Soochow University (Suzhou)

Soochow University (Chinese: 苏州大学; Pinyin: Sūzhōu Dàxué; abbreviated SUDA) is a comprehensive university located in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, one of the most economically developed regions in China. It is administered by the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Jiangsu Province as part of the national Double First-Class initiative. The university is also co-constructed by the China National Space Administration. Soochow University was among the first institutions included in China’s Project 211 and the 2011 Collaborative Innovation Plan. It is one of China’s leading universities, ranking 28th nationwide.

The university traces its origins to Soochow University, a private institution founded in 1900. In August 1952, the Chinese Departments of the private Soochow University, along with its Departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, the Suxun Institute of Culture and Education, and the Mathematics and Physics Department of the private Jiangnan University, were merged to establish the Sunan Teachers College on the former Soochow University campus. In December of the same year, the institution was renamed Jiangsu Teachers College.

In February 1982, with the approval of the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, Jiangsu Teachers College was reorganized into a provincial comprehensive university under the name Soochow University. In the same month, the Suzhou School of Finance and Economics was incorporated into the university. In June 1982, the State Council formally approved the renaming. Subsequent incorporations included Suzhou Sericulture College in 1995; Suzhou Institute of Silk Technology (1997), Suzhou Medical College (2000), and the Suzhou campus of Nanjing Institute of Railway Technology (2012). Soochow University was listed as a Project 211 university in 1996 and was selected into the first and second rounds of China’s Double First-Class initiative in 2017 and 2022, respectively.

As of May 2025, the university operates four campuses—Tiancizhuang, Dushu Lake, Yangcheng Lake, and the Future Campus—covering an area of 3.06 million square meters with over 1.66 million square meters of building space. Soochow University comprises 37 schools and departments, offering 132 undergraduate programs, 47 first-level master’s degree disciplines, 35 professional master’s degree categories, 31 first-level doctoral disciplines, 1 professional doctoral program, and 30 postdoctoral research stations. The university has 5,983 faculty and staff members and a student population of over 45,000.