The World First Class University and First Class Academic Discipline Construction (), together known as Double First Class (), is a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the Chinese central government, initiated in 2015. The purpose of the program is to "enhance the comprehensive strength and international competitiveness of China’s higher education." There are 147 universities and colleges nationwide selected to be part of the program.
The Double First Class University Plan replaced Project 211 and Project 985, which were initiated by Jiang Zemin's administration in 1990s.
History
In October 2015, the State Council of China published the 'Overall Plan for Promoting the Construction of World First Class Universities and First Class Disciplines' (Double First Class University Plan), which made new arrangements for the development of higher education in China, replacing previous higher education projects.
In June 2016, the Ministry of Education of China announced that the Project 211 and Project 985 had already been abolished and replaced by the Double First Class University Initiative.
In September 2017, the full list of the universities and their disciplines of the Double First Class University Plan was jointly published by the Ministry of Education of China, the Ministry of Finance of China and the National Development and Reform Commission of China. According to the list, 140 universities have been approved as ‘Double First Class Universities’ by the State Council of China. The Double First Class University Plan underlines that driving the overall development of universities by building and strengthening their faculties and departments.
In February 2022, the 'Some Suggestions on Further Promoting the Construction of World First Class Universities and First Class Disciplines' were jointly published by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission. In addition, with the approval of the State Council of China, the updated Phase 2 list of "Double First Class Universities" has been released. According to the Phase 2 List of the Double First Class University Plan, the previous university classifications have been abolished, and a total number of 147 universities have been included in the plan (accounted for 4.88% of 3,012 Chinese higher education institutions), after 7 universities newly adding into the list since February 2022.
Double First Class Universities
The Phase 1 list of 140 Double First Class Universities were jointly issued by Chinese Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, and National Development and Reform Commission without any ranking within the lists (by "school code") in 2017. In February 2022, the Ministry of Education of China announced that the classifications had been invalidated, and the universities included in the Double First Class University Plan should be referred to as Double First Class Universities. According to the updated Phase 2 list of the Double First Class University Plan (without any ranking within the list), a total of 147 universities have been approved and recognized as Double First Class Universities,.
* represent the newly added universities in the Phase 2 list of Double First Class University Plan.
Assessment and Rankings
The Double First Class University Plan underlines that developing the listed Chinese elite universities into world-class universities by 2050 through strengthening their developments of disciplines and faculties.
On 18 September 2020, the members of "Double First Class" expert valuation group, which was headed by Lin Huiqing, Chairman of the Medical Education Expert Committee of the Ministry of Education and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, unanimously agreed that Tsinghua University has been fully established as a world-class university.