Jiangnan University


Jiangnan University is a public university located in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the [People's Republic of China|Ministry of Education], and co-sponsored with the Jiangsu Provincial Government. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction.
Previously known as the Wuxi University of Light Industry, Jiangnan University emphasizes on light industry. biotechnology, chemical engineering, food science, mechanical engineering, textile engineering, fashion design, and industrial design.
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History

The private Jiangnan University, one source of JiangnanU, was founded in Wuxi in 1947 by Rong Desheng, the largest national capitalist in the Republic of [China (1912–1949)|Republic of China] era.
In 1952, during restructuring of higher education happened after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the engineering related departments of Nanjing University, merging engineering departments of private Jiangnan University and several other engineering departments of universities in east China area, including Fudan University, Wuhan University, Zhejiang University, etc. Later, they formed Nanjing Institute of Technology, now Southeast University in Nanjing.
In 1958, the Department of Food Technology of Nanjing Institute of Technology moved to Wuxi and established Wuxi Institute of Light Industry which was named Wuxi University of Light Industry in 1995.
In 2001, Jiangnan University was formed by the combination of Wuxi University of Light Industry, Jiangnan College and Wuxi Education College.

Campus

The newly completed university campus covers 208 hectares with floor space of 1.05 million square meters. It is located by Lake Li, an inner lake of Lake Tai and also a national scenic resort in the south of Wuxi. It was designed and built to demonstrate the concept of an "Eco-campus".

Schools

Jiangnan University consists of 17 schools and offers 48 undergraduate programs with 9 disciplines including science, engineering, medicine, literature, economics, management, law, education and arts. Jiangnan University has 7 Post-doctoral Research Stations in the fields of Light Industry Technology and Engineering, Food Science and Technology, Chemical Engineering and Technology, Control Science and Engineering, Environment Engineering, Textile Engineering and Design. It is entitled to confer master's degrees in 58 programs, and doctoral degrees in 28 programs.
Southwest:
School of Food Science and Technology
School of Biotechnology
School of Chemical and Material Engineering
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Wuxi School of Medicine
Southeast:
School of Business
School of Law
School of Marxism
School of Foreign Studies
School of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science
Northwest:
School of Textile and Clothing
School of Design
School of Internet of Things Engineering
School of Mechanical Engineering
School of Environmental and Civil Engineering
Northeast:
School of Science
School of Humanities and Education
Division of Sports

Rankings and reputation

According to the 2024 Academic Ranking of World Universities, Jiangnan University ranked 301st-400th among world universities. The QS World University Rankings ranked Jiangnan University 851th globally and 275th in Asia in 2025.
Jiangnan University is regarded as one of the world's top "Food Science and Technology" research institutions. As of 2025, the "Food Science and Technology" program was ranked No.1 Globally by the Shanghai Ranking, and URAP ranking, the U.S. News Rankings, and the SCImago Institutions Rankings.

Research

Key research institutes

  • The National Key Lab of Food Science and Technology
  • The National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology
  • The National Engineering Research Centre for Function Food
  • Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education
  • Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education
  • Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education
  • Key Laboratory of Science and Technology of Eco-Textile, Ministry of Education

Faculty

The university has 3393 faculty members, including 2137 full-time instructors. 63.8% of faculty holds a senior title, 68.9% has a doctoral degree, and 42.1% has more than one year of overseas experience.
The school has three academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 14 "Thousand Talents Plan" awardees, 13 "Chang Jiang Scholars Program" distinguished professors, 5 National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars awardees, five National Science Fund for Outstanding Scholars awardees, one "973 Program" chief scientist, eight "Ten Thousand Talent Program" awardees.

International engagement

The university has signed cooperation and exchange agreements with 190 universities and research institutions in 39 countries and regions, and 28.6% of the students have overseas exchange and exchange experience; it has built the world's first Confucius Institute with the theme of Chinese food culture in cooperation with the University of California, Davis.
Jiangnan University began to accept international students from 1964, and has cultivated students from more than 80 countries. The university specially establishes "President Scholarship", "Taihu Scholarship" and "New Student Scholarship" for international students. In 2010, the university recruited 25 self-enroll Chinese Government Scholarship students.
Doctoral Program for international students mainly includes: Food Science, Fermentation Engineering, Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Textile Science and Engineering, Control Science and Control Engineering, Chemistry Engineering and Technology, Environment Engineering, Light Industry Machinery and Packaging Engineering, Product Design Theory and Technology, etc.