Shandong University

History

Traditional learning in Shandong (1733–1901)

The Luoyuan Academy (Chinese: 泺源书院; pinyin: Luoyuán Shūyuàn) was established in

Jinan in 1733 by an imperial edict from the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The governor of Shandong, Yue Jun (simplified Chinese: 岳浚; traditional Chinese: 岳濬; pinyin: Yuè Jùn), received 1,000 taels of silver (approximately 37 kg) to fund the establishment of the academy. The name "Luoyuan" (literally "source of the Luo [River]") refers to the original location of the academy near the Baotu Spring. The academy was dedicated to teaching the Chinese classics to the sons of the gentry. Scholars affiliated with the academy include: Bi Yuan (畢沅, 1730–1797), Sang Tiaoyuan (桑调元, 1695–1771), Shen Qiyuan (沈起元, 1685–1763), He Shaoji (何紹基, 1799–1873), Kuang Yuan (匡源, 1815–1881), Wang Zhihan (王之翰, 1821–1850), Liu Yaochun (刘耀春), Zhu Xuedu (朱学笃, 1826–1892), and Miao Quansun (缪荃孙, 1844–1919). In 1881, the American Presbyterian missionaries John Murray (Chinese: 莫约翰; pinyin: Mò Yuēhàn) and Stephen A. Hunter (Chinese: 洪士提反; pinyin: Hóngshì Tífǎn) attempted to purchase a property adjacent to the Luoyuan Academy for use as a chapel. This led to a violent reaction when on July 13, 1881, literati from the academy incited an attack on the property. The incident, known as the "Jinan Missionary Incident" (Chinese: 济南教案; pinyin: Jìnán Jiào'àn), had considerable diplomatic repercussions for the relationship between the Qing Dynasty and the United States. The Luoyuan Academy was rebuilt in 1896 to become the largest institution of its kind in Shandong. Five years later (in 1901) it was replaced by the newly founded Imperial Shandong College which took over its campus (today the site of the Provincial Bureau of Statistics on Spring City Road (Chinese: 泉城路; pinyin: Quán Chéng Lù)).

19th-century precursors

The earliest precursor institutions that would later be fused into Shandong University were founded by American and English mission agencies: In early January 1864, Calvin W. Mateer, an American Presbyterian missionary, and his wife Julia Brown Mateer, arrived in the recently opened treaty port of Dengzhou (Chinese: 登州; Wade–Giles: Tengchow, now Zhifu, Yantai) in the area of the present-day city of Penglai on the north-eastern coast of Shandong Peninsula. Their journey had begun in New York on July 3, 1863, had taken them around the Cape of Good Hope to Shanghai, and had ended with a shipwreck off the coast of Yantai. In the autumn of 1864, the Mateers opened an elementary school for boys, which was called Mengyang Educational Society (Chinese: 蒙养学堂; pinyin: Méngyǎng Xuétáng), in a Guanyin temple that had been sold to them since there were insufficient funds for its upkeep as a temple. The school's first class consisted of six boarders and two day pupils. The school was enlarged to accommodate 30 boarders and divided into primary and high school sections in 1869. The high school became known as the Wenhui Guan (Chinese: 文会馆; pinyin: Wénhuì Guǎn). The Tengchow College of Liberal Arts was formally established in 1882, i.e., at a time when the school had been operated as a primary and high school for 18 years already. By 1889, enrollment in the college had grown to 100 students. The six-year curriculum included algebra, geometry and conic sections, trigonometry and measurement, surveying and navigation, analytical geometry and mathematical physics, calculus, as well as astronomy. Religion also featured prominently in the curriculum as well as in daily life at Tengchow College. The college soon enjoyed a reputation for its high standards of academic excellence. When W.A.P Martin hired young professors of Western learning for the Imperial University of Peking (the precursor of present-day Peking University), 12 out of 13 young professors hired were graduates of Tengchow College of Liberal Arts. In 1884, shortly after the formal establishment of Tengchow College of Liberal Arts, British Baptists established Tsingchow Boys' Boarding School in Qingzhou, also located in northern Shandong, but not directly on the coast.

In 1902, the American and British missionaries agreed to combine their education ventures in Shandong, and established an arts college (Chinese: 潍县广文学堂; pinyin: Wéixiàn Guǎngwén Xuétáng) in Weifang, a theological college (Chinese: 青州共合神道学堂; pinyin: Qīngzhōu Gònghé Shéndào Xuétáng) in Qingzhou, and a medical college (Chinese: 济南共合医道学堂; pinyin: Jìnán Gònghé Yīdào Xuétáng) in Jinan. In 1909, all three colleges were consolidated into Shantung Protestant University (Chinese: 山东新教大学; pinyin: Shāndōng Xīnjiào Dàxué) which was later renamed Shantung Christian University (Chinese: 山东基督教大学; pinyin: Shāndōng Jīdūjiào Dàxué). "Cheeloo University", the school's informal name that had been officially approved by the school council in 1915, was derived from "Qilu", a nickname of Shandong Province coined after the ancient states of Qi (1046 BC–221 BC) and Lu (10th century BC–256 BC) that once existed in the area. Jinan was chosen as the new location for the consolidated university.

Formal establishment

The initiative for the founding of Shandong University (as Imperial Shandong University, Chinese: 山东大学堂; pinyin: Shāndōng Dàxué Táng) in 1901 as a national, modern university came from Yuan Shikai, then the governor of Shandong province. Yuan Shikai was the chief military modernizer of the late Qing Dynasty whose control over a powerful army combined with his personal ambition played a key role in the birth of the Republic of China as well as its descent into warlordism in the early 20th century.

Yuan Shikai had been governor of Shandong Province since December 1899. He had been appointed to this post to quell the Boxer Uprising in the province and to reassure the foreign diplomats in the country who were looking for quick decisive actions against the boxers. In 1901, the same year that marked the end of the Boxer Uprising, Yuan sent a draft for the university charter (simplified Chinese: 山东大学办学章程; traditional Chinese: 山東大學辦學章程; pinyin: Shāndōng Dàxué Bànxué Zhāngchéng) to the Guangxu Emperor and instructed Li Yukai, the magistrate of Penglai, to start preparations for the university. The draft of the university charter was approved by the emperor in November 1901, shortly after the Boxer Uprising had officially ended with the signing of the Boxer Protocol on September 7, 1901. Shandong Imperial University became hence the second modern national university established in the country after Imperial Capital University (simplified Chinese: 京师大学堂; traditional Chinese: 京師大學堂; pinyin: Jīngshī Dàxuétáng) that had been founded in 1898 and later became Peking University. The charter of Shandong Imperial University served as a model for subsequent foundations of imperial university. The original charter document for Shandong University is now kept in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan where it had been taken during the retreat of the Kuomintang at the end of the Chinese Civil War.

Governor Yuan Shikai wanted a prominent position for Western learning in the curriculum of the new college. Hence, he invited the American Presbyterian missionary Dr. Watson McMillan Hayes (Chinese: 赫士; pinyin: Hèshì, 1857–1944) who was then serving as president of Tengchow College in Penglai to help with setting up the new Imperial Shandong University and serve as its president. The appointment of the Presbyterian missionary W. A. P. Martin as inaugural president of the Imperial Capital University three years earlier had set a precedent for this arrangement. Hayes arrived in Jinan in July 1901 and started the preparations for the new college. Hayes also published Shandong's first successful daily newspaper and petitioned the Qing court to grant a holiday on Sundays; As a consequence, Shandong University was closed on Sundays right from the start. However, by the end of the year, Hayes and six Chinese Christian teachers he had brought with him had resigned already over disagreements regarding the policy of mandatory Confucius worship for students of the imperial university. Hayes went on to teach the Presbyterian Mission Theological Class in Chefoo (present-day Yantai) and continued to work as a missionary and educator in Shandong until his death in a Japanese internment camp in Wei County (present-day Weifang) in 1944.

Qingdao era (1909–36)

The first modern academic institution in the port city of Qingdao, then part of the German Kiautschou Bay colonial concession, was the German-Chinese "Advanced School of Special Sciences of a Special Type" ("Hochschule für Spezialwissenschaften mit besonderem Charakter", Chinese: 特别高等专门学堂; pinyin: Tèbié Gāoděng Zhuānmén Xuétáng). It was founded on October 25, 1909, about 11 years after the German lease on the territory went into effect. In establishing the university, the German authorities took a much more accommodating approach towards the Chinese government than they had taken in the de facto annexation of the territory. The negotiations over the establishment of the school were led by sinologist Otto Franke. Although the German governor Oskar von Truppel vigorously objected to Chinese influence over the school, Franke's collaboration plan received firm backing from Admiral von Tirpitz as well as the German envoy in Beijing. The university operated under the supervision of the German naval administration, but was recognized and supported financially by the Chinese government. The cumbersome name of the school ("spezial" or "tebie", i.e., "special") was chosen at the insistence of the Chinese government to reflect its special status, below the Imperial College in Beijing but above the other provincial Chinese universities. The local informal name for the university was "Hainan School" in reference to an old name for Qingdao. Studies were organized in a "preparatory level" with a six-year (since 1911, five-year) curriculum for students aged 13 to 15 years and an "upper school". Subjects covered included German, history, geography, mathematics, natural history, zoology, botany, health, physics, chemistry, drawing, music, sports, as well as Chinese language and sciences. Whereas engineering and natural sciences were taught in an entirely "Western mode", the Chinese and European approaches were combined in the teaching of the humanities. Religious subjects had been excluded from the curriculum at the request of the Chinese government. The number of students at the school rose to about 400 in 1914, the school assembled a German and a Chinese library with about 5000 and 8000 volumes respectively. School operations ceased with the beginning of the First World War in 1914 and never resumed.

Qingdao reverted from Japanese to Chinese control in 1922 and Qingdao University was founded as a new private university in August 1924; its first president was Gao Enhong, the governor of Qingdao (former Jiaozhou territory). The former German-Chinese university was not mentioned during the opening ceremony and it was decided not to hire foreign teachers for the time being.

Qingdao University was housed in the former Bismarck barracks that had been constructed for the German troops in 1903, i.e., during the time when Qingdao was part of the German concession in Shandong. The curriculum of Qingdao University was mainly focused on engineering and business administration and a bachelor's degree was to be awarded after four years of study. Luo Ronghuan, later a marshal of the People's Liberation Army, was among Qingdao University's students. Qingdao University fell on hard times after the Zhili clique of warlords that had ruled Shandong since the takeover from the Japanese unexpectedly lost to its rival Fengtian clique in the Second Zhili–Fengtian War of 1924. Gao Enhong was forced to resign as president of the university and funding dried up.

Wartime (1937–49)

In November 1937, a few months after Marco Polo Bridge Incident that had marked the outbreak of a fully-fledged war in July of the same year, National Shandong University was evacuated from Qingdao. The university first moved to Anqing in Anhui Province and soon afterwards to Wanxian in Sichuan Province (today Wanzhou District in Chongqing). Books, equipment, and administrative files were shipped in separate installments and suffered severe loss. Classes resumed in Wanxian in Spring 1938, but were stopped soon after that on orders of the Ministry of Education. Teachers and students were then transferred to the National Central University that had been moved from Nanjing to Chongqing in the previous year. The books and equipment of Shandong University were placed into storage in the National Central Library, the National Central University, and the National Central Vocational School. After the war, in the spring of 1946, the university moved back to Qingdao.

From 1945 until May 1949, part of the Shandong University campus in Qingdao served as the headquarters for the U.S. Sixth Marine Division until it was disbanded on March 31, 1946 and later on for the U.S. Fleet Marine Force, Western Pacific. In 1947, the Su Mingcheng Incident, in which an American seaman had killed a rickshaw puller after an argument, caused protests of the university students.

Before the surrender of Japanese, in 1944, the Central China Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) decided to establish Huazhong Construction University (华中建设大学) on the basis of the Huazhonga Party School. The school was located in Xinpu, Xuyi County, in the border area of Jiangsu and Anhui. In August 1945, the school moved to Qingjiang City.

In August 1945, the Shandong Anti-Japanese People's Government of the CCP established Shandong University in Linyi, the capital of the communist base; to distinguish it from the National Shandong University, it was called Linyi Shandong University. In early 1946, Peng Kang, the president of Huazhong Construction University, led the teachers and students of the university to merge into Linyi Shandong University.

Shortly after Japanese withdrew from China, CCP and KMT fought the Chinese Civil War. In the summer of 1948, the East China Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party decided to establish East China University in Weifang by combining the former Linyi Shandong University with Huazhong Construction University. After Jinan was taken by the communists, East China University moved to Jinan in November. In the winter of 1950, after KMT and US Navy left Qingdao, it was ordered to move to Qingdao, and in 1951 it merged with Shandong University in Qingdao.

Early time in PRC (1949–65)

In 1951, East China University (Chinese: 华东大学; pinyin: Huádōng Dàxué) was merged into Shandong University. In the same year, the university published the "Journal of Shandong University". Cheeloo University was dissolved in 1952 and its Medical School became part of Shandong Medical College. Prior to the Sino-Soviet split, Soviet faculty members worked at Shandong University. In October 1958, the university moved back to Jinan from Qingdao. The marine sciences remained in Qingdao, where they later formed Shandong Ocean University. In Jinan, Shandong University first occupied the Hongjialou Campus. Construction of the new Central Campus commenced in 1959, during the Great Leap Forward and in the year of a great Yellow River flood. Shandong University was added to the list of National Key University on October 10, 1960.

Cultural Revolution (1966–76)

Starting from early June 1966, schools in Jinan were closed down by strikes as teachers were "struggled against" in the Cultural Revolution. Shandong University was also completely paralyzed by the events. A complete restructuring was imposed on Shandong's university system: according to a resolution passed by the Revolutionary Committee of Shandong Province on July 29, 1970, the liberal arts of Shandong University were moved to Qufu and combined with Qufu Normal College to form a new Shandong University. The biology department was moved to Tai'an and merged into the Shandong Agricultural College. The rest of the sciences was to form the Shandong Science and Technology University. In 1971, the university's admission policy was also changed: in order to open the university to workers and peasants, new students were now nominated "by the masses" and then approved by the political leadership and the university. Until 1976, a total of 3267 students who were admitted under this scheme graduated after completing a 2- or 3-year curriculum. Premier Zhou Enlai learned of Shandong University's reorganization in 1973. Although he was already terminally ill with bladder cancer at the time, he intervened and ordered a return to previous structure of the university. As a consequence, all organizational changes imposed by the Revolutionary Committee of Shandong Province were undone in early 1974.

Recent history (1980–present)

Shandong University Weihai Campus was established in 1984. In 1985, Shandong Medical College was renamed Shandong Medical University. From 1986 to 1996, Shandong University underwent a period of rapid academic expansion. By 1997, is contained 14 colleges, 45 schools and offered 56 undergraduate program, 57 master's degree programs as well as 17 doctoral degree programs. Shandong University merged with Shandong Medical University and the Shandong University of Technology in 2000. With Shandong Medical University the former campus of Cheeloo University became part of Shandong University (as the West Campus, renamed Baotuquan Campus in 2009). The campus of Shandong University of Technology became the South Campus of Shandong University (renamed Qianfoshan Campus in 2009). Construction of the Xinglongshan Campus (then under the name "New South Campus"), a large new campus located in a mountain valley to the south of Jinan dedicated to education of first- and second-year undergraduate students, began in 2003.

In July 2019, the university attracted controversy when it was reported that male foreign students were assigned three generally female Chinese "buddies" to help them with life in China. An application form for the study program even mentioned "making foreign friends of the opposite sex". The university subsequently apologized but dismissed reports of male international students being paired with three female domestic students, saying that the language on the application form was "improper expression" due to "insufficient checks". The incident led to complaints about foreign students receiving too many privileges.

Reputation and ranking

Shandong University was one of the Project 985 universities in China to appear in the world's top 500 universities in the first global university ranking in 2003, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The joint THE-QS World University Rankings 2005 ranked Shandong University =282nd in the world. In the general university ranking performed by the Chinese University Alumni Association (CUAA), Shandong University ranked number 14 among Top 100 Chinese universities in 2010. It reached the 11th highest score in the "teaching" category of this ranking. Shandong University's engineering programs have also been ranked number 15 nationwide by the Research Center of Management and Science in China (2008). For the last 10 years, Shandong University has been continuously ranked among the top 10 universities nationwide in terms of the number of publications included in the Science Citation Index. Research at Shandong University is deemed particular strong in the areas of physics, mathematics, and medicine. A ranking by Mines ParisTech based on the number of alumni holding CEO position in Fortune Global 500 companies placed Shandong University first within China.

The 2024 CWTS Leiden Ranking ranked Shandong University at 15th in the world based on their publications for the time period 2019–2022. In 2024, it ranked 59th among the universities around the world by SCImago Institutions Rankings. Shandong University ranked 18th among the leading universities globally in the Nature Index 2025 Annual Tables by Nature Research, that measure the high-quality research published in 82 high-quality science journals. The Academic Ranking of World Universities, also known as the "Shanghai Ranking", placed the university 101st-150th in the world. Shandong University ranked 168th worldwide and 36th in Asia in the CWUR World University Ranking 2025.

Administration

At the top level, Shandong University is governed by a president (Chinese: 校长; pinyin: Xiàozhǎng) and a cabinet of vice presidents (Chinese: 副校长; pinyin: Fù Xiàozhǎng), each with a specific portfolio of responsibilities (e.g., research, international exchange). Central administrative departments (e.g., for finance, human resources, research, or international affairs) are led by a director (Chinese: 处长; pinyin: Chùzhǎng). Below the central administration, the university is organized by subject area into 31 faculties that are referred to as "Schools" (Chinese: 学院; pinyin: Xuéyuàn) as well as a graduate school. Each school is headed by a dean (Chinese: 院长; pinyin: Yuànzhǎng) and may be divided further into departments headed by a chairperson. Academic programs are offered in 11 main disciplines: philosophy, economics, law, literature, history, natural sciences, engineering, management, medicine, education, and military science. There are 104 undergraduate degree programs, 209 master's degree programs, and 127 doctoral degree programs. In addition, there are seven professional master's degree programs in law, business management, engineering, clinical medicine, public health, dentistry, and public administration.

The student population is around 57,500 full-time students, of which 14,500 are postgraduate students, and over 1,000 are foreign students (data from 2009).

The major research efforts at Shandong University are organized in 34 national, provincial, and ministerial key academic disciplines, two national key research labs, 21 provincial and ministerial key research labs, a national engineering and technology promotion center, 10 provincial technology research centers, three national basic scientific research and personnel development bases; three social science key research bases approved by Ministry of Education; and three national fundamental science personnel development bases. Among its faculty are 23 members (including adjuncts) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Three general hospitals, including Qilu Hospital, and 12 teaching hospitals are affiliated with the university. The university library houses a collection of over 3,550,000 items.

Schools and departments

School of Business Administration

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

School of Civil Engineering

School of Computer Science and Technology

School of Control Science and Engineering

School of Dentistry

School of Economics

School of Electrical Engineering

School of Energy and Power Engineering

School of Environmental Science and Engineering

School of Fine Arts

School of Foreign Languages and Literature

School of History and Culture

School of Information Science and Engineering

School of International Education

School of Journalism

School of Law

School of Life Science

School of Literature and Journalism

School of Macroelectronics

School of Marxist Theory Education

School of Materials Science and Engineering

Campuses

Shandong University has a total of seven campuses. All but two of them are located in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong Province. Together they cover an area of 3.8 km2. There are two campuses outside Jinan, one is located in Qingdao, and another is in Weihai.

Central Campus

Construction of the Central Campus commenced in 1959, about a year after the university had moved back from Qingdao to Jinan and during a time that coincided with the Great Leap Forward, the Great Chinese Famine, as well as a devastating flood of the Yellow River (in July 1959). The Central Campus houses the central administration (in the Mingde Building, Chinese: 明德楼; pinyin: Míngdé Lóu), the main university library, a large dining hall, as well as student dormitories. The central campus is home to the schools of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Economics, History and Culture, Marxism–Leninism, Life Sciences, Mathematics and System Science, Literature and Journalism and Communication, as well as Information Science and Engineering. One of Shandong University's hotels (Chinese: 山东大学学术交流中心; pinyin: Shāndōng Dàxué Xuéshù Jiāoliú Zhōngxīn, or for short: "Xueren Dasha", Chinese: 学人大厦; pinyin: Xuérén Dàshà) is also located on the central campus. The roads within the Central Campus are named after concepts from Confucianism.

Hongjialou Campus

The Hongjialou Campus derives its name from the Hongjialou Square and is located immediately to the north and east of the Square and the Sacred Heart Cathedral (Chinese: 洪家楼耶稣圣心主教座堂; pinyin: Hóngjiālóu Yēsū Shèngxīn Zhǔjiào Zuòtáng). The first construction on the campus dates back to 1936 when it was used for the Jinan Yifan Girls' Middle School (Chinese: 懿范女子中学; pinyin: Yìfàn Nǚzǐ Zhōngxué) that was operated by Franciscan sisters (Chinese: 艾修女; pinyin: ài xiū nǚ) of the Archdiocese of Jinan. In 1948, the Yifan Girls' Middle School was combined with Liming Middle School (Chinese: 黎明中学; pinyin: Límíng Zhōngxué) and its former campus became part of the Shandong Agricultural Institute that used it until 1958, when the Institute moved to Tai'an. In October 1958, the Hongjialou Campus became Shandong University's first Campus after the university moved back to Jinan from Qingdao. The Hongjialou Campus houses the Schools of Law, Foreign Languages and Literature as well as Fine Arts.

Baotuquan Campus

The Baotuquan Campus is the former campus of Cheeloo University and was established in 1909. The design for the campus was made by Perkins, Fellows and Hamilton, an architectural firm from Chicago renowned for its school buildings in the "Prairie School" style. The American architects attempted to include Chinese architectural features into the design of the buildings on the new Cheeloo University campus in Jinan. They did, however, mistakenly assume that the roof shape was the only distinguishing feature of Chinese architecture. As a result, the buildings feature Chinese-style roofs on buildings that lack the matching support elements such as wooden Dougong brackets that characterize Chinese architecture. Historical buildings on the Baotuquan Campus include the Bergen Science Hall (Chinese: 柏尔根楼; pinyin: Bǎi'ěrgēn Lóu, formerly for Chemistry and Biology), the Mateer Science Hall (formerly for Physics and Physiology), the McCormick Hall, and the Alumni Gate (the former main entrance, construction completed on June 17, 1924). Baotuquan Campus houses the schools of public health, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and medicine.

Qianfoshan Campus

The Qianfoshan Campus was established in 1949 and served as the campus of Shandong University of Technology. It became a part of Shandong University when Shandong University of Technology was merged into Shandong University in July 2000. The campus has a total area of about 420,000 square meters and remains exclusively dedicated to engineering. It is home to the schools of Materials Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, Control Science and Engineering, Energy and Power Engineering, Physical Education, as well as Civil Engineering. The roads on the Qianfoshan Campus are named after famous engineers and inventors from China as well as abroad.

Xinglongshan Campus

The Xinglongshan Campus is the newest campus of Shandong University and also its largest campus in Jinan with an area of about 769,000 square meters. Construction of the campus started in March 2003 and its first facilities were ready for use in August 2004. The campus is used to house first- and second-year students of nine different departments. The Xinglongshan Campus also houses a Student Associations Activity Center with a total floor space of about 2000 square meters.

Qilu Software College Campus

The Qilu Software College Campus is home to the School of Computer Science and Technology as well as to

the university's Software College. Campus construction started in July 2001 and the campus now has a total area of about 267,000 square meters. More than 3,000 students live on the Qilu Software College Campus. The campus is located next to a cluster of commercial software ventures, such as the China International ICT Innovation Cluster (CIIIC) and shares educational resources with these businesses.

Weihai Campus

Shandong University Weihai Campus was established in 1984, its campus covers a total area of about 1 million square meters, making it the largest campus of Shandong University. Shandong University Weihai Campus is organized in 13 departments that include the College of Korean Studies, the Business School, the Law School, the School of Journalism and Communication, the Art Institute, the College of Ocean Science, the School of Information Engineering, the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, the Institute of Space Science and Physics, the Mathematics and Statistics Institute, the School of International Education, and the College of Vocational and Technical Training. To the west of the Weihai campus lies the Shandong University Academic Center, a beach-front hotel and conference center.

Qingdao Campus

Construction of the Qingdao Campus started in March 2011 and the first development phase was inaugurated in September 2016. The campus is located north of Xingshi Zhuang Village (Chinese: 星石庄村; pinyin: Xīngshízhuāng Cūn) in Aoshanwei Town (Chinese: 鳌山卫镇; pinyin: Áoshānwèi Zhèn) that is part of Jimo City and located to the northeast of Qingdao. The campus site is immediately adjacent to the seashore of Aoshan Bay and the coastal highway (Chinese: 滨海大道; pinyin: Bīnhǎi dàdào). The total planning area covers about two million square meters, 43 percent of which are included in the first construction phase. When completed, the Qingdao Campus will have a capacity of 30,000 students; recruitment of the first class of 5,000 freshman students is planned for the fall of 2013. The construction cost is estimated at 800 million Chinese Yuan (about 124 million US Dollars). The architecture of the new campus is intended to blend Chinese and western elements. Many buildings will incorporate the red roofs and other building style elements of the German colonial architecture in Qingdao. The master plan for the campus was developed by Perkins Eastman (New York). One of the founders of Perkins Eastman, Bradford Perkins is the grandson of Dwight H. Perkins, whose firm (Perkins, Fellows, & Hamilton) designed the Cheeloo University campus in Jinan. The campus will be dedicated to advanced science and engineering research, with a special emphasis on interfacing with high-tech industry and international academic collaboration. It is part of a plan to give Shandong University a presence that is distributed throughout the province in a manner that is comparable to the University of California system, but retains a greater level of central control.

International cooperation

Shandong University has established an international network for educational cooperation and has signed exchange agreements with over 70 universities from over 50 countries. Shandong also is associated in a sister school for American Middle Schools and Junior Highs, including Scofield Magnet Middle School. Among its faculty are international researchers and scholars, who either visit for a short term (less than 1 month, 160 visitors in 2009), a medium term (less than half a year, 70 visitors in 2009), or for the long term (more than half a year, 80 visitors in 2009). Of the 80 long-term international faculty members, 30 language scholars teach languages such as English, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, and Russian. The others are active in disciplines such as philosophy, biology, chemistry, physics, law, international politics and economics, as well as Chinese classics and traditional philosophy.

About 1500 international students from about 40 countries come to study at Shandong University each year. An international student population numbering more than 1000 can be found on campus at any given time during the semester. Most of these international students come from Asian and African countries, but there are also students from Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia. Since 1980, Shandong University has received more than 10,000 students from over 60 countries. Popular study subjects are Chinese language and culture, but also economics and medicine. Furthermore, Shandong University participates in international short term exchange programs and receives approximately 2500 international student visitors for such programs per year.

In 2006, Shandong University created a joint urban research center with the University of Cincinnati in the United States, and a presence on each other's campus. An International Laboratory operated in the a partnership with Virginia Tech was inaugurated in the Integrated Research Building on the Central Campus in August 2010. The laboratory focuses on a biophysics and engineering analysis of biological model systems drawn from China's biodiversity. Shandong University is a partner university of the Study China Programme, which is coordinated by the University of Manchester and funded by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Research centers

State Key Laboratories

State Key Laboratory for Crystal Materials

State Laboratory for Microbial Technology

National Engineering Laboratory

National Engineering Laboratory for the Reduction of Coal-fired Pollutants Emission

National Research Center

National Glycoengineering Research Center

Ministry of Education Key Laboratories

Key Laboratory for Colloid and Interface Chemistry

Key Laboratory for Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials

Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology

Key Laboratory for Cardiovascular Remodelling and Function Research

Key Laboratory for Cryptologic Technology and Information Security

Key Laboratory of Power System Intelligent Dispatch and Control

Ministry of Health Key Laboratories

Key Laboratory for Otolaryngology

Key Research Base of the Ministry of Education in Humanities and Social Sciences

Center for Zhouyi and Ancient Chinese Philosophy

Center for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies

Institute for Literary Theory and Aesthetics

Institute for Contemporary Socialism

National Research Institutes

Institute for Crystal Materials

Institute for Microbiology

Institute for Infrared and Remote Sensing Technology

Research Centers of Shandong Province

Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Research Center

Laboratory for Risk Analysis and Random Calculus

Institute for Religion, Science, and Social Studies

Number Theory at Shandong University

High Energy Physics Group

Oriental Archaeology Research Center

Center for Economic Research

Center for Health Management & Policy

Center for European Studies

Center for Space Thermal Science

Center for Japanese Studies

Key Laboratory for Otolaryngology

Modern Logistics Research Center

Institute of ECIWO Biology

University hospitals

Shandong University Qilu Hospital

Qilu Hospital was established as the hospital of Cheeloo University. Construction started in 1914 and was supervised by Harold Balme (1878–1953), a British physician from King's College Hospital in London, who would later serve as the third president of Cheeloo University (from 1921 until 1927). The first building of the new hospital (today known as the "Republican Building") was inaugurated on September 27, 1915, by the military governor of Shandong, Jin Yunpeng. About 20 years later, the hospital moved to a new building (completed in 1936) and the old building was used by Cheeloo University's School of Medicine. Today, the Shandong University Qilu Hospital as a total capacity of 1,800 beds and treats more than 1.9 million outpatient treatments per year. It has departments include cardiology, internal medicine, hematology, gynecology and obstetrics, otolaryngology, general surgery, neurosurgery, and pediatrics. The hospital is located at Wenhua West Road 107 in Jinan.

Second Hospital of Shandong University

The Second Hospital of Shandong University has a capacity of about 2431 beds and has departments for neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, and internal medicine. The hospital is managed by the National Medical Department and affiliated with Shandong University, it is located at Beiyuan Street 247 in Jinan.

Stomatology Hospital of Shandong University

The Stomatology Hospital of Shandong University was founded in 1977. It has 105 employees and is organized into four research centers and two laboratories. It is located at Wenhua West Road 44 in Jinan.

Identity

Motto and slogan

The official university motto is "Noble in Spirit, Boundless in Knowledge" (simplified Chinese: 学无止境 气有浩然; traditional Chinese: 學無止境 氣有浩然; pinyin: xué wú zhǐ jìng, qì yǒu hào rán); it was adopted in May 2002. The university also uses the branding slogan "Soul of the mountains, spirit of the sea" (Chinese: 山之魂, 海之韵; pinyin: Shān zhī hún, hǎi zhī yùn) in reference to Shandong's geographical nature as a mountainous peninsula. At the main entrance gate (south gate) to the university's Central Campus, an inscription defines the mission of the university as "Preparing talents for the world; Striving for the prosperity and strength of the country" (Chinese: 为天下储人才为国家育精英; pinyin: Wèi tiān xià chǔ rén cái wèi guó jiā yù jīng yīng). The official lettering is a reproduction of calligraphy written by Mao Zedong. In March 1964, during the period between the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, Mao wrote the characters in the address of a thank-you note to Gao Heng, a professor at Shandong University who had sent him literature.

Anthem

The official anthem of Shandong University (山东大学校歌) was written by lyricist Cheng Fangwu (成仿吾), modified by a group of people, and composer Zheng Lvcheng (郑律成). The lyrics of the official anthem are:

The song of Shandong University (山东大学之歌) was written by lyricist Qiao Yu (乔羽), who also wrote the lyrics for My Motherland, and composer Gu Jianfen (谷建芬), both natives of Shandong Province. The lyrics of the anthem are:

Logo

The core of the pattern is based on the Chinese characters "山" (meaning Mountain, and also the abbreviation of Shandong) and "大" (meaning University) as the basic design elements, and is transformed using modern deformation techniques, making it easy to identify. The logo is simple and bright, easy to produce and disseminate. The school emblem combines straight and curved lines, and is both rigid and flexible, stable and dynamic. It is upward-developing, full of vitality and vigor, full of modernity and rhythm, and has a strong visual impact and rich imagination.

The entire pattern is symmetrical, stable, and balanced, full of the style of a great university and a famous school. The "山" character at the top of the pattern is a deformation of the Chinese pictographic character "山", which is full of Chinese cultural characteristics. The deformation of the "山" character has an upward trend, implying that Shandong University is constantly developing and striving to create a world-class university. The bottom is a deformation of the "大" character, which looks like a vast ocean, implying that the sea of knowledge is endless. The integration of "山" and "海" easily reminds people of "there is a path to the mountain of books, and diligence is the path; there is no end to the sea of knowledge, and hard work is the boat" (Chinese: 书山有路勤为径, 学海无涯苦作舟), which shows the spirit of Shandong University teachers and students who are diligent in seeking knowledge and bravely climbing the peak of science. At the same time, it emphasizes the university culture of "soul of the mountains, spirit of the sea" (Chinese: 山之魂, 海之韵).

List of university presidents

Tang Shaoyi, 1901

Zhou Xuexi, 1901, later became 2-term Finance Minister of the Republic of China

Wang Shoupeng, president of Provincial Shandong University in Jinan, 1926–1927

Yang Zhensheng, president of National Shandong University in Qingdao, 1930–1932

Zhao Taimou, president of National Shandong University in Qingdao, 1932–1936 and 1946–1949

Lin Jiqing, (acting) president of National Shandong University in Qingdao, 1936–1946

Hua Gang, president of Shandong University (Qingdao), 1951–1955

Chao Zhefu, president of Shandong University (Qingdao), 1956–1958

Cheng Fangwu, president of Shandong University (Jinan), 1958–1974

Wu Fuheng, 1979–1984

Deng Conghao, 1984–1986

Pan Chengdong, 1986–1997

Zeng Fanren, 1998–2000

Zhan Tao, 2000–2008

Xu Xianming, 2008–2013

Zhang Rong, 2013–2017

Fan Liming, 2017–2022

Li Shucai, 2022–present

Notable faculty and alumni

Lao She (1899–1966), writer, author of the novel "Rickshaw Boy" and the play "Teahouse"

Feng Yuanjun (1900–1974), writer and scholar of Chinese classical literature and literary history

Gao Heng (1900–1986), pioneer in the modern interpretation of the I Ching, corresponded with Mao Zedong

Ji Xianlin (1911–2009), linguist, paleographer, historian, writer

Jīn Xuěfēi (1956-, pen name Ha Jin), writer, publishes in English, winner of the American National Book Award (1999)

James Veneris (1922-2004), American soldier in the Korean War who defected, English professor

Li Congjun (1949– ), president of Xinhua News Agency (since 2008)

Liang Shiqiu (1903–1987), writer and translator, translated the complete works of Shakespeare and George Orwell's Animal Farm into Chinese

Lydia H. Liu, comparative literature scholar, Columbia University, 1997 Guggenheim Fellow

Lu Kanru (1903–1978), scholar of classical Chinese literature

Luo Ronghuan (1902–1963), Marshall of the People's Liberation Army, served as security chief during the Long March

Ma Ruifang (1949– ), author and scholar, studied works of Pu Songling

Mo Yan (1955– ), novelist and author of short stories, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature 2012