southwest Petroleum University (SWPU), the second petroleum university in the People’s Republic of China, was founded in 1958 and is now administered and supported by the Chinese central government and Sichuan province local government, with the latter playing a bigger role.
SWPU has 16 schools, 1 Photo voltaic Industry, and Technology Research Institute, 1 Institute of New Energy and UnconventionalOil and Gas, and 1 engineering training center. There are 8 subject groups: science, engineering, management, economics, arts, law, education, and art. 68 programs under those subject groups are qualified to recruit undergraduates; 5 first-level programs and 24 second-level programs are authorized to offer doctoral degrees. 20 first-level programs and 86 second-level programs are authorized to offer master’s degrees. There are 4 postdoctoral research stations, 1 first-level program, and 3 second-level programs, which are all recognized as national key programs.
SWPU has two campuses, one in Chengdu and the other in Nanchong, covering an area of over 200 ha. The current student body on the two campuses includes29,367 undergraduates, 4,037 graduates, 700 Ph.D. candidates, and 301 international students. So far SWPU has produced more than 146,000 bachelors, masters, and doctors, many of whom have established themselves as preeminent specialists and scholars, great statesmen, successful entrepreneurs, or technological and managerial backbones in various fields. In the spirit of “fuel up our country and gas up our nation”, and in keeping with the motto of “righteous deed, persistent quest, extensive learning, and creative mind”, SWPU has formulated a “second-time pioneering strategy” to achieve the goals of becoming a first-class university in China and getting the leading-edge programs recognized worldwide before celebrating her 100thanniversary.