Minzu University Of China

The Minzu University of China (MUC; 中央民族大学) is a national public university in Beijing, China.

It is affiliated with the National Ethnic Affairs Commission of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction.

Minzu University of China
中央民族大学
Minzu University Of China
Former names
The Central University for Nationalities
Motto美美与共,知行合一
Motto in English
Diversity in Unity, Theory in Practice
TypeNational
Established1941; 83 years ago (1941)
AffiliationNational Ethnic Affairs Commission, UASR
Party SecretaryZhang Jingze
Academic staff
1,200
Administrative staff
1,991 (including academic staff)
Students15,800
Undergraduates11,200
Postgraduates4,600
Location,
China

39°56′54″N 116°19′03″E / 39.94833°N 116.31750°E / 39.94833; 116.31750
CampusUrban
Websitewww.muc.edu.cn Edit this at Wikidata
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese中央民族大学
Traditional Chinese中央民族大學
Literal meaningCentral Ethnic Groups/Nationalities University

Minzu University ranked first in China among universities for ethnic minority studies. It aims to be one of the best universities of its kind in the world for inheriting and promoting the excellent culture of all ethnic groups. With the strong support of Chinese government, it has developed rapidly over the years. MUC is one of the most prestigious universities in China in ethnology, anthropology, ethnic economies, regional economics, religion studies, history, dance, and fine arts.

Name

Minzu University Of China 
East gate of Minzu University of China in March 2017, showing both Chinese and English names of the university

The Chinese name has the meaning "central ethnic university", suggesting a national-level university focused on serving minority ethnic groups. The old English name translated the ethnic term as "nationalities", based on the term used in German and Russian language Marxist texts. On 20 November 2008, the university changed its official English name, apparently citing concerns that "central" might imply a location in the geographical centre of China (as it does in South-Central University for Nationalities), and the old name did not sound good. The name change of Renmin University has been cited as a precedent. The new name obscures the university's ethnic character, although student opinion has focused more on the fact that it makes obsolete the university's nickname, "the village". The Chinese word for village (Chinese: ; pinyin: cūn) has a Hanyu pinyin spelling similar to the English abbreviation "CUN". In mainland Chinese culture, villages have homely connotations.[citation needed]

Academic programmes

The university awards undergraduate-level degrees in 55 academic subjects, usually after four years of study. There are 64 master's and 25 doctoral programmes. While young people from the majority Han group are the largest single ethnicity among the 15,000 students, 60% of the students and more than one third of the academic staff are from other nationalities.[citation needed] In addition to traditional course offerings the school offers special majors and courses such as ethnology, ethnic languages, and minority literature.

By far the strongest research areas are anthropology and ethnology, which are the mainstays of its small publishing house and journal. In 2001, the People's Daily described CUN as "China's top academy for ethnic studies." Other respected departments are the dance school and the minority language and literature departments. Other subjects are often studied from the ethnic minorities' perspective, e.g., biology courses may focus on the flora and fauna in ethnic minority areas of China.[citation needed]

Minzu University participates actively in social sciences research. Its social science departments predominantly do their research with an ethnic perspective and has achieved leading research results in China in ethnic economies, regional economics, legal studies in ethnic minorities regions, ethnic administration. In particular, its economics, management, law and history departments are growing into be dynamic research institutions with the help of Project 985.

The university is the pinnacle of a national network of institutions maintained by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, although academic standards are also monitored by the State Education Commission, which means some students end up sitting for two sets of exams.[citation needed]

Students are required to take courses on Chinese minority theories and Marxism.

In English-speaking countries, Minzu University's main partner is the University of East London, United Kingdom.[citation needed]

Rankings and reputation

University rankings
Global – Overall
CWUR World1988
RUR World938
Regional – Overall
QS Asia301-350
QS BRICS271-280
National – Overall
BCUR National91
QS National90

Minzu University is ranked first in China among universities that originated as "ethnic minorities".

The university's emphasis on arts and humanities programs, particularly those majors related to ethnic minorities, has resulted in a relatively lower standing in global university rankings. Nevertheless, it is continues to play a significant role within China's higher education system and has made noteworthy contributions to the economic, social, and cultural development of ethnic regions.

It also ranked 301-350th in Asia by the QS Asia University Rankings and 271-280th among BRICS countries by the QS BRICS University Rankings.

Internationally, Minzu University of China was ranked amongst top 2000 in the world by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), the RUR World University Rankings, Scimago Institutions Rankings and University Ranking by Academic Performance.

History

Minzu University Of China 
Fengtai campus of MUC in the town of Wangzuo

The Chinese Communist Party first established a Nationalities Institute in its Civil War stronghold of Yan'an, in central China, in October 1941. In 1950-1952, this was merged with other ethnolinguistic and sociological departments, including elements of Peking University and Tsinghua University. The result was the Central Institute for Nationalities,[citation needed] which was established in 1951 and officially opened on 11 June 1952. The institute was assigned a large area of parkland on the outskirts of Beijing as its campus.[citation needed]

Both the Yan'an and Central institutes were intended to train cadres (officials) for ethnic minority areas, as well as providing a liberal arts education for promising students from the minorities.[citation needed] The cadres were to be trained so they could serve as liaisons between their minority communities and the Chinese government. Their research was and is intended to support the policies of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. In its early years, the institute was caught up in the sensitive issue of classifying China's vast population into official ethnic groups, until the Cultural Revolution made conventional education almost impossible.[citation needed]

In 1999, it was granted "key university" status,[citation needed] as part of Project 211, which was supposed to identify 100 Chinese universities that would play leading roles in the 21st century. Since 2004, the university has been a participant in Project 985, a major national programme to raise 39 universities to world-class status. The campus has been almost completely reconstructed as part of this programme.[citation needed]

Meanwhile, Haidian has continued to develop as Beijing's main university district. CUN is now adjacent to the National Library of China and Zhongguancun, which local media refer to as "China's silicon valley." In 2006 a large site was acquired in Beijing's Fengtai district, and it is likely that a second campus will be constructed there.

Admissions

To ensure that members of the 56 recognized minority groups are admitted the school has fixed quotas for each group. As of 2011, Minzu University accepts National Higher Education Entrance Examination (Gaokao) scores with a minimum in the mid-400s, or below the 50th percentile. Out of the Beijing universities, this has one of the lowest acceptance requirements.

In China a university may admit a student whose score is barely below the cutoff score at its discretion. Sometimes minimum score levels were lowered to ensure that students from among the least-accepted minority groups would be permitted entry. The school offers remedial courses, including a one-year tutorial course that reviews the final year of senior secondary school and remedial Chinese courses to assist minority students to enroll.

The university has bridging programs to select minority students at Chinese secondary schools who are high achieving so they can attend Minzu University to prepare them for entering the highest ranked universities in Beijing. The government pays tuition for these programs.

Notable students and faculty

See also

Other universities for ethnic minorities in the People's Republic of China:

Notes

  • The Central University for Nationalities (undated, but c.2000). Beijing: CUN International Relations Office. A prospectus for Chinese and foreign students; the source for many of the dates and statistics in the first section.

References

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Minzu University Of China NameMinzu University Of China Academic programmesMinzu University Of China Rankings and reputationMinzu University Of China HistoryMinzu University Of China AdmissionsMinzu University Of China Notable students and facultyMinzu University Of ChinaBeijingDouble First-Class ConstructionNational Ethnic Affairs CommissionNational Key UniversitiesProject 211Project 985Public university

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