Huashang College Guangdong University of Finance & Economics(广州华商学院)

Huashang College, Guangdong University of Finance & Economics, is a full-time application-oriented undergraduate institution with a distinct focus on finance and economics, and a coordinated development across multiple disciplines. The college has two campuses, one in Guangzhou and the other in Zhaoqing, with a student population of over 32,000. Since its establishment, the college has adhered to the educational philosophy of “Creating a Centenary Famous School, Cultivating Talents for China,” with a focus on quality, strengthening internal capabilities, enhancing connotations, highlighting distinctive features, and building its brand. The professional structure has been continuously optimized, and scientific and technological innovations have emerged one after another, with significant achievements in talent development. The college has received numerous accolades, including “Excellent Private Higher Education Institution in China,” “Outstanding Contribution Award for Guangdong Contemporary Private Schools,” “3rd in the National Ranking of Independent Finance and Economics Colleges,” and “No. 1 in National Private Undergraduate Universities' Research Competitiveness and Value Evaluation.”

The college currently has one national first-class professional construction point, two provincial key disciplines, six provincial first-class professional construction points, and eight provincial first-class courses. Since 2020, it has been approved for three provincial-level and above scientific research platforms and 44 research projects, including three national social science fund projects. In May 2021, the college was approved as a unit for the establishment of a master's degree program. In May 2022, it was also approved for the establishment of a doctoral research station in Guangdong Province.

The Guangzhou and Zhaoqing campuses are located in scenic areas: the Guangzhou campus is in Zengcheng, the “Home of Lychees,” and the Zhaoqing campus is in Sihui, known as the “Hometown of Chinese Jade.” The college covers an area of over 1,600 acres. After 18 years of development, the college has a strong faculty, scientific teaching management, and well-equipped teaching and sports facilities. The campus layout is harmonious, with elegant surroundings, fresh air, and a peaceful environment, making it an ideal place for students to cultivate their character and pursue academic studies.

The library holds a collection of 2.7 million paper books, 2,135 Chinese periodicals, 795 Chinese current periodicals (including newspapers), 60 foreign language periodicals, and 330,000 digital books in the Super Star Digital Library. The library also provides access to China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) with approximately 40 million academic papers, including Chinese academic journals, important conference papers, doctoral and master's theses, and full-text newspapers.

The college is committed to the “Talent-Strong School” strategy and has a faculty team with an international perspective, high academic standards, and a balanced structure. The president, Professor Chen Xinzi, a world-renowned chemist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is supported by faculty mainly from top domestic “985” and “211” universities, as well as excellent educators from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. There are currently over 1,400 faculty members, of whom more than 390 hold senior professional titles, accounting for 32.79%, and 74.72% hold master's or doctoral degrees. The faculty includes 31 teachers with overseas experience. The college has one provincial-level teaching team and six Outstanding Teachers in Southern Guangdong. The college also hires well-known professors as academic advisors and guest professors, as well as industry elites and “dual-qualified” teachers to guide students in innovation and entrepreneurship. In November 2019, the college appointed Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Professor Jean-Marie Lehn from France, as its honorary president.

The college has 16 schools (departments) offering 51 undergraduate programs, including 5 international double degree programs, 2 overseas innovation programs, and 1 bilingual program, covering disciplines in management, economics, literature, engineering, arts, education, and medicine.

The college has made great strides in the development of a practical teaching system to improve students' application and innovation abilities. It has established an “Internet + Accounting Teaching Integration Reform Pilot Area” and integrated industry-academia collaborative education platforms with off-campus practical bases. The college has invested heavily in the construction of high-standard, high-level, and unique cross-disciplinary simulation platforms for economics and management, cloud computing, cloud desktop platforms, and mass communication experimental teaching platforms. Among them, the cross-disciplinary simulation platform has been included in the Guangdong Province Education Department’s Quality Engineering Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center project.

With the development of economic globalization and the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the college places high importance on the international development of education and teaching. It actively promotes and engages in international cooperation and exchanges, introducing high-quality educational resources from abroad and the region to create diversified joint training models. The college has established strong cooperative relationships with foreign universities in Australia, the UK, the US, Thailand, and Hong Kong and Macau. It offers international programs in collaboration with universities such as the University of Huddersfield (UK) and the University of Canberra (Australia) in “3+1” and “2+2” educational models. In recent years, about 3,200 faculty members and students have studied abroad or exchanged in regions including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and abroad, thus broadening their international vision and enhancing their competitiveness.

The college is authorized to enroll students from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and is actively promoting cooperation among universities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to integrate higher education into the global context.

Since its establishment, the college’s social influence and reputation have grown steadily, with an increasing number of graduates excelling in various sectors such as finance, economics, business, management, language, and foreign affairs. The college's undergraduate employment rate has remained above 97% for five consecutive years, surpassing the provincial average, with a 96% satisfaction rate among employers.

The college's research capacity and ability to serve society continue to grow. The number of provincial and ministerial research projects and funding has steadily increased, and the quantity of research papers published in core journals, SCI, and EI has also risen. The college has two provincial-level key disciplines: Accounting, a key distinctive discipline of Guangdong Province, and Journalism and Communication, a key discipline under development.

The college has received numerous honors, including “Top 10 Independent Colleges in Guangdong Province,” “Outstanding Private Higher Education Institution in China,” “Most Employment-Competitive Independent College in Guangdong Province,” and “3rd in National Ranking of Independent Finance and Economics Colleges.”

Guided by Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the college adheres to the socialist direction of education, implements the spirit of the National Education Conference, and aims to cultivate high-quality, application-oriented talents. It focuses on reforms and innovation, aiming to serve local economic and social development, with a modern university system as its foundation. The college continues to optimize its academic structure, enhance teaching quality, and strives to become a high-level application-oriented university with a strong focus on finance and economics, ultimately achieving the goal of becoming a first-class private university in China.