Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology (HUHST), located in Loudi City in central Hunan Province, is a full-time public undergraduate institution sponsored by the People’s Government of Hunan Province. The university was established in 1978 as Lianyuan Normal College, initially offering only junior college programs. It was renamed Loudi Normal Junior College in 1983. In 1986, the former Loudi Institute for Teacher Continuing Education merged with the institution. In 1993, its name was changed to Loudi Higher Normal College. Following a merger with the former Loudi Normal School in 2000, the institution was upgraded to an undergraduate university in 2004 and renamed Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology. In 2006 and 2007, Lianshao Mining Group Technical School and the Loudi Agricultural Research Institute were successively incorporated into the university.

The university currently has 14 schools, offers 47 full-time bachelor’s degree programs, and one master’s degree program. It has a faculty of 1,250 full-time teachers, and the student body includes 21,100 students, of whom 205 are pursuing master’s degrees. The university offers a comprehensive range of disciplines, covering Economics, Law, Education, Literature, History, Science, Engineering, Agriculture, Management, and the Arts.

In recent years, the university’s overall academic strength and core competitiveness have steadily improved. In 2012, it passed the Ministry of Education’s undergraduate teaching quality assessment. In 2017, it was designated as a key institution for the development of master’s degree programs in Hunan Province. In 2018, the university was recognized as a high-level applied and distinctive institution in Hunan’s “Double First-Class” initiative. In 2019, it successfully passed the Ministry of Education’s undergraduate teaching quality audit with distinction.

The university boasts strong academic disciplines and well-established teaching and research platforms. It currently has five provincial-level applied and distinctive disciplines: Applied Economics, Marxist Theory, Plant Protection, Computer Science and Technology, and Materials Science and Engineering. It also has five national-level first-class undergraduate program development sites and sixteen provincial-level first-class undergraduate program development sites. In terms of teaching and course development, the university has established two national-level first-class courses and 65 provincial-level first-class undergraduate courses. The university is home to four provincial-level science and technology innovation teams, one provincial-level key laboratory, three key laboratories designated by the Education Department of Hunan Province, one provincial-level experimental station, nine provincial-level social science research bases, one Hunan Province 2011 Collaborative Innovation Center, two provincial-level engineering research centers, one provincial-level base for science and technology achievements transformation and technology transfer, and one provincial-level technology transfer demonstration site. The university has developed close partnerships with leading companies such as Sany Heavy Industry, Hunan Steel, Longping High-Tech, and Chinasoft International. It has also established the Central China Branch of the National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Steel Technology. Furthermore, the university has been approved to establish the Hunan Province Advanced Ceramics Modern Industry College and the Xinchuang Modern Industry College.

The university boasts a strong academic talent pool. It employs 391 full-time faculty members with senior professional titles and 375 individuals holding doctoral degrees. Among its staff are about 60 high-level scholars and experts, including those selected for the national “Thousand Talents Program,” the Ministry of Education’s “Changjiang Scholars Program,” the National Program of Young Talents in the Publicity and Cultural System, Hunan Province’s “Furong Scholars Program,” Hunan Province’s Think Tank Leadership Talent Program, and Hunan Province’s “121 Talent Program.” Numerous scholars have been awarded special government allowances from the State Council and the People’s Government of Hunan Province, or have been honored as National Excellent Teachers and recognized as Outstanding Young Social Science Experts in Hunan Province.

The university has achieved outstanding achievements in talent development. Its students have won 244 national-level awards and 1,074 provincial-level awards in various competitions, including academic competitions, the College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and cultural and sports events. Since its establishment, the university has cultivated over 120,000 professionals, including prominent figures such as Academician Qing Fengleng (at the Chinese Academy of Sciences), renowned scholars Li Kenli and Qing Xinlin, and successful entrepreneur Fu Shenglong, having made significant contributions to national development and social progress.

The university has established strong international partnerships, collaborating with more than 50 universities worldwide, including those in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. For example, it has established a jointly-run education program with Bath Spa University in the UK. The university has been designated as an innovation base for high-level international talent training by the China Center for International People-to-People Exchange under the Ministry of Education. It is also a recruitment unit for the Belt and Road Initiative Scholarship in Hunan Province.

The university has been recognized as a “Safe Unit” in Hunan Province for 14 consecutive years and has received a range of prestigious awards, including the Hunan Province Civilized Model Unit, the Advanced Unit for National Civilized Campus Development, the Advanced Unit for National College Student Social Practice Activities, the Hunan Province Green Campus Demonstration Unit, the Excellent Unit for the “Top-level Projects” in Graduate Employment and Entrepreneurship in Hunan Province, the Hunan Province Model University for Student Employment and Entrepreneurship, and the Advanced Unit for Ideological and Political Education Research in Hunan Province.

Throughout more than 40 years of development, the university has established the motto “Plan for the present to achieve long-term goals, and lay a solid foundation for future success,” and the educational ethos of “Talent First, Love First.” Currently, the university strictly follows Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implementing the fundamental task of moral education. Rooted in central Hunan Province, the university is committed to building a comprehensive university and making greater contributions to advancing the ambitious goals of the “Three Highs and Four News” plan, as well as to the development of a country strong in education. (Updated in December 2024)