History
- 1921: founded by Mr. Tan Kah Kee
- 1937: received its charter as a public university
- 1952: designated a comprehensive university for natural and social sciences
- 1963: designated a national key university
- 1986: initial trials of XMU Graduate School
- 1995: listed under the State “211 project”
- 2000: listed under the State “985 Project”
- 2017: listed under the state "Double First-class" Initiative
Education
With a graduate school, 6 academic divisions consisting of 28 schools and colleges, and 14 research institutes, XMU boasts a total enrollment of nearly 40,000 full-time students (including 1,500 international students), i.e. 20,000 undergraduates, 16,400 graduate students toward a master’s degree, 3,600 doctoral candidates.
Research
XMU currently has a faculty of over 2,600 full-time teachers and researchers, of whom 22 are the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (including 9 who are employed simultaneously by other institutions), and 44 professors are Distinguished or Chair Professors on the Changjiang Scholars' Program.
University Ranking
Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2024
151
2023
151
2022
151
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
World University Rankings by Times Higher Education
2025
301
2024
301 100
2023
401
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
QS World University Rankings by TopUniversities
2025
362 30
2024
392 30
2023
422
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report
2025
-
2024
198 49
2023
247
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
Library services
President Zhu Chongshi, on behalf of the university council and administration, expressed highest respect to the designers and workers for the new library. He expressed heartfelt thanks to the leaders and people from all walks of life who show interest and support in the construction of Xiang’an Campus.
Campus life
Nestled snugly between green hills and the blue sea, XMU is renowned as China’s "most beautiful university" for its excellent education facilities and beautiful environment.
Accreditation
Lately, the School of Management of Xiamen University (SMXMU) has officially received a letter from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), notifying that, after voting by all the members of the Accreditation Board of EQUIS (EFMD Quality Improvement System), EFMD made the final decision to award SMXMU five-year EQUIS accreditation. EQUIS accreditation is konwn to fall into three categories: failure to be accredited, three-year accreditation and five-year accreditation. Currently, among the over 160 worldwide business schools which have been accredited by EQUIS, merely about 50 have ever been granted the honor for a five-year period.