The origins of Renmin University of China date back to Shanbei Public School (陕北公学), established in 1937 by the Chinese Communist Party in order to "bring up hundreds of thousands of revolutionary comrades to meet the needs of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression."[5] Later it was renamed as the North China United University and North China University.
In 1950, several institutions were merged to form a single Renmin University of China. In 1954, Renmin University of China was established as one of six national key universities of China, becoming the youngest national key university at that time.[6]
Currently Renmin University consists of 25 schools, 13 research institutes and the graduate school, with 63 specialties for undergraduate, 8 specialties for the second-bachelor's degree students, 149 specialties for the master's degree candidates, 100 specialties for the Doctor's degree candidates and 33 national key disciplines.[9]
The university library has 2.5 million holdings, and is recognized as the Information Center of Arts Literatures by the Ministry of Education. The new library building opened in the second half of 2011. The Renmin University of China Press is one of the most famous publishers and the first university press in China which has published a large number of academic works in humanities and social sciences. The library of the university covers a total area of 26,000 square meters. It has 15 reading rooms and an economics hall, with more than 2000 seats.[10]
Renmin University has established its communications and cooperative relationships with 125 universities and research institutions of 32 countries and regions, which enables the university to be the center of academic and cultural communications between China and foreign countries.[11]
In 2015, the China Academy of Financial Inclusion was established at Renmin University.[20] The Academy is a government think-tank tasked with developing financial inclusion mechanisms for China.[20]
On 25 October 2017, Renmin University established a Xi Jinping Thought research center, the first of its kind.[21]: 29
Rural Reconstruction Center of Renmin University was established in 2005 and is based in Beijing. Its main mission is to explore the theory and practice of rural reconstruction. It partakes in fair trade advocacy and coordinating urban and rural green energy initiatives as well as the promotion of fair education.[22]
The Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies is a thinktank affiliated with Renmin. Affiliated staff include Vijay Prashad and John Ross.[23] Its executive dean is Wang Wen.
In 2022, Wang Wen visited Russian-annexed Crimea amid the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. His writings have been described as distorting Russia’s annexation of Crimea.[24]
In 2021, a joint report with the Taihe Institute and the Intellisia Institute detailed the alleged failings of the US in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.[25][26]
Renmin University of China currently possesses two active campus, one campus under construction and one former campus.
The main campus is located at No.59 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian district, Beijing. Most of the university's schools, departments and institutes are located here.
The campus's English Corner is very famous in Beijing. Every Friday evening, people gather at the Qiushi Garden near the east gate to practice English.[27]
The campus is host to about 1,165 international students, many of them from South Korea. There are so many South Korean students that the International Students Dining Room has a separate Korean menu aside from their traditional Chinese menu.
The university has a secondary campus located in Suzhou Industrial Park, in the South-eastern province of Jiangsu.[28] It is home to the RUC Sino-French Institute (IFC Renmin) and its 900 Chinese and international students.[29] Besides, a number of Chinese and sino-foreign Master-level programs from several RUC faculties are also located on the same grounds under the supervision of RUC International College. RUC Suzhou campus is part of the Suzhou Dushu Lake Higher Education Town, together with other international Sino-Foreign oriented graduate and post-graduate schools such as Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool university or the Southeast University-Monash University Joint Graduate School.[30]
Renmin University is currently building its future main campus in Lucheng, Tongzhou district, currently named "Eastern Campus", to the east of Beijing central area.[31] It will be located in the same town as the soon-to-be relocated Beijing municipal government facilities.[32] Completion date is expected by the end of year 2017.[33]
The former main campus of Renmin University of China is located east of the Forbidden City, in the Dongcheng district. Although the property still belongs to the university, it is no longer used for educational purposes.
The motto of Renmin University is "Seek truth from facts"; the spirit of Renmin University is "Establishing learning for the people, and governing the country"; the goal of talent training of Renmin University is "a national example, a social pillar"; and the idea of running Renmin University is "people, people-oriented, and humanistic", which is also the meaning of the three parallel "人" characters in the seal script on Renmin University's emblem.
The school song of Renmin University of China has gone through multiple versions, including the "Song of Northern Shaanxi Public School" created in Yan'an in 1937, "The School Song of North China Associated University" in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area in 1937, and "School Song of North China University" in Zhengding, Hebei in 1948,[34] "Song of Renmin University of China" written by Wu Yuzhang, "Song of Renmin University of China" written by Cheng Fangwu, and "Song of Renmin University of China" written by Ji Baocheng.[35]
"The Song of Renmin University of China", written by Ji Baocheng, was identified as the school song in 2007, replacing the old school song that has been adopted since 1980 with a strong political color.
In 2017, "Song of Northern Shaanxi Public School" was identified as the representative school song of Renmin University of China.
Renmin University, along with Nanjing University became the first batch of elite institutions in China to drop out of all international rankings. The University is selected as a pilot program to test a new system of local rankings that reflect “Chinese characteristics” and are representative of their Chinese traits. It is expected that more Chinese institutions will drop out of international rankings as China aims to create its own benchmark for elite institutions.[47]
In 2020, the QS World University Rankings had the university as one of the top 300 worldwide for academic reputation and employer reputation.[52][53] Renmin graduates are highly desired in China and worldwide, with its Graduate Employability rankings placed in the top 181–190 universities globally and a crop of high-achieving graduates every year, according to the 2022 QS Graduate Employability Rankings.[54]
According to the latest evaluation by the Chinese Ministry of Education RUC ranked No.1 among all Chinese universities for 9 disciplines, which include theoretical economics, applied economics, law and legal studies, political science, sociology, journalism, statistics, business management and public administration.[55] RUC is also entitled 25 national key disciplines (ranked number 5 in China), 13 national key research bases of humanities and social sciences (ranked number 1 in China), and 6 national teaching and research bases of fundamental arts disciplines (ranked number 1 in China).[55] Renmin has taken a leading position among Chinese universities in the number of social science and arts and humanities-related majors.[56] For example, in the 2022 rankings of Chinese universities by undergraduate majors in 92 professional categories, Renmin had 25 majors ranked as the best in the country, 48 majors in the top 5, and 57 majors in the top 10.[57]
According to the 2021 QS World University by subject, RUC was ranked among the top 100 in the world in "Arts and Humanities" & "Social Sciences & Management" related subjects.[58][59] According to the 2021 QS World University by subject, the university was ranked among the top 40 in the world for philosophy,[60] top 80 in social sciences and management[61] and top 51 in legal studies and law.[62]
As of 2024, the U.S. News & World Report ranked Renmin 4th in China, 5th in Asia, and 28th globally in economics and business.[67]
As of 2023, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, RUC ranked 18th in the world in "public administration", 28th in "finance", 44th in "business administration", 50th in "Library & Information Science", 51st in "economics", 76th in "management" & "statistics", 151st in "law" & "psychology", and 201st in "environment", "political science", "geography", "communication", & "computer science".[68]
James Veneris and Samuel David Hawkins – American soldiers in the Korean War who were captured by the North, then defected to China at the time of armistice.
Wang Junxia – Winner of a gold medal and a silver medal in woman's track in the 1996 Summer Olympics; record holder of the woman's 10000 m from 1993 with a time of 29:31:78.
Liang Yan – National Women's volleyball team member
Renmin University School of Labor and Human Resources maintains an exchange relationship with the Huamin Research Center and the School of Social Work at Rutgers University. Every year since 2010, study abroad students and faculty from Rutgers exchange with their Renmin University counterparts. Renmin University is a popular destination for visiting foreign dignitaries. During his state visit to China in January 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited Renmin University with Premier Wen Jiabao to talk with students, scholars, athletes and entrepreneurs.[73]
The School of International Studies offers a Double Masters in Asian and International Affairs with King's College London.[74]
Renmin University students are actively engaged in academic and exchange programs overseas, such as the National Model United Nations conference held annually in the New York City.[75]
The University of Chicago Center in Beijing,[76] which opened in September 2010, is located at the Culture Plaza on the Renmin University campus.
^Studdart, Amy (16 June 2017). "How China Sees the World in the Age of Trump". Medium. I'm back in beautiful Stockholm for the 10th anniversary of the Stockholm China Forum where I just concluded an interview with Shi Yinhong, professor at Renmin University.