Founded in Shanghai in 1896 as the Nanyang Public College, Xi'an Jiaotong University is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in China.

Today's Xi'an Jiaotong University is a comprehensive research-oriented university with its focus on science and engineering. Its programs cover the fields of science, engineering, medicine, economics, management, literature and arts, law, philosophy, and education. It consists of 17 schools, offering 74 undergraduate programs, 199 master programs, and 114 doctoral programs. In 2007, the number of full-time undergraduate students was over 17,000 and that of graduate students nearly 13,000.

There are more than 2,500 full-time faculty members, dedication to both teaching and research. The current faculty includes 16 members of the Chinese Academy of Science and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as members of the American Academy of Engineering, the British Royal Academy, and the Third-World Academy of Science.

As one of the first listing universities, the university has been authorized to accept international students of Chinese Government Scholarship since 1950. Up to now, the university has trained over 5,000 international students from more than 52 countries and regions. The majors, which most international students study, are Chinese language, MBBS (in English medium), Management, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Energy and Power Engineering, Public Policy and Management, Economics and Finance, Traditional Chinese Medicine and etc. In additions, the university also offers scholarship for excellent international students.