Shandong Second Medical University (SDSMU) is a full-time public medical institution of highereducation in Shandong Province, located in Weifang, a city in central Shandong Peninsula renowned as the World Kite Capital. The university tracesits origins to the joint establishment of the Weixian Le Dao Yuan Medical Nursing School and the American Presbyterian Hospital of Weixian, both of which werefounded within the Weixian Le Dao Yuan mission compound during the late 19thand early 20th centuries. In 1951, the foundation was laid for the Shandong Changwei Medical School, which was later upgraded to Changwei Medical Collegein 1958. In 1987, it was renamed Weifang Medical College. In November 2023,with the approval of the Ministry of Education, it adopted its current name,Shandong Second Medical University.
The university offersa comprehensive range of academic programs,including doctoral, master's,bachelor's, and international student education. Its development milestonesinclude the initiation of undergraduate education in 1958, designation as oneof China's third batch of master's degree-granting institutions in 1986,authorization to enroll international students in 1998, approval for a specialnational needs doctoral training program in 2012, accreditation to recruit postdoctoral researchers under the Major Health Risk Predictionand Governance Strategies under the Healthy China Initiative project in2019, and the final recognition as a doctoral degree-awarding institution in2024. The university also holds multiple distinguished titles: it is a pilotuniversity for the for the National Physician Education and Training Program of Excellence, a designated characteristic institution forcultivating applied talents in Shandong Province, an established institutionfor the Shandong Province excellence in engineering education program, a designated institution among the first group of appliedundergraduate universities receiving development support in Shandong Province,and a jointly-developed university by the Shandong Provincial Department ofEducation, Shandong Provincial Health Commission, and Weifang MunicipalPeople's Government.
The university operates two campuses, Fuyanshan and Yuhe, spanning a total area ofapproximately 2000 mu (133 hectares) with a floor space of over 710,000 squaremeters. It has a full-time enrollment of more than 18,000 students, including43 doctoral candidates, over 3,300 master's students, and approximately 14,600undergraduate students. Additionally, the university serves 4,961 students inadult higher education programs. The university features several dedicatedacademies, including the Ledao College, Jishi College, and Confucius Classroom.Its library houses a collection of more than 1.8 million volumes. Theinstitution is supported by 3 directly affiliated hospitals and 12 non-directlyaffiliated hospitals. Furthermore, it maintains 14 provincial-level joint postgraduatetraining bases (Model Bases for Industry-Education Integration).
The university comprises 19 schools and offers 36 undergraduate programs spanning seven majoracademic disciplines, including medicine, science, and management. It hold sauthorization for one first-tier doctoral discipline, ten first-tier master'sdisciplines, nine professional master's degree programs, and 59 second-tiermaster's disciplines. The institution has received significant recognition forthe quality of its programs, including five national first-class undergraduate programconstruction sites, four national characteristic specialties, and one national virtualsimulation experimental teaching center. At the provincial level, it has three high-levelapplied key construction specialty (clusters), 20 provincial first-class undergraduateprograms, and four various provincial characteristic professional schools and modernindustry colleges. The university achieved an Excellent rating inthe 2008 Ministry of Education undergraduate teaching and learning evaluation.It successfully passed the Ministry of Education's undergraduate teaching auditevaluation in 2017 and the undergraduate education and teaching audit evaluationin 2024 with high quality. Five undergraduate programs—clinical medicine, nursingscience, rehabilitation occupational therapy, stomatology, and pharmacy—havereceived professional accreditation. The discipline of traditional Chinese medicineinformatics has been approved as a national high-level key discipline in traditionalChinese medicine. Clinical medicine, ranked within the top 0.5% globally byESI, has been designated as a First-Class Discipline in ShandongProvince. Public health and preventive medicine, recognized as aHigh-Level Discipline for provincial universities, is a cultivated First-Class Discipline in Shandong Province. Additionally, pharmacologyand toxicology and biology and biochemistry both rank within the top 1%globally by ESI. The university was awarded two Second Prizes in the 2022 national teaching achievement awards. Furthermore, it has maintained a 100% pass rate inthe provincial master's thesis random inspection for eleven consecutive years.
The university has afaculty and staff body of over 1,500. The honorary presidents are academicianXie Lixin and academician Yu Jinming of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, aswell as academician Wang Rui, member of the Canadian Academy of MedicalSciences and the Royal Society of Canada. The university boasts 5national-level talents, 27 Taishan Scholars, 4 Taishan Industry LeadingTalents, 2 New Century Excellent Talents recognized by the Ministry ofEducation, 6 provincial-level experts with outstanding contributions, and 21recipients of the State Council special allowance. Additionally, there are 8 nationalexcellent teachers, 13 provincial-level teaching masters, and 73 municipal or provincial-leveltechnical and professional leaders. More than 60 renowned experts, includingAcademicians Wang Chen, Dai Kairong, and Chen Fener of the Chinese Academy ofEngineering, have been appointed as distinguished professors.
The university currently boasts 7 national key clinical specialties, including Encephalopathy,Orthopedics, Surgery, Oncology, Critical Care Medicine, Neurosurgery, andRespiratory Medicine. It also has 8 Shandong Provincial key disciplines, namelyClinical Medicine, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Surgery, MedicalImaging and Nuclear Medicine, Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, SocialMedicine and Health Management, Stomatology, and Ophthalmology. Guided by its academicianworkstation, the university has established 32 provincial-level innovationplatforms. It leads six provincial collaborative innovation centers,demonstrating distinctive strengths in areas such as major social riskprediction, tissue engineering and reconstruction, targeted drug delivery,precision tumor diagnosis and therapy, and biopharmaceutical research, yieldinga number of landmark achievements. The university has been approved as adesignated site for multiple national initiatives, including the Ministry ofHealth's Stroke Screening and Prevention Base, Assisted Reproductive TechnologyTraining Base, National Anesthesiology Basic Theory Training Base, NationalClinical Drug Trial Institution, National General Practitioner Training Base,National Standardized Residency Training Base, and National Practice SkillExamination Base for Medical Licensing. It also hosts the Chinese Museum ofLimb Deformity and Disability Medicine, the Shandong Provincial Training Centerfor Primary Health Care Management Executives, and the Shandong ProvincialPublic Health Early Warning and Response Guidance Center.
The university is accredited by theMinistry of Education of China to offer a clinical medicine undergraduateprogram for international students. It has established partnerships with over70 institutions across more than 20 countries, including the UK, USA,Australia, Russia, and Brazil, facilitating comprehensive, high-levelcollaboration in medicine and biomedical sciences. Its international student bodynow comprises individuals from 25 countries spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, andthe Americas.
The university is dedicated to cultivating high-caliber,application-oriented professionals who are ethically grounded, academicallyexcellent, socially responsible, innovative, culturally literate, andpractically skilled. This commitment is embodied in the distinctive educationalethos of the school: Emphasizing Medical Ethics, Building a Solid Foundation, and Strengthening Competence. The university has educatedover 200,000 outstanding medical professionals, exemplified by distinguishedalumni such as Academician Xie Lixin and Academician Yu Jinming of the ChineseAcademy of Engineering, Academician Wang Rui of the Canadian Academy of HealthSciences, and Mr. Lei Haichao, party secretary and director of the NationalHealth Commission. All the graduates from the university are widely recognizedfor being assiduous, competent, and reliable. The students' caliber isfurther proven by their consistent success in national and provincial competitions. Notable achievements include: three consecutive second prize for nationalfinals of the clinical skills competition for medical university students, firstprize for national practical skills competition for medical imaging technology students,first prize for national anesthesiology knowledge competition, first prize fornational life science competition for college students, first prize for nationalpractical skills competition for applied psychology master's students, and multiple special and first prizes for ShandongProvincial subject competitions.
Standing at the dawn of a new historical era, the university remains committed to its motto Dedication to Truth and Service to Society, while upholding thespirit of Striving with Self-reliance and Pursuing Progress with Determination. Staying true to its founding mission, the institution is now embarking on a new journey to comprehensively advance its development intoa high-level medical university that is distinguished by unique characteristicsand nationally recognized for its excellence.
（Data as of July 2025）