The university was founded in Beijing by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in September 1958. The director of CAS, Guo Moruo was appointed the first president of USTC. USTC's founding mission was to develop a high-level science and technology workforce, as deemed critical for development of China's economy, defense, and science and technology education. The establishment was hailed as "A Major Event in the History of Chinese Education and Science." CAS has supported USTC by combining most of its institutes with the departments of the university. In 1959, USTC was listed in the top 16 national key universities, becoming the youngest national key university.3
In the beginning of 1970, the university moved to Hefei during the Cultural Revolution.4
In 2012, USTC and the National University of Defense Technology signed a strategic agreement to cooperate on quantum computing research at a ceremony attended by Pan Jianwei and Yang Xuejun.5
Presidents:6
Honorary President:
Since its participation in the CAS Experimental Program of Knowledge Innovation, USTC has achieved a batch of important and innovative results in the basic research of nano science and technology,11 quantum information science, life science research, fire science,12 and fire protection technology, polar scientific investigation and research, bio-mass clean energy research.
USTC is generally considered one of the most competitive universities in the country,13 and consistently ranked among the top universities in Asia according to several major international university rankings.1415 The joint THE-QS World University Rankings 2005 ranked USTC 4th in China (after Peking, Tsinghua and Fudan), 13th in Asia and 93rd in the world.16 The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011 placed USTC 49th in the world, 7th in Asia and 2nd in China after Peking.17 It ranked 10th in Asia and 4th in Emerging countries & Mainland China in 2020 by Times Higher Education.1819
As of 2025, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked USTC 6th in China, 11th in Asia and 53th in the world.2021 The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as the "Shanghai Ranking", placed USTC 42nd in the world, 6th in Asia, and 5th in China.22 The 2022 QS World University Rankings ranked USTC 93rd overall in the world.23 The 2024 US News Best Global Universities ranked USTC 82nd overall in the world, 13th in Asia and 6th in mainland China.24 USTC is regarded as one of the most reputable Chinese universities by the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings where they ranked 51–60th globally.25
USTC was ranked # 6 in China, # 13 in Asia and #61 worldwide in 2024 in terms of aggregate performance from the three most widely observed university rankings (THE+ARWU+QS) as reported by the Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities.26
The Nature Index Research Leaders 2024, which measures the largest groups of papers published in 145 leading high-quality science journals,27 ranks USTC the No.2 university in China and the Asia Pacific region, and 3th in the world among the global universities (after Harvard and UCAS).28 In 2024, USTC is ranked 44th globally by the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities with "Engineering" & "Natural Science" related-fields ranked in the global top 10.29
In the 2024 ARWU Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, the USTC had seven disciplines in the world's top 20, 17 disciplines in the world's top 50 and 21 disciplines in the world's top 100.30
Nature Index tracks the affiliations of high-quality scientific articles and presents research outputs by institution and country on monthly basis.
Only the National Laboratories, State Key Laboratories, and Key Laboratories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences are listed below, among which the National Laboratories have the highest qualification. USTC is the only university in mainland China which possess two National Laboratories at the same time.
National Laboratories (2)
State Key Laboratories and Ministerial Level Units
Key Laboratories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Highlights: USTC set up the first graduate school in China in 1978 to effectively cultivate its postgraduate students.
Main page: Category:University of Science and Technology of China alumni
"ABOUT at the University of Science and Technology of China". Archived from the original on 28 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110528023706/http://en.ustc.edu.cn/enabout/201101/t20110113_87799.html ↩
"院系介绍-中国科学技术大学". University of Science and Technology of China. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022. https://www.ustc.edu.cn/yxjs.htm ↩
"University of Science and Technology of China(USTC)". Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070706212751/http://www.ustc.edu.cn/en/article/33/42ff23ec/ ↩
CORBETT, THOMAS; SINGER, PETER W. (18 May 2023). "Chinese Breakthroughs Bring Quantum Tools Closer to Practicality". defenseone.com. Defense One. Retrieved 5 June 2023. https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2023/05/chinese-breakthroughs-bring-quantum-tools-closer-practicality/386515/ ↩
"China Vitae". Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. http://chinavitae.com/institution/EDU/6010.102%26show%3Dlist ↩
"国务院任免国家工作人员(2017年6月9日)". www.mohrss.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2023. http://www.mohrss.gov.cn/SYrlzyhshbzb/sydqjdxs/SYguowuyuanrenmian/201706/t20170612_272266.html ↩
"常进同志任中国科学技术大学校长". 中国科学技术大学. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024. https://news.ustc.edu.cn/info/1055/89173.htm ↩
"周光召与中国科技大学的若干关联". 北京中国科学技术大学新创公益基金会. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024. https://www.ustcif.org.cn/default.php/content/5326/ ↩
"Top atomic bomb scientist dies at 95". China Daily. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202408/19/WS66c29517a31060630b923afa.html ↩
"提示信息". Archived from the original on 5 March 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070305151235/http://www.ustc.edu.cn/en/article/0b/42fe19ba/ ↩
"State Key Laboratory for Fire Science". Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023. https://en.sklfs.ustc.edu.cn/main.htm ↩
"China University Ranking – China Education Center". chinaeducenter.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2022. https://www.chinaeducenter.com/en/universityranking1.php ↩
"QS Asia World University Rankings". Top Universities. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2022. https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/asian-university-rankings/2021 ↩
"Asia University Rankings". Times Higher Education (THE). 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2022. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2021/regional-ranking ↩
"Times Higher Education: WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS 2005". www.timeshighereducation.co.uk. 7 October 2005. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080509002120/http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/hybrid.asp?typeCode=175 ↩
"World University Rankings 2011". Times Higher Education (THE). 13 April 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2011/world-ranking/detailed ↩
"Asia University Rankings". Times Higher Education (THE). 28 May 2020. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2021. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/regional-ranking ↩
"Emerging Economies". Times Higher Education (THE). 22 January 2020. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2020/emerging-economies-university-rankings ↩
"Asia University Rankings". Times Higher Education (THE). 16 April 2025. Retrieved 24 April 2025. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2025/regional-ranking#!/length/50/locations/CHN/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/scores ↩
"World University Rankings". Times Higher Education (THE). 4 October 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2025. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/latest/world-ranking#!/length/25/locations/CHN/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/scores ↩
"ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities". www.shanghairanking.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024. https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/arwu/2024 ↩
"QS World University Rankings 2021 Results". February 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020. https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2021 ↩
"US News Best Global Universities 2024-2025 Results". US News. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2024. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings ↩
"World Reputation Rankings". Times Higher Education (THE). 25 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2022. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2021/reputation-ranking ↩
"University Results | Rankings". research.unsw.edu.au. Retrieved 6 April 2025. https://research.unsw.edu.au/artu/artu-results ↩
"FAQ | Nature Index". www.nature.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2024. https://www.nature.com/nature-index/faq ↩
"2024 Research Leaders: Leading academic institutions | Nature Index". www.nature.com. Retrieved 19 June 2024. https://www.nature.com/nature-index/research-leaders/2024/institution/academic/all/all ↩
"University of Science and Technology of China". nturanking.csti.tw. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2024. http://nturanking.csti.tw/ranking/bySchoolName/University%20of%20Science%20and%20Technology%20of%20China ↩
"ShanghaiRanking-Univiersities". www.shanghairanking.com. Retrieved 5 March 2025. http://www.shanghairanking.com/institution/university-of-science-and-technology-of-china ↩
"Top Universities With The Best Student-to-staff Ratio 2021". 9 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/top-universities-best-student-staff-ratio-2022 ↩
"Top Universities With The Best Student-to-staff Ratio 2022". 9 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2023. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/top-universities-best-student-staff-ratio-2022 ↩
"2022 tables: Institutions - academic - Annual tables - Nature Index". Nature Index. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023. https://www.nature.com/nature-index/annual-tables/2022/institution/academic/all/countries-China ↩
"Leading 500 institutions by patent influence metric - Nature Index 2022 Innovation - Supplements - Nature Index". Nature Index. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023. https://www.nature.com/nature-index/supplements/nature-index-2022-innovation/tables/overall ↩
"2023 tables: Institutions - academic - Annual tables - Nature Index". Nature Index. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023. https://www.nature.com/nature-index/annual-tables/2023/institution/academic/all/global ↩
"2023 tables: Institutions - academic - Annual tables - Nature Index". Nature Index. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023. https://www.nature.com/nature-index/annual-tables/2023/institution/academic/all/countries-China ↩
"National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory". Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. http://en.nsrl.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale". Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. http://en.hfnl.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"State Key Laboratory of Fire Science". Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. http://en.sklfs.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"National High Performance Computing Center at Hefei". Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. http://en.nhpcc.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
jumbot,随风缘. "语音及语言信息处理国家工程实验室 -". Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150704205618/http://nelslip.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"Key Laboratory of Quantum Information, USTC, CAS". Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110820080222/http://lqcc.ustc.edu.cn/news/ ↩
"University of Science and Technology of China(USTC)". Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070706212829/http://www.ustc.edu.cn/en/article/39/42fe1698/ ↩
"中国科学技术大学等离子体物理实验室". Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20100711095816/http://lbpp.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"School of Gifted Young, USTC". en.scgy.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016. http://en.scgy.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"School of Mathematical Sciences, USTC". math.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015. http://math.ustc.edu.cn/new/En/ ↩
"School of Physical Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China". Retrieved 3 July 2015. http://en.physics.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"School of Chemistry and Materials Science". Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. http://en.scms.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"School of Nuclear Science and Technology". Archived from the original on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. http://en.snst.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"University of Science and Technology of China". en.biox.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016. http://en.biox.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"School of Engineering Science USTC". en.ses.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016. http://en.ses.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"Welcome to School of Information Science and Technology!". en.sist.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016. http://en.sist.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"School of Computer Science and Technology, USTC". en.cs.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016. http://en.cs.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"University of Science and Technology of China". en.ess.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016. http://en.ess.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"University of Science and Technology of China". sse_en.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016. http://sse_en.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"The School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China". en.business.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016. http://en.business.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩
"University of Science and Technology of China". en.hsss.ustc.edu.cn. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016. http://en.hsss.ustc.edu.cn/ ↩