China, consolidated by the chemistry departments of Jiaotong University, Aurora University, Utopia University, Soochow University and Jiangnan University, during a nation-wide restructuring of the country's universities in the early 1950's. It was among the first to be granted the permission to admit postgraduates in 1956. It was designated as a national key university by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 1960 and renamed to its current name by the State Ministry of Education in 1993. In June 1996, ECUST was admitted into the national key subjects of the "211 Project". It has been under the joint construction and administration of Shanghai Municipal Government and the State Ministry of Education since October 1997. Its graduate school was approved by the Ministry of Education of China in June 2000, and was picked to construct the Project 985 Innovation Platform in 2008. It is among the first 22 universities to implement the Admission Reform in China. With the effort of half a century, the University has developed itself into a national key research university with distinct characteristics of each discipline and a coordinated development of multi-disciplines.

ECUST has three campuses at present, located respectively in Xuhui District, Jinshan District and Fengxian District. It occupies a total area of over 2,650 mu, and a total construction area of 816,000 square meters. It is home to many standard sports facilities. Its library possesses 2.5 million books, 18,000 periodicals, some 48 CD databases like CA & EI and the complete American patent in microfiche films. It is the head of information cooperation networks among Academics of Chemical Technology around China, the Workstation of Scientific Program Consultation and Innovation Investigation Center of the Ministry of Education, the Center of Foreign Language Textbooks in Shanghai and the Shanghai Digital Resources Center for Postgraduates. The Analyzing & Testing Center and Gemstone Testing Center boast national authorized computation & attestation centers.

The university has 15 academic schools at present, namely School of Chemical Engineering, School of Bioengineering, School of Chemistry & Molecular Engineering, School of Pharmacy, School of Material Science & Engineering, School of Information Science and Engineering, School of Mechanical & Power Engineering, School of Resource & Environment Engineering, School of Science, School of Business, School of Social & Public Administration, School of Art-Designing & Mass Media, School of Foreign Studies, School of Law, School of Sports Science & Engineering etc. In addition, it has School of Online Education, College of Continuing Education, College of International Education, Sino-German College of Technology, Department of Excellent Students in Science and Technology, and School of Humanities as well.

Academic fields of ECUST cover eleven branches and thirty-eight subjects. The university now has 59 specialties for undergraduate studies, 21 subjects for master students, and 6 subjects for PhD students. It is entitled to confer master's degrees in over 100 programs, doctoral degrees in 44 programs, Master of Engineering' Degrees in 18 programs as well as MBA program, MPA program, Normal Degree program for College Teachers and 7 post-doctoral centers. moreover, there are 7 second-level national key subjects, 1 national key subject (under construction) and 10 Shanghai key subjects.

At present, the total number of full time students has reached over 25,800, including 6,360 postgraduates for master's degrees, 1,215 Ph.D. candidates and 17,739 undergraduates. Among its over 3,621 staff members, there are 2 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, 1 winner of the National Award for Distinguished Teacher, 3 scientists-in-chief of 973 (The National Basic Research Program) in China, 2 experts of the National 863 Project, 10 Changjiang Scholar Program Professors, 1 winner of the Award for Excellence in Teaching granted by the Shanghai Municipal government, 2 national Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Teams, 2 National Innovative Teaching Teams, 11 national excellent scholars, 8 gainers of the Fund of National Outstanding Young Scientists, 11 gainers of the Fund of National Excellent Young Teacher, and over 1,000 professors and associate professors. Besides, more and more young scholars are striding on their way to prosperity, among them 5 National Candidates of the New Century Talents Program, 6 Scientific Elites of Shanghai, 9 Excellent Teachers of Shanghai, 1 Outstanding Young Scientist of Shanghai, and 32 candidates for Outstanding Talents in the 21st Century.

With its enterprise-oriented guiding principles of "cultivating elites to serve the society, highlighting the process of teaching and learning, promoting the spirit of industry and honesty, and accomplishing a coordinated development of multi-disciplines", the university continues to further its reforms in educational ideals, in teaching contents and methods, and in curriculum systems, and its high teaching quality is renowned around the nation. It hosts 11 National Classic Courses, 2 national Model Bilingual Courses, and 46 Shanghai Classic Courses. Since 2000, the university has undertaken 16 national teaching reform programs, and won 11 National Teaching Awards. Moreover, it has published 13 textbooks that are designated as the most important by the State Ministry of Education, and 8 textbooks has been granted national awards. By now, 52 textbooks are included in the list of the 11th Five-Year National Programmed Textbooks. The university is home to 6 national particular specialties, the Chinese Branch of the UNESCO Center for Engineering Education, and the Center of General Chemistry, one of the National Demonstration Centers for Experimental Teaching.

For years, with the aim to cultivating students into elites with "profound professional knowledge, strong practical ability, high quality, innovative spirit and international outlook", the university has attached great importance to the overall development of its students. Students of ECUST have won numerous awards in national and international mathematics competitions, among them the Special Award in the American College Students Mathematics Competitions (1997, 2005), and the "Champion Cup" in the "Challenge Cup" National Science and Technology College of Extra-curricular Academic Competition (1993, 1999, 2007). In addition, they have come out first in many nation-wide and city-wide English competitions, such as English Speaking Contests for College Students of Shanghai (2000, 2005), and International English Debate Competition (2007). Besides, they have also distinguished themselves in many National and Shanghai competitions in Physics, Foreign Languages, Computer Programming, Electronic Design, Robot Inventing and Scientific Inventions. In particular, the university's female table tennis team boasts many medals in the World Table Tennis Championship for College Students.

The university has 8 national academic bases, 16 provincial and ministerial research bases, and 2 scientific research bases based on international cooperation, 53 academic institutes and one Science and Technology Zone. ECUST is among one of the first six universities that were authorized as the national technology transference centers. In recent years, 1300 full-time and part-time researchers have been conducting more than 1000 research programs each year with their research fund rising from 100 million RMB in 2001 to 200 million in 2004 and to over 300 million in 2007. During the National Tenth Five-Year, its research fund of Project 863 ranked the 9th among all the universities in China. Among the research projects/programs that have been completed, 550 of them received awards and/or special recognitions, including 42 National Invention Awards and National Science Advancement Awards, over 500 Provincial Science Advancement Awards, and over 700 national and international patents. New technologies were developed for the gasification of water, coal and plasma, ethanol from biomass, resource recovery by smog desulphurization, advanced evaporation of water, chlorine and stone, invention platform of microorganism albumen in large scale etc. A lot of them have been industrialized and made great lucrative and social profits, including GMT compound material, fine carbon, artificial bone cement, SO2 recycling, dry coal powder-gasification, and new self-control zymolysising kettle.

The university has achieved a lot of accomplishments in technical transfer and cooperation among industry, university and research, and accordingly enjoys a national prestige. It is one of the national model institutions of technical transfer, a member of the national strategic associations of "Coal Chemical Industry", "the Lightweighting of Chinese Automobile" and "antibiotics". The technology of Steam Gasification of Petroleum Coke transferred to Valero Energy Corporation of the US was China's first technical transfer to a developed country, which gained the biggest amount of profit among the universities of China.

ECUST has attached great importance to international cooperation and communication, and has established long term collaborations with more than 70 universities, enterprises and research institutes in America, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Canada, Korea, Australia and so on. A number of prestigious international research universities have become its overseas sister schools, with which it has signed cooperation agreement to promote the exchange among teachers as well as students, and to joint train students.

The university has been striving to enhance the Party Construction and Spiritual Civilization Construction and to advance the cultivation of students' overall capability along with the successful Material Civilization Construction. ECUST took the lead in "Double Courses" reforming and won the first class award of Shanghai and National Excellent Teaching Achievements, which in turn resulted in, for five consecutive years, the first class award and the excellent organization award in the competition of Deng Xiaoping's theory studies of Shanghai. Great achievements have been made in the construction of campus environment, innovation of educational system and the improvement of integrated educational advantages. Consequently, a lot of Shanghai or National Excellent Students, Outstanding Communities and Civilized Dormitories come to the fore every year. Honors have come in showers to the university, including the Excellent Organizing Award of Shanghai in the National College Student Art Festival, the Excellent Organizing Award of National Social Activity for College Students, the Model of Collective Working Unit in Shanghai, the Outstanding Unit of Arts Education in Shanghai, Model Unit for Supporting the Military and their Families, the Outstanding Unit of Social Security in Shanghai, the National Outstanding Unit of People's Physical Education, the Outstanding Unit of Democratic Administration, the Civilized Unit of Shanghai for five consecutive years since 1996.

Over the past 50 years, more than 100,000 students have graduated from ECUST, among whom nine have been selected as the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, a lot have become leaders in all levels of governments, and many have become experts in universities, scientific institutes and companies. Meanwhile, there are many prominent alumni abroad, who have earned such honorary recognition as "The Most Influential in the Chinese Cosmos (2006)". Former President Jiang Zemin inscribed an epigraph of "Talents come forth in great number" for ECUST on the thirtieth anniversary ceremony of Petroleum Processing Department in 1988.

Today, ECUST is moving ahead to build an internationally preeminent, brilliantly characteristic, multi-disciplinary and research-oriented first-class university in the ten years to come.


History of ECUST

10/1952  East China Institute of Chemical Technology was founded with the approval of the central government. It was the first single-subject chemical institute in China and was formed through the consolidation of the chemical departments of Jiaotong University, Aurora University, Utopia University, Soochou University and Jiangnan University. The institute was first located on 195 Zhengfa Rd, Jiangwan District in Shanghai, the campus of the former School of Science of Tongji University. Professor Zhang Jiangshu, a distinguished educator and highly accomplished chemist, was appointed as the President of the institute.

07/1954  Moved to the Meilong District. The campus had 38500 m2 in building space for classrooms, offices, and dormitories. 

11/1956  Received permission to admit graduate students. Simultaneously began to enroll international students.

10/1960  Promoted to one of the national key universities of the Ministry of Higher Education.

01/1965  The institute, Beijing University, Tsinghua University and Nanjing University were the four key universities ordered by the government to build branch campuses in the hinterland of China. The institute’s southwest branch was established in Zigong, Sichuan Province.

04/1972  Began admitting students from workers, peasants, and soldiers .

12/1977  Began admitting regular undergraduates and postgraduates again with the resumption of the National College Entrance Examination. 

11/1981  By the authority of the State Department, the university began accepting  doctoral students in Chemical Engineering and four other disciplines.

11/1985  Established the first batch of research stations that offer postdoctoral fellowships: Chemical Engineering Postdoc Station and Industrial Chemistry Postdoc Station.

02/1993  The National Ministry of Education approved the renaming of the university as the East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST).

06/1996  Was selected as one of the national "211 Project" universities.

06/2000  Started running the Graduate School, which was formally established later in June 2004.

03/2002  As one of the experimental institutes for modern long-distance education approved by the Ministry of Education, the School of Online Education of ECUST was established at ECUST.

12/2005  ECUST Science Park was established.

02/2006  The university began enrollment of MPA students.

11/2006  The School of International Education was established.

07/2007  The new campus at Fengxian was put into use.