Nankai University operates as a public university in Tianjin, China. Yan Xiu and Zhang Boling founded the institution in 1919 as the private Nankai School. They aimed to promote modern education in China. On December 25, 2000, the State Ministry of Education signed an agreement with the Tianjin Municipal Government. Together, these authorities committed to jointly establishing and developing Nankai University.
The university educates tens of thousands of students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. It offers a wide range of academic programs across many disciplines. These fields include humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, information technology, economics, business, and management. The QS World University Rankings 2026 have placed the university at #355.