A public research university in Shanghai, Shanghai University (often referred to as SHU or Shangda) is a leading global research institution. Two more campuses are located in Jiading and Jing'an, respectively, and total 555 acres. The main Baoshan campus is located in the northern part of Shanghai, and there are two smaller campuses.
The Shanghai University was established in 1922 as a joint venture between the Nationalists and the Communists with the goal of training leaders for the Chinese revolution as its initial motivation. In the cause of Chinese liberation and development, the university contributed a group of influential individuals. The institution was closed in 1927 as a result of the Shanghai Massacre, in which the Nationalists expelled all communist-affiliated groups from the country. Shanghai University was re-opened by the Chinese government in 1983. It was subsequently transformed into a research-intensive comprehensive university in 1994, after the merger of three other universities. It is also the biggest higher learning institution managed by the Shanghai Municipality. The university enrols 19,934 undergraduate and 16,954 postgraduate students, with 4,505 international students among those enrolled in the undergraduate programme.
At SHU, are two undergraduate colleges and five broad academic divisions (Natural Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Engineering, Economics and Management, and Fine Arts), each of which contains 29 independent schools or departments. The university is divided into two undergraduate colleges and five broad academic divisions (Natural Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Engineering, Economics and Management, and Fine Arts).
In the Project 211 ranking of top national universities, Shanghai University is included. 2018 saw a total of US$505.3 million invested in scientific research at the university. The Shanghai University of Technology was rated 294th in the world and 35th in China in the Academic Ranking of World Universities for 2021. Furthermore, the SHU was placed 387th and 16th in the QS World University Rankings for 2021. Additionally, according to the QS Top 50 Under 50 rankings for 2020, the institution was placed 51-60 worldwide and 1st in China in the global young university rankings. Chinese University Subject Rankings published by the Ministry of Education in 2017 showed that the disciplines of social sciences, fine arts, and theoretical and applied mechanics were among the top 10 percent of all Chinese universities; the disciplines of mathematics, drama and film studies, mechanical engineering, news and communications, and material science and engineering were among the top 20 percent of all Chinese universities, according to the same report.