Gansu University of Chinese Medicine
Basic Overview
Co-built by the People’s Government of Gansu Province and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu University of Chinese Medicine is an institution designated by the Ministry of Education and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Pilot Reform Program of Training Outstanding Physicians (Traditional Chinese Medicine). It acts as the technical support unit for the Fourth National TCM Resource Survey in Gansu, a National Science and Technology International Cooperation Base for Demonstrative TCM Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases, a host institution for international students receiving Chinese Government Scholarships, and an institution offering the integrated 5+3 bachelor-master program in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The University operates three campuses: Heping, Wulipu and Dingxi, and runs a Tibetan Medical College in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, covering a total area of over 1,888 mu. Its teaching and research equipment is worth 670 million yuan. The library holds 1.622 million printed books, 2.4984 million e-books and 4.0875 million electronic journals. The University has 19,840 full-time students, including 15,579 full-time undergraduates, 3,714 master’s students, 294 doctoral students and 92 pre-college students. Among them, there are 139 international undergraduates and 22 international postgraduate students (master’s and doctoral candidates).
School-running Vision
Upholding the socialist direction of education and fulfilling the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, the University follows its school motto: Diligence, Rigor, Inheritance and Innovation. It adheres to the school-running philosophy of "Seeking distinctive development based in western China, inheriting medical benevolence and pursuing open education", and the education philosophy of "Benevolent Medicine, Diligence and Harmony, Tempering to Achieve Excellence". It firmly undertakes the dual missions of higher education in Gansu’s traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine, and targets building a high-level university of Chinese medicine renowned nationwide, leading in western China and distinguished by unique characteristics. It cultivates interdisciplinary applied talents to meet the demands of regional economic and social development, especially the development of medical and health services.
Faculty Team
The University employs 5,261 faculty, medical and nursing staff (including those affiliated to its hospitals). The faculty includes 2 Masters of National Chinese Medicine, 6 National Famous TCM Physicians, 7 Qihuang Scholars (including young scholars), 1 Distinguished Yangtze River Scholar, 22 recipients of Special Government Allowances from the State Council, 1 Expert with Outstanding Contributions awarded by the Ministry of Health, 3 National Outstanding Teachers, 1 National Advanced Individual in Teachers’ Morality, 1 Distinguished Teacher of TCM Higher Education Institutions, 1 National Scientist for Medicinal Seed and Seedling Research, 2 recipients of the Gansu May 1st Labor Medal, 34 Provincial Famous TCM Physicians, 15 Provincial Outstanding Experts, 18 Distinguished Teachers of Gansu Universities, 17 recipients of the Gansu Gardener Award, 42 recipients of the Gansu Young Teacher Talent Development Award, 16 talents selected for the Gansu "333" and "555" Talent Projects, 3 Top Provincial Leading Talents, 26 Provincial Leading Talents, 44 Gansu Feitian Scholars and 12 Gansu Longyuan Young Elites. There are 143 doctoral supervisors and 1,024 master’s supervisors.
Disciplinary Layout
The University covers seven disciplinary categories: Medicine, Science, Engineering, Economics, Management, Education and Literature. It hosts 2 postdoctoral research stations, 3 first-tier academic disciplines authorized to confer doctoral degrees, 6 first-tier academic disciplines authorized to confer master’s degrees, and 7 categories of professional master’s degrees. It is qualified to award master’s degrees to persons with equivalent academic attainments and train university teachers for on-the-job master’s degrees. It boasts 4 national key clinical specialties, 5 national advantageous TCM specialties, 11 key specialties recognized by the National Administration of TCM, 1 national TCM geriatrics construction project, 19 provincial advantageous TCM specialties, 2 Gansu Outstanding Clinical Specialties, 2 Gansu Key Clinical Specialties, 14 key disciplines of the National Administration of TCM, 3 Class A provincial first-class distinctive disciplines, 7 provincial key disciplines, 2 Gansu University Key Disciplines, 9 Gansu Medical and Health Key Disciplines and 37 university-level key disciplines.
Major Construction
The University offers 35 undergraduate majors, with 16 teaching institutions, 11 affiliated hospitals and 156 practical teaching bases. It has 4 national first-class undergraduate major construction sites and 10 provincial first-class undergraduate major construction sites, alongside 7 national first-class undergraduate courses and 50 provincial first-class undergraduate courses. As a high-level new medical science construction university in Gansu, its majors of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Materia Medica and Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine are designated as high-level new medical science majors of Gansu, while Medical Information Engineering is listed as a high-level new engineering major of Gansu. The University runs 1 National Demonstration Center for TCM Clinical Teaching and Training, 1 Provincial Top Student Training Base for Basic Disciplines and 7 Provincial Experimental Teaching Demonstration Centers, and has been recognized as a Gansu Benchmark University for Smart Education. It has won 1 Special Prize, 1 First Prize and 4 Second Prizes in Provincial Teaching Achievement Awards. In national teaching innovation competitions, its faculty have claimed 1 National First Prize, 2 National Second Prizes and 2 National Third Prizes; at the provincial level, they have earned 7 First Prizes, 7 Second Prizes and 13 Third Prizes.
Scientific and Technological Work
The University operates 46 high-level scientific and technological innovation platforms at all levels, including 18 national ministerial and provincial platforms such as the Key Laboratory of Dunhuang Medicine and Transformation under the Ministry of Education, the National International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for TCM Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Diseases, the Provincial-Ministry Co-construction Collaborative Innovation Center for Northwest Chinese and Tibetan Materia Medica, Gansu Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu Basic Research Center for Dunhuang Medicine and Gansu Evidence-Based Medicine Center for TCM, plus 17 departmental and bureau-level platforms, 10 university-level platforms and 1 joint laboratory. Over the past five years, the University has undertaken more than 1,300 national, provincial, ministerial and other research projects. As the primary affiliation unit, it has received over 100 scientific and technological achievement awards, including more than 40 provincial and ministerial-level awards (4 First Prizes and 11 Second Prizes). It holds over 200 national patents, has published more than 100 academic monographs and over 3,000 high-level academic papers. The University sponsors three academic journals: Journal of Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Journal of Chinese Pediatrics and Gansu Primary Health. Among them, Journal of Chinese Pediatrics is a journal series of the China Association of Chinese Medicine and an Excellent Chinese University Sci-Tech Journal. Both Journal of Chinese Pediatrics and Journal of Gansu University of Chinese Medicine are included in the Excellent Chinese Sci-Tech Journals under the Xiniu Program.
External Exchange
Gansu Province, China, known as the "Millennium Land of Traditional Chinese Medicine" and a "Natural Medicinal Herb Repository", serves as a vital birthplace of traditional Chinese medicine. It boasts profound TCM culture and abundant medicinal herb resources. Gansu University of Chinese Medicine (GUCM) adheres to the equal emphasis on traditional Chinese and Western medicine, continuously strengthens internal development and quality improvement, and has achieved remarkable results in advancing the development of TCM undertakings and enhancing people’s health. Taking the development of the Silk Road Economic Belt as an opportunity, the University actively serves the national Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Following the philosophy of "cultural guidance, mutual advancement of medical exchanges, strengthened identity recognition, and substantive cooperation", it sticks to the path of boosting medicine through cultural exchanges, promoting herbal industries via medical development, and driving trade through herbal resources. The University has carried out extensive international cultural exchanges and cooperation. Focusing on expanding exchanges to western countries, it has co-established 9 Qihuang TCM Institutes, 7 Qihunag TCM Centers and 2 Dunhuang Medicine Departments with BRI countries including Moldova, Thailand, Brazil and the Czech Republic. It has also built friendly cooperative relations with universities and educational institutions in more than 20 countries and regions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Russia, with its international exchange and cooperation capacity steadily upgraded. Leveraging its strengths in TCM teaching and distinctive disciplinary advantages in Dunhuang Medicine, the University vigorously develops international student education and TCM training programs. Through TCM training courses and clinical diagnosis and treatment cooperation, it has cultivated a large number of TCM practitioners for BRI countries including Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova. Up to now, the University has enrolled 161 international students from over 30 countries such as Thailand, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Yemen.