Chengdu Sport University

Chengdu Sport University is the sole sports institution of higher learning in Southwestern China. It was initially founded as Sichuan Sport College in 1942, then renamed as Chengdu Sport College in 1950, further changed into Southwest Sport University in 1953 and finally named as Chengdu Sport University in 1956. Previously under the supervision of the General Administration of Sport of China, Chengdu Sport University was transferred as a local university in 2001, jointly administered by the General Administration of Sport of China and Sichuan Provincial People’s Government with the latter being the chief administrator. Covering an overall area of 480,000㎡, Chengdu Sport University is located in the central Chengdu of Sichuan province, neighboring the worldly-renowned historical site of Wuhou Shrine. It boasts a beautiful environment and reasonable infrastructural layout. Such public services as sports venues, teaching and researching facilities, laboratory equipment, books, documents, buildings and dormitories can well satisfy the demand of disciplinary development and talent cultivation. Chengdu Sport University adheres to the motto of “Ceaseless striving for strength; Endless searching for solidity” and the principle of “earning survival via quality maintenance, achieving development via feature cultivation, shaping brand via disciplinary development and enhancing competitiveness via faculty progress”. Its refined distinctive university feature is “giving priority to sport, infiltrating medicine into sport, combining sports training with cultural education and cultivating practical talents with one specialty but many skills”. After seventy-year growth, Chengdu Sport University has already become a prestigious institute in Southwestern China and a nation-wide renowned sports institution of higher learning.

Currently there are over 800 staff members in Chengdu Sport University, with more than 460 being fulltime teachers, including over 180 full professors and associate professors and over 200 lecturers. Respectively there are more than 100 international and national referees and sports masters in Chengdu Sport University. It boasts quite a few experts and scholars influential in the sport circle, conveners of the appraisal group for the discipline of sport under the Academic Degree Commission of the State Council, experts of the disciplinary appraisal group for the project of the National Social Science of Foundation of China (NSSFC), high-level academic and technical talents of the General Administration of Sport of China, 21st century talents of China Ministry of Education, academic leaders of technology and academic for the General Administration of Sport of China, experts enjoying the special allowance of the state department, members of the master’s degree advisory committee for nation-wide sports majors, academic leaders of Sichuan technology and academic, an overall number of over 50 top experts and doctoral supervisors with Sichuan provincial outstanding contributions and over 30 foreign and domestic guest professors and part-time professors.

At present, 8 departments are established under Chengdu Sport University, namely the Physical Education Department, Sports Medicine Department, Sports Department, Wushu Department, Economic Management Department, Journalism Department, Foreign Languages Department and Arts Department. Chengdu Sport University has comprehensive range of 16 majors covering 7 categories, namely pedagogy, medicine, liberal arts, management, economics, science and fine arts. Among the 16 majors, 4 have been approved by the Education Ministry as the construction sites for special majors of higher-learning institutions, 7 have been the construction sites for special majors of Sichuan local colleges and universities, and 3 have been the cultivation bases for Sichuan undergraduate talents. Chengdu Sport University offers 7 postgraduate programs, 4 of which being of first disciplinary priority, namely physical education, clinical medicine, integration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, and journalism. Currently Chengdu Sport University works with Beijing Sport University, Chengdu University of TCM and Sichuan University to award doctor’s degree in sports humanistic sociology, sports science of human body, management science and TCM. The adult education section recruits nation-wide students majoring in physical education and sports training. Attached to Chengdu Sport University are one athletic school, one three-year secondary sports school and one basketball school under CBA. Chengdu Sport University has done an excellent job in teaching and researching. In 2006, it won the honor of excellence in the nation-wide undergraduate teaching assessment. Now, it boasts one state recommended courses, 23 provincial recommended courses, 4 provincial-level teaching teams and 6 textbooks that have been listed by the Education Ministry as the state designed textbooks for the 11th five-year plan. In the latest two appraisals of the teaching achievement prizes among nation-wide sports institutions of higher learning and Sichuan institutions of higher learning, Chengdu Sport University captured seven first prizes, eight second prizes and 19 third prizes. It also won two second prizes in the national-level teaching achievement prizes for institutions of higher learning. Furthermore it has been honored for five consecutive years as the advanced group among Sichuan colleges and universities for its wonderful performance in helping students find jobs. In 1999, Chengdu Sport University won the first prize in the first nation-wide competition about the basic skills of physical education majors and the “Sports Scholarship for Promising Youths” awarded by the Education Ministry. In 2007, Chengdu Sport University won the second prize as well as the excellent performance award in the Chinese Dance Show of the Seventh National Dance Competition. Meanwhile the scientific research level of Chengdu Sport University has been steadily improved. Since 2000, Chengdu Sport University has undertaken 1030 scientific research projects of various types, among which there are 45 national-level research projects, 245 provincial-level research projects and 12 Olympic research projects. Chengdu Sport University is among the first few universities approved by the General Administration of Sport of China as key research bases for sports social science. It has three key disciplinary sites for the General Administration of Sport of China and five key disciplinary sites for Sichuan province. Furthermore three out of the five provincial disciplinary sites are ranked as priority. It has one provincial-level key laboratory sports for medicine and one key laboratory for sports medicine under the General Administration of Sport of China and one experimental teaching demonstration center for the third batch provincial-level institutions of higher learning. The academic journals edited and published by Chengdu Sport University include Journal of Chengdu Sport University and Physical Education Research, with the former listed among GCJC and CSSCI.

Chengdu Sport University attaches great importance to the students’ ideological and political education. It has been granted the honor of the “Advanced School for the Job in the Party Construction and Ideological and Political Education among Sichuan Institutions of Higher Learning” and awarded for eight consecutive years the title of the “Advanced Unit in the Program of ‘Bringing Culture, Technology and Healthcare to Rural Areas’ Conducted by Nation-Wide College Students During the Summer Vacation” jointly by the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the CPC, the Central Civilization Office, the Education Ministry and the National Students’ Union. In 2006, Chengdu Sport University was awarded the title of “China Top 100 Outstanding Youth Volunteer Service Group” by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and CYVA Chengdu Sport University serves as the cultivation base for national high-level sports reserve talents and national weight-lifting reserve talents as well as the youth training base for national Wushu routines. It has gained advantages and formed characteristics in such athletic events as weight-lifting, rhythmic gymnastics, Wushu, track and field and water polo. Since 2000, Chengdu Sport University has altogether won 210 gold medals, 175 silver medals and 191 bronze medals in the Olympics, World Championships, Universiade, Asian Games, Asian Championships, National Games, National Cups and National Championship.

Chengdu Sport University has continuously enhanced foreign exchanges. It is the training base for national-level social sports directors as well as foreign-aid coaches of the General Administration of Sport of China. It has established intercollegiate cooperation relationship with universities in over ten countries. It has exchanged visits of experts and scholars with more than twenty countries. Chengdu Sport University recruits international students and students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Adopting the programs of “2+2” or “3+1” (Students study in Chengdu Sport University in the first two or three years and spend the last two years or the remaining one year in foreign universities), Chengdu Sport University trains undergraduates with the joint efforts of De Montfort University and University of Portsmouth.