Yunnan University (Chinese: 云南大学; pinyin: Yúnnán dàxué, Acronym: YNU) is a National Key University in Yunnan Province, China. Its main campuses are located in the provincial capital city of Kunming.
Founded in December 1922, Yunnan University started to enroll in April 1923. It began as a privately run institution called the “University of the Eastern Land” and its name has changed six times since then. Currently, Yunnan University is one of the Double First Class Universities and former “Project 211” universities in China authorized by the central government to be specially developed. Yunnan University has also been included on the list of the key national universities for the “China Western Development” program.
YNU is gained a worldwide reputation through the discovery and research of the Maotianshan Shales (especially the Chengjiang biota) in early Cambrian leader by professor Hou Xianguang, who was rewarded the first class of State Natural Science Award in 2003.
Yunnan University currently has the following schools, colleges and institutes under its administration:
- School of Economy
- School of Adult Education
- School of Humanity and Liberal Arts
- School of Life Science
- School of Ecology and Environment
- School of Information
- School of Earth Sciences
- Institute for Development Research
- School of Occupational Technology
- School of Law
- School of Public Management
- School of Business Administration and Tourism Management
- School of Foreign Languages
- International College of Modern Design Arts
- School of Medicine
- School of International Relations
- School of International Cultures
- School of Tourism and Culture (at Lijiang)
- School of Software Engineering
- Institute for Palaeontology (inherited from Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology)