Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

Founded in 1948 as Zhongyuan University, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL) is renowned for its storied past, particularly within its School of Business Administration (SBA). Tracing its lineage back to 1949, when the Department of Factory Management and the Department of Trade were first established at Zhongyuan University, SBA has undergone remarkable transformations. The MBA School of ZUEL merged into SBA in 2018, ushering in a fresh chapter in its historical narrative, which reached a significant milestone.

ZUEL was proudly included in the first and second rounds of the national "Double First-Class" initiative, which aims to cultivate world-class universities and disciplines. In the latest discipline evaluations, ZUEL's core disciplines received outstanding grades: Law (A, top 5%), Applied Economics (A-, top 5%-10%), and Business Administration (A-, top 5%-10%). SBA boasts comprehensive resources in its two National first-level disciplines: Applied Economics and Business Administration.

SBA comprises seven departments spanning diverse fields such as Business Administration, Marketing Management, Economics and Trade, Agricultural Economy Management, Tourism Management, Operations and Supply Chain Management, and Human Resource Management, as well as an MBA Education Center. Additionally, it has established 18 research institutes (or research centers) that are at the forefront of various academic disciplines, including the Research Institute of China (Hubei) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Research Center for Digital Economy and Business Ethics, and the Research Institute of Internet+ Agriculture Development etc.

SBA, with its comprehensive educational system, offers a diverse array of programmes spanning Business Administration and Applied Economics. This includes 8 doctoral degrees, 15 master's degrees categorized into 10 research-oriented and 5 professional-oriented programmes, as well as 9 undergraduate degrees. Notably, SBA enrolls international students for 5 undergraduate, 2 master's, and 2 doctoral programmes. SBA's undergraduate programmes are all nationally recognized as first-class, making SBA the business school with the largest number of such programmes not just in ZUEL, but throughout China.

The SBA consists of a total of 153 faculty members and 49 staff, with its teaching team including 49 professors and 70 associate professors. Notably, 55% of these faculty members possess overseas educational or research experience. Over the past five years, SBA has garnered over 50 provincial and ministerial research accolades, undertaken numerous national projects, provincial and ministerial initiatives, and international collaborations. Furthermore, more than 400 academic papers by SBA faculty have been published in prestigious domestic and international journals, including Social Sciences in China, Economic Research Journal, UTD24 journals, and FT50 journals. Currently, SBA boasts over 150 doctoral candidates, 1100 master's students, and 2400 undergraduate students.

SBA has maintained long-term academic exchanges and cooperation with universities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and other countries and with overseas research institutions such as the Institute of Development Studies and the International Rice Research Institute. Moreover, nearly twenty well-known scholars from the prestigious universities of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Finland, Japan, etc. have been employed as overseas guest professors and visiting scholars.