Changsha, in Hunan, is the home of the National University of Defense Technology, a military university whose roots lie in Harbin. Its predecessor, the Military Academy of Engineering of the People’s Liberation Army, was founded there in 1953. In 1970 it moved south to Changsha as the Changsha Institute of Technology, and in 1978 it received the name National University of Defense Technology.
The university was included in Project 211 and Project 985, and in 2017 it was rebuilt by merging several institutions and listed in the national Double First-Class initiative. Its schools include computer science, electronic science, systems engineering, aerospace science and intelligence science, and it marked its 70th anniversary in 2023.
NUDT is best known abroad for its supercomputers. Tianhe-1A, developed by the university, ranked first on the TOP500 list in November 2010 at about 2.57 petaflops, installed at the National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin. Tianhe-2, also developed by NUDT, headed the June 2013 list at about 33.86 petaflops, installed at the National Super Computer Center in Guangzhou.
Domains taught:
Aerospace, AI and Machine Learning, Astroscience, Automation, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Electrical and Electronics, Engineering, Fluid Dynamics, Manufacturing, Materials, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Metrology, Military, Nanotechnologies, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Project Management, Robotics, Signal Processing, Software Engineering, Statistics, Structural Engineering, Telecommunications, Thermodynamics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Primary institution for China’s defense technology research and personnel training.
Leading institution for defense technology and supercomputing in China, significant national projects, trains military technical elite.
Cons
Military university with restricted access and focus, information can be limited.
Best For
Premier military university for defense technology, supercomputing, and aerospace engineering.
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Most Similar Schools Locally
Beijing Institute of Technology teaches mechatronical engineering, control science and information and communication engineering, a defence-oriented technical profile in Beijing.
Beihang University is a public university in Beijing built around aerospace engineering, instrument science and computer science.
Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an is public and lists aeronautics, astronautics and computer science among its main fields.
Harbin Institute of Technology, public and in Harbin, shares NUDT's founding city and offers aerospace engineering and materials science.
Xidian University in Xi'an is a public university with information and communication engineering, electronic science and computer science, close to NUDT's computing profile.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
United States Air Force Academy in the United States is a public military institution with aerospace engineering and strategic studies.
École de l'Air et de l'Espace in France is a public institution of aerospace systems engineering and air operations.
Cranfield University in the United Kingdom is public and focuses on aerospace, engineering and management.
Bauman Moscow State Technical University in Russia is a public university in mechanical engineering, aerospace and robotics.
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in Israel is public and lists engineering, aerospace and computer science.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
When and where was the National University of Defense Technology founded?
Its predecessor, the Military Academy of Engineering of the People's Liberation Army, was founded in Harbin in 1953. The university now stands in Changsha, Hunan.
How did the university come to Changsha?
It moved south in 1970 and was renamed the Changsha Institute of Technology. In 1978 it took the name National University of Defense Technology.
What changed in 2017?
Military reforms led to the university being rebuilt through the merger of several institutions. It was also listed in the national Double First-Class initiative.
Which national programmes has it belonged to?
It was included in Project 211 and Project 985, before the Double First-Class listing.
Which supercomputers did NUDT build?
Tianhe-1A was first on the November 2010 TOP500 list at about 2.57 petaflops, and Tianhe-2 was first in June 2013 at about 33.86 petaflops. The first is in Tianjin and the second in Guangzhou.
What fields are taught?
Schools include computer science, electronic science, systems engineering, aerospace science and intelligence science. Programme details are published on the university's Chinese-language website.
How can international applicants find information?
The university keeps an English-language section on its official website. Because it is a military institution, admission conditions for international applicants should be confirmed directly with it.
Aerospace, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, Machine Learning, Robotics, Systems Modeling Language (SysML)
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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