Peking Union Medical College

Peking Union Medical College
北京协和医学院
Other name
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (中国医学科学院)
TypePublic
Established1917; 109 years ago (1917)
PresidentXunming Ji
Location
Beijing
,
China

39°54′39″N 116°24′54″E / 39.9107°N 116.4149°E / 39.9107; 116.4149
CampusUrban
AffiliationsNational Health Commission
Websitepumc.edu.cn
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese北京协和医学院
Traditional Chinese北京協和醫學院
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinBěijīng Xiéhé Yīxué Yuàn
Map

Peking Union Medical College, concurrently known as the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, is a public medical college in Dongcheng, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the National Health Commission of China.

Old building of the Peking Union Medical College in Beijing

Peking Union Medical College's predecessor was founded by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1917. Due to an affiliation with Tsinghua University in 2006, graduates from the medical college will receive diplomas and degrees from both Peking Union Medical College and Tsinghua University upon graduation.[1][2][3][4]

History

The former Union Medical College was founded in 1906, bringing together six smaller missionary colleges.[5]

The Rockefeller Foundation was established in 1913 and in 1913-1914 the newly formed Foundation created a Commission, including Franklin C. McLean, to examine medical education in China. Wu Lien-teh strongly supported the establishment of a new medical college in Peking and made a number of recommendations, all of which were adopted. The Peking Union Medical College was formally established by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1917.[6]

Red Guards occupy PUMC

In 1951, the government of the People's Republic of China nationalized Peking Union Medical College.[7]

In April 2025, Peking Union Medical College was exposed by the media to have launched a clinical medicine doctoral training program in 2018 known as the "4+4" model, which consists of 4 years of non-medical undergraduate education followed by 4 years of medical professional education. The program uses the theory of liberal education as a justification, arguing that doctors should possess a broader knowledge base beyond medicine. This has sparked a debate between liberal education and specialized education. The public has expressed disapproval, claiming that it not only wastes the first four years of undergraduate study but also results in doctors trained under the liberal education theory lacking adequate medical skills. Furthermore, the program has been criticized as a shortcut for children of powerful and wealthy families to quickly obtain a doctoral degree.[8]

Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University Gate
North campus

Rankings

As of 2024, its "Biomedical Engineering" and "Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences" were ranked 34th and 2nd in the world respectively, while "Biological Sciences" and "Public Health" were placed in the top 100 in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities.[9] As of 2025, its "Pharmacology and Toxicology" also ranked 9th globally by the U.S. News & World Report.[10] It is also ranked in "ARWU Best Chinese Universities Ranking - Ranking of Chinese Medical Universities".[11][12]

Notes

  1. ^ "Tsinghua University". Tsinghua University. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  2. ^ "北京协和医学院研究生院介绍". Archived from the original on 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  3. ^ "北京协和医学院研究生院硕士招生信息及文件". Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  4. ^ "北京协和医学院研究生院博士招生信息及文件". Archived from the original on 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  5. ^ Bullock (1980), p. 4-5.
  6. ^ Wu, Yu-lin (1995). Memories of Dr. Wu Lien-teh, Plague Fighter. World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-02-2287-1.
  7. ^ ChengJiang (2018).
  8. ^ "董袭莹事件引发对协和"4+4"质疑：警惕有人打着改革创新旗号搞腐败 - 民族复兴网 - 手机版". www.mzfxw.com. Retrieved 2025-05-16.
  9. ^ "ShanghaiRanking-Peking Union Medical College". www.shanghairanking.com. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  10. ^ "Best Global Universities for Clinical Medicine". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  11. ^ "ShanghaiRanking's Best Chinese Universities Ranking". ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  12. ^ "ShanghaiRanking's Best Chinese Universities Ranking". ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. Retrieved 6 October 2024.

References and further reading

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Academy_of_Medical_Sciences