Introduction to Southwest Medical University

Southwest Medical University (SWMU) is a provincial public institution of higher education in Sichuan Province, located in Luzhou, a nationally renowned historical and cultural city, National Sanitary City, and National Civilized City situated at the junction of Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, and Guizhou. The university traces its origins to the Southwest Sichuan Southern Medical School, founded in 1951. It was upgraded to Luzhou Medical College in 1959 and further upgraded to an undergraduate institution in 1978, when it was renamed Luzhou Medical College. In 1982, it was granted the authority to confer bachelor's degrees, followed by the authority to confer master’s degrees in 1993. In 2001, it began joint doctoral training programs. It launched undergraduate education for international students in 2004, and was approved to establish a Postdoctoral Research Station in 2010. The institution was renamed Southwest Medical University in 2015. In 2021, it was approved as a doctoral degree-granting institution, with Clinical Medicine approved as a doctoral degree authorization discipline.

Throughout its long history of educational practice, the university has cultivated the fine tradition of “unity and perseverance in pioneering endeavors.” It upholds the motto of “Virtue and Excellence, Compassion and Service to Society” and the spirit of “Self-Reliance, Integrity and Innovation.” Guided by the educational philosophy of “Virtue and Excellence, Inclusiveness and Openness,” the university has developed a distinctive educational feature characterized by “Cultivating Both Virtue and Professional Excellence, with Equal Emphasis on Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.” The university currently has two campuses, Zhongshan and Chengbei, covering a total area of 2,011 mu (approximately 134 hectares). It comprises 20 schools (departments) and has more than 25,000 students, including undergraduate, postgraduate, and international students. Since its establishment, the university has cultivated a large number of healthcare professionals at various levels and in diverse specialties. It has become an important base for the cultivation of medical and healthcare professionals and scientific and technological innovation in Sichuan Province, as well as a service center for disease prevention, medical services, scientific research, and health industry in the region encompassing Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou .

The university (including its directly affiliated hospitals) has more than 10,000 medical and teaching staff. It has 1,576 full-time faculty members, including 741 hold senior professional titles and 766 hold doctoral degrees. The university has 118 doctoral supervisors and 1,374 master’s supervisors. Currently, there are over 880 recipients of talent titles at or above the provincial level, including 87 recipients with national-level talent titles.

The university offers a comprehensive range of disciplines with distinctive academic features. Clinical Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, and Stomatology are designated as first-class construction disciplines in the Sichuan Province. Seven disciplines are ranked among the top 1% of disciplines worldwide according to Essential Science Indicators (ESI), including Clinical Medicine, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Biology and Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Chemistry, Neuroscience and Behavior, and Immunology. Among institutions ranked in the global top 1%, Clinical Medicine and Pharmacology & Toxicology are ranked in the top 20.01% and 17.08%, respectively. The university currently offers 1 authorized doctoral program for professional degrees, 8 authorized first-level master’s degree programs, and 11 authorized master’s programs for professional degrees. It has established a comprehensive postgraduate education system with medicine as its primary focus, covering disciplines such as medicine, engineering, management, law, and education. The university offers 32 undergraduate programs, covering 7 academic disciplines. It has 8 National and 8 Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Program Development Sites, as well as 3 National Characteristic Programs, 3 Provincial Characteristic Programs, and 5 Provincial Demonstration Programs for Applied Education. The university is actively promoting the integration of medicine with engineering, science, and the humanities, and has established a medical education system that covers the “full life cycle and the entire process of health.”

The university is authorized to recommend outstanding graduating undergraduates  for admission to master’s programs without taking the national entrance examination and has undertaken 5 national medical education reform projects. In 2021, the university participated in the 10th China Undergraduate Medical Technical Skills Competition, with its teams in four tracks — Clinical Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nursing, and Preventive Medicine all advancing to the National Finals and winning awards. The university has participated in the National Clinical Skills Competition for College Students of Higher Medical Institutions seven times, winning 1 Grand Prize and 6 First Prizes in the Southwest and Northwest Region, as well as 3 Second Prizes and 4 Third Prizes in the National Finals. Among the more than 140 participating medical institutions nationwide, the university is one of only 9 institutions to have advanced to the National Finals for six consecutive editions. The university’s pass rate in the National Medical Licensing Examination is higher than the national average, ranking among the top 20% of participating institutions in recent years. Over the past four editions, the university has received 19 Provincial Teaching Achievement Awards, including 6 First Prizes.

The university has established 46 science and technology innovation platforms at or above the provincial and ministerial level, including the National Engineering Research Center for Isotopes and Drugs (co-built), a Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, and the Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Key Laboratory of Metabolic Vascular Diseases. It has also been approved to establish 58 research teams at the provincial, municipal, and departmental levels. The university’s Science and Technology Park has been officially recognized as a National University Science and Technology Park, serving as a key national-level innovation platform for the transformation and industrialization of scientific and technological achievements in the region. Since 2021, the university has been approval for 711 projects at or above the provincial and ministerial, and higher levels and received 40 scientific and technological achievement awards at or above the provincial and ministerial level.

The university has established international cooperation and exchange relations with 25 countries and regions and has successfully hosted multiple international academic conferences. It has been approved as a National Traditional Chinese Medicine Service Export Base and has established the China-Portuguese-Speaking Countries and Regions Traditional Chinese Medicine International Cooperation Base. The university has trained more than 900 postdoctoral researchers,  postgraduate students, and undergraduates for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries, including Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.

The university currently has 5 directly affiliated hospitals. They have demonstrated outstanding emergency response and rescue capabilities, as well as high treatment success rates, in responding to public emergencies and carrying out emergency rescue operations. As a provincial medical center serving the region where Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, and Guizhou converge, the university is committed to safeguarding the health and well-being of people across the region.

(Data as of June 10, 2026)