Center for World-Class Universities (CWCU)


The history of the study of world-class universities at the center began in 1985. The center published its first book on world-class universities in Chinese in 1993 and the first one in English in 2007. The center began to publish the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) in 2003, the first multi-indicator global ranking of universities, which has attracted a great deal of world attention and been considered as one of the most influential global rankings. The center initiated the biennial International Conference on World-Class Universities in 2005, providing a platform for global leaders, senior university administrators, leading scholars and policy researchers worldwide to discuss issues related to world-class universities. The center was named as a strategic consultation unit by the Chinese Ministry of Education in recognition of its long tradition of providing high-quality consultation reports.


Faculty and staff of the center:

LIU Niancai, Professor and Director

FENG Zhuolin, Professor and Deputy Director

YANG Xi, Associate Professor

CHEN Liyuan, Associate Professor




Contact us:

Address: Room 233, Chan Suikau Hall, 800 Dong Chuan Rd, Shanghai, China

ZIP Code: 200240