Beiyang University

Tianjin University

天津大學 天津大学
Former names	Peiyang University
Motto	實事求是 实事求是
Motto in English	Seeking Truth from Facts
Type	National university
Established	October 2, 1895
President	Li Jiajun (李家俊)
Academic staff	4,374
Undergraduates	15,000
Postgraduates	9,000
Location	Tianjin, China
Website	http://www.tju.edu.cn/english/

Tianjin University (TJU, simplified Chinese: 天津大学; traditional Chinese: 天津大學; pinyin: Tiānjīn Dàxúe) is the first modern higher education institution in China, and now a national university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of China. It was established in 1895 as Tientsin University/Imperial Tientsin University (Chinese: 天津北洋西學學堂/天津北洋西学学堂) and later Peiyang University (Beiyang University) (Chinese: 北洋大學堂/北洋大学堂; pinyin: Běiyáng Dàxúetáng). In 1951, after restructuring, it was renamed Tianjin University, and became one of the largest multidisciplinary engineering universities in China. The university was one of the first 16 universities accredited by the nation in 1959. It is also among the first group of institutions of higher learning in the national “211-Project” to which priority is given in construction. In order to carry out the “21st Century Education Revitalizing Action Plan”, in late 2000 the Ministry of Education and Tianjin Municipality signed an agreement which aims to build Tianjin University into a 1st-class university in the world in the 21st Century.

In 1895, Sheng Xuanhuai submitted his memorial to the Guangxu Emperor to request for approval to set up a modern higher education institution in Tianjin. After approval on October 2, 1895, Peiyang Western Study College was founded by him and American educator Charles Daniel Tenney and later developed to Peiyang University. It was the first university providing four year degree modern higher education in China. The university modeled itself on the famous American Universities and aimed to rejuvenate China by training qualified personnel with new scientific and technological knowledge. After the PR China's foundation and university restructures, Peiyang University was renamed Tianjin University in 1951.