China Three Gorges University (CTGU) was established with the approval of the Ministry of Education through the merger of the former Wuhan University of Hydraulic and Electric Engineering (Yichang) and the former Hubei Sanxia College. The university traces its origins to 1923. As one of the first institutions authorized to confer bachelor’s degrees in China, it launched undergraduate programs in 1978 and introduced master's and doctoral programs in 1996 and 1998 respectively.
CTGU is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Water Resources and the Hubei Provincial People’s Government, and it is part of the Ministry of Education’s Outstanding Engineers Education and Training Program. In 2018, it was designated by the Hubei Provincial People’s Government as a National First-Class University under Construction, with Hydraulic Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Electrical Engineering identified as National First-Class Disciplines under Construction. Today, CTGU has developed into a comprehensive university with distinctive strengths in hydraulic and electrical engineering, robust academic capabilities, and a solid social reputation.
The university enrolls students from over 60 countries and regions and has achieved the first batch of undergraduate enrollment in China. Currently, it has more than 25,000 full-time undergraduate students, over 8,400 master's and doctoral students, and approximately 1,800 international students.
The university has four doctoral programs of first-level disciplines (Hydraulic Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Management Science and Engineering), two doctoral programs ofprofessional degree(Civil and Hydraulic Engineering; Energy and Power), four postdoctoral research stations, 27 master’sprograms of first-level disciplines, 22 master’sprograms of professional degree, and 82 undergraduate majors that cover nine major disciplinary areas including science, engineering, humanities, medicine, economics, management, law, education, and arts.
CTGU consistently upholds an open approach to education and engages extensively in international exchange and cooperation. It is a member of United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), the Permanent Secretariat of the Global University Network (N.E.W.S.), a key initiator of the Hubei–South Asia University Alliance, a member of the Eurasia–Pacific University Alliance (EPU), the Chinese partner institution for the Ministry of Education’s China–Arab “10+10” Cooperation Program in the field of energy transition, and a member of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) and the World Water Council (WWC). CTGU has signed an MoU with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and has established long-term partnerships with over 170 universities in more than 60 countries and regions.
CTGU currently hosts more than 1,850 international students, which makesita provincial university with the largest international student enrollment and the broadest spectrum of disciplines, and the largest scale of English-medium instruction in Hubei province. It is a designated Demonstration Base for International Student Education in China and an official HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) center. It has successfully passed quality accreditation and re-accreditation for higher education of international students in China, and it has been enlisted in the Ministry of Education’s Silk Road Scholarship program for eight consecutive years, and it has been approved as one of the first CSC International Students’ Social Practice and Cultural Experience Bases. CTGU is authorized to enroll students under CSC scholarship and International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship (Confucius Institute Scholarship), to admit English-taught international students into the MOE-approved undergraduate clinical medicine program. It has established the first Hubei Base for Chinese Education and has been selected as one of the first “Experience China” Practice Bases by the China Scholarship Council and a China–Foreign Youth Social Practice Base by the Chinese Association for International Exchange of Education.
The university emphasizes and actively supports international academic exchange for faculty and students. CTGU is an implementing institution for the CSC Outstanding Young Teachers Overseas Training Program and has been approved for multiple CSC-funded initiatives, including China–Russian/Ukrainian/Belarusian joint training programs, special programs for cultivating arts talents, and innovative talent international training programs. Each year, a substantial number of CTGU faculty and students engage in international research and study. The long-standing joint education program with the University of Leicester (UK) is renowned for its quality and impact. CTGU hosts one national and three provincial base discipline innovation and talent-introduction platforms; and it has been approved to co-establish the Confucius Institute at the University of N’Djamena in Chad and China’s first Water Resources and Electric Power Industry Center for International Humanities Exchange and Research. In active response to the Belt and Road Initiative, CTGU has conducted substantial country and regional studies: the Nepal Research Center is filed with the Ministry of Education, while the Papua New Guinea Research Institute is rooted in PNG and serves Oceania, building a regional cooperation platform for the Global South. CTGU has successfully hosted major international events including “China Exploration - Sunshine Sports and Culture Journey for International Students in China”and “ExperienceChina” programs of the Ministry of Education,Forums of World-RenownedScientistsLecturing in Hubei Province, Forums of University Presidents from Hubei (China) and South Asia,the firstThree Gorges Opening-up and Cooperation Forum,andPeach Blossom Cultural Festival.
