Qinghai University for Nationalities was founded in December 1949. It was Qinghai's earliest university of higher education and the earliest ethnic university in China . Also, it is one of the first universities to confer a Master's Degree. Its predecessor, “The Young Cadres Training of Qinghai province”, was founded in December 1949. After 1950, it was renamed as “People’s Public School of Qinghai Province” then “Ethnic Public School of Qinghai Province”. In September 1956, the name “Qinghai University for Nationalities ” was applied and officially approved by the Education Ministry. In December 2000, the Qinghai Junior Teachers College was combined into Qinghai University for Nationalities following a decision of the Qinghai Provincial Committee and Government. In 2003, the university passed the evaluation of the Education Ministry for teaching at undergraduate level.

   Since it was founded 57 years ago, the university has gradually developed and become a comprehensive one thanks to the efforts of several generations of its staff. It has 12 faculties and 11 teaching and research departments. Its teaching covers 7 out of the key disciplines for the province, and offers majoring programs such as arts, science, law, economics, administration, history, medicine, engineering and other academic disciplines. The Tibetan major is qualified for confer a Doctoral Degree for its program in cooperation with the Beijing’s Central University for Nationalities . The university is unique in Qinghai Province as it has received a first-grade evaluation for one of its Master’s program, 23 second-grade Master's degrees and 43 undergraduate majors.

   There are one laboratory of provincial level and five laboratories built by the share of provincial government and Education Ministry . Now the university provides 1 course of national qualified, 3 courses of provincial qualified and 10 key courses of the provincial level. The university is composed of 15 research institutes..

   At present, there are 9,151 students at the university. They are Han, Tibetans, Huis, Tus, Salars, and Mongolians, etc,-31 ethnic groups from 27 different provinces-including 193 postgraduate students, 6,900 full time undergraduate students of four or three years, 833 full-time adult students as well as 72 international students. Up to August 2005, the school has trained 5.2 million qualified graduates from all kinds of ethnic origins.

    QUN has always attached great importance to the quality of its teaching staff. Professors of great reputation and researchers of innovation and dynamic form the backbone of its academic production. There are 1,209 staff among whom 699 full-time teachers, 81 full professors and researchers, 264 associate professors and associate researchers, 11 national specialists receiving special subsidies from the State Council, 3 provincial specialists and one doctorate supervisor. Two members received prestigious awards for excellence contributions among young people in China and 41% of the teachers are in the process of obatining or obtained doctorates or master’s degrees.

    During the last 5 years, the university has engaged in 193 research programs of various types, 66 of which have benefitted of national or provincial subsidies. The total research funds accounts for RMB$ 4.93 million . As a result, more than 1,960 articles and 69 other works and books have been published, 63 of these received national and provincial awards.

   QNU covers a total area of 792 mu (52.8 hectares), with 300,000 square metres of building area. The fixed assets amounts to the value of RMB$ 180 million , including teaching and research equipment worth of RMB$ 46.94 million . The library collection counts approximately 1.1 million volumes, including 200,000 books on ethnic research, more than 20,000 books on ethnic languages and 1,667 volumes of the Tibetan Holy Scripts (Dazangjing). The University also edits and publishes four journals circulated both nationally and internationally: "Journal of Qinghai University for Nationalities" (philosophy and social science edition, integrated education edition and science edition) and the "Ethnic Research of Qinghai".

   The university also attaches great importance to international exchange and cooperation. In the past five years, 400 staff have been sent to famous universities both home and abroad to attend and obtain postgraduate training, get degrees, teach, and conduct cooperative research. In addition, the university has invited nearly 100 eminent experts as visiting professor or guest researcher to give lectures or teach. It has succeded in establishing cooperative agreements with several universities in Asia and Europe among which the German Dresden Industrial University, the Nam Shan University in Japan and the Higher Institute of Management in France.

   The university’s focus on the development of international exchange and cooperation also includes a particular attention to the development of the education of its international students. It has been approved by the Ministry of Education as an international education unit and received the qualification to train international students at undergraduate and professional levels. To this date, it has attracted 400 students from more than 20 countries. Our previledge in ethnic education, language and work is an important factor for ethnic cultural exchange and interrelationship and represents an open window for the outside world.

  Now all staff of the university, and students alike, are working together to improve the university’s construction, education and reform. Our efforts are focused on building an integrated multi-disciplinary university, which would include varied subjects such as arts, philosophy, law, economics, administration, history, medicine, science, and engineering. Our hard work will hopefully result in excellence in some of the disciplines cited above and influence the development of our country at a national level.