Introduction to Civil Engineering Program

1. Historical Background

The Civil Engineering program is one of the oldest at Nanchang University, tracing its origins to the Civil Engineering Department of the National Zhongzheng University established in 1940. In 1958, with the founding of Jiangxi Institute of Technology, the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering was established and began enrolling undergraduates in the Industrial and Civil Architecture program that same year. In 1999, the Industrial and Civil Architecture program was renamed Civil Engineering, with a Road and Bridge direction added. In 2018, an Urban Underground Engineering direction was introduced, followed by an Engineering Management direction in 2020. The Civil Engineering program is recognized as both a Brand and a Characteristic Program in Jiangxi Province. In 2010, it became the first civil engineering program in Jiangxi to pass the professional accreditation by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. In 2011, the Civil Engineering (Road and Bridge direction) was included in the Ministry of Education’s Excellence Engineer Education and Training Plan. The program successfully passed the professional accreditation again in 2015, was selected as a National First-Class Undergraduate Program Construction Site in 2019, and passed the third round of professional certification (accreditation) in 2021.

2. Faculty Team

The Civil Engineering program currently has 59 full-time faculty members, including 15 professors, 23 associate professors, 12 doctoral supervisors, and 38 master’s supervisors. Among them, 46 hold doctoral degrees, accounting for 78% of the faculty. The team includes 3 academic leaders in Jiangxi Province, 3 key young and middle-aged teachers in Jiangxi, and 2 recipients of the Jiangxi Outstanding Youth Fund.

3. Teaching, Research, and Discipline Development Platforms

The Civil Engineering program offers four specializations: Architectural Engineering, Road and Bridge Engineering, Urban Underground Engineering, and Engineering Management. Civil Engineering is a first-level discipline offering master’s degrees, with secondary disciplines including Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Bridge and Tunnel Engineering, Civil Engineering Materials, and Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. The program is supported by platforms such as the "Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Ultra-Low Energy Consumption Buildings," the "Jiangxi Provincial Near-Zero Energy Consumption Building Engineering Experimental Center," and the "Nanchang University Design and Research Institute."

4. Training Approach and Features

The Civil Engineering program follows a four-year academic system and awards a Bachelor of Engineering degree.
Its distinctive features and strengths include: 

1) Ideological and Political Education Rooted in Red Culture. Upholding the fundamental mission of fostering virtue through education, promoting the "Jinggangshan Spirit," and integrating red culture throughout the teaching process. 

2) Interdisciplinary Education Across Comprehensive Disciplines. The school offers four undergraduate programs—Civil Engineering, Building Environment and Energy Engineering, Hydraulic and Hydroelectric Engineering, and Engineering Mechanics—enabling interdisciplinary education. 

3) Practice-Oriented Education Leveraging Advanced Platforms. Utilizing the resources of national and provincial experimental platforms to strengthen students’ practical skills and innovative spirit. 

4) Industry-Education Integration and Collaborative Education. All faculty members have industry experience or professional qualifications, and the program collaborates with numerous large and medium-sized enterprises to establish talent training bases.

The Civil Engineering Excellence Program (part of the Ministry of Education’s Excellence Initiative) is one of the first nine such programs implemented at Nanchang University. Currently, the Excellence Program is implemented in the Road and Bridge direction, following a "3+1" training model—three years of theoretical study and one year of practical training. Since its launch in 2011, the Civil Engineering (Road and Bridge direction) Excellence Program has established a stable talent training system, fostered effective university-enterprise collaboration for practical education, and significantly enhanced the program’s reputation in society and the industry.

5. Employment Prospects

Over the past three years, the employment rate for graduates has remained stable at around 99%, while the postgraduate admission rate has steadily increased, reaching 27.52%, 32.87%, and 34.09% in the last three years, respectively. Graduates are primarily employed by large industry enterprises and public institutions, with the proportion joining central and state-owned enterprises rising from 46.78% in 2016 to 57.14% in 2021. Approximately one-third of graduates remain in Jiangxi for employment, while the rest are mainly distributed in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions, with some working in other parts of the country.