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Peking University 北京大学
Established	1898
Type:	Public
President:	Xu Zhihong (许智宏)
Faculty:	4,206
Undergraduates:	15,128
Postgraduates:	15,039
Location	Beijing, China
Campus:	Urban, 273 ha
Affiliations:	IARU, APRU, BESETOHA
Website:	www.pku.edu.cn

Peking University (traditional Chinese: 北京大學; simplified Chinese: 北京大学; pinyin: Běijīng Dàxué), colloquially known in Chinese as Beida (北大, Běidà), was established in 1898. It is regarded as one of the best and the most selective universities in China. Peking University is the first formally established university, and the first national university of China. The university policy has mandated the use of Peking University in English rather than Beijing University^{[citation needed]} due to tradition and the desire to avoid confusion with Beijing Normal University and other similarly named institutions.

Contents 1 Present 2 Campus 3 International students 4 Notable alumni, administrators, and faculty 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links

The Times Higher Education Supplement in 2007 ranked Peking University as the fifth best school in Asia with an overall rank of 36th in the world, down from 14th the previous year.^[1] The 2007 ranking produced by Shanghai Jiaotong University in China placed Peking University in the top 300 worldwide, and fourth in China, incluing Hong Kong and Taiwan (behind National Taiwan University, Tsinghua University and University of Hong Kong).[2]

The entrance criterion of Peking University is extremely selective. Every year only the top students of each province across China can be admitted, which makes Peking University one of the most prestigious places for students all over China.

Peking University is a comprehensive and national key university. The University consists of 30 colleges and 12 departments, with 93 specialties for undergraduates, 2 specialties for the second Bachelor's degree, 199 specialties for Master's degree candidates and 173 specialties for Doctoral candidates. While in a leading position of basic sciences research and teaching, the university has gained itself very successful development of applied sciences.

At present, Peking university has 216 research institutions and research centres, including 2 national engineering research centres, 81 key national disciplines, 12 national key laboratories. With eight million holdings, the university library is the largest of its kind in Asia. The university has made an effort to combine the research on fundamental scientific issues with the training of personnel with high level specialized knowledge and professional skill as demanded by the country's modernization. It strives not only for the simultaneous improvements in teaching and research work, but also for the promotion of interaction and mutual promotion among various subjects.

Teaching also has been emphasized. It aims to cultivate the students' practical ability and creative power. As a result, the teaching of core courses is strengthened, the content of courses is enriched and renewed and favourable conditions have been created, for the students to develop themselves in extracurricular activities.

Peking University has been becoming a center for teaching and research, consisting of diverse branches of learning such as pure and applied sciences, social sciences and the humanities, and sciences of management and education. Its aim is to rank among the world's best universities in the next couple of decades, with the school's leadership placing great emphasis on developing bilateral relationships with prominent American universities for student and faculty exchanges.

The campus of Peking University is located in northwest Beijing, in the Haidian district which was designated for universities.

It is located on the former site of Qing Dynasty royal gardens and retains Chinese-style landscaping as well as many traditional buildings. It is known throughout China, along with its neighbour Tsinghua University, for having one of the most beautiful campuses.

Beyond Peking University's main campus, Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC)'s campus is located in Xue Yuan Rd. where China's most distinguished colleges are located. PKUHSC's campus is less aesthetically appeasing but is nonetheless a fitting site for academics and research.

In 2001, Peking University's Shenzhen campus, Shenzhen Graduate School, was set up. This campus locates at northwest of Shenzhen City.

Peking University has one of the largest pools of international students in China. The dorms for international students are located at "Shao Yuan" (Shao Garden). Every year, Peking University has approximately 2000 international students on campus. Approximately 40% of the international students are Korean and the remaining 60% are made up of students from most countries in the world including most of Western Europe, North America, South America, all parts of Asia, Australia as well as many parts of Africa.^{[citation needed]} The university is a member of Universitas 21, an international association of research-led universities.

Main article: List of Peking University people

Peking University has produced many notable people.

• 7072 Beijingdaxue - asteroid named after Peking University
• List of universities in Mainland China
• Beijing Medical University
• High School of Peking University

1. ^ [1] — .

• English Homepage
• Chinese Homepage
• Peking University Alumni Association
• Peking University BBS
• Peking University Judge Online
• Shenzhen Graduate School of Peking University, Chinese Homepage

v • d • e Association of East Asian Research Universities
Taiwan	National Taiwan (NTU) • National Tsing Hua (NTHU)
China	Fudan • Nanjing  • Peking • Tsinghua • USTC
Hong Kong	HKUST
Japan	Kyoto • Osaka • Tohoku • Tokyo Tech  • Tokyo • Tsukuba
Korea	KAIST • POSTECH • Seoul National (SNU)

v • d • e BESETOHA Universities
Peking • Seoul National • Tokyo • VNU-Hanoi

v • d • e Association of Pacific Rim Universities
Australia	Australian National (ANU) • Melbourne • Sydney
Canada	British Columbia (UBC)
Chile	Chile
China	Fudan • HKUST • Peking • Tsinghua • USTC • Zhejiang
Indonesia	Indonesia
Japan	Keio • Kyoto • Osaka • Tokyo • Waseda
Korea	Seoul National (SNU)
Malaysia	Malaya
Mexico	UNAM
New Zealand	Auckland
Philippines	Philippines
Russia	Far Eastern National (FENU)
Singapore	NUS
Taiwan	National Taiwan (NTU)
Thailand	Chulalongkorn
United States of America	Caltech • Stanford • UC Berkeley • UC Davis • UC Irvine • UCLA • UCSD • UCSB • Oregon • Southern California (USC) • Washington

v • d • e International Alliance of Research Universities
ANU • UC Berkeley • Cambridge • Copenhagen • ETH Zurich • Oxford • Peking • NUS • Tokyo • Yale

Coordinates: 39°59′23″N, 116°18′19″E