North Sichuan Medical College (NSMC) is located in Nanchong, Sichuan Province, with two campuses in Shunqing and Gaoping districts, covering an area of over 1,000 mu (approximately 67 hectares). The college originated as the Southwestern Sichuan Northern Medical School, founded in 1951. It was upgraded to a specialized college in 1965 and became an undergraduate institution in 1985, adopting its current name. In 2005, the college began enrolling international students, obtained the right to confer master’s degrees in 2006, and achieved an "Excellent" rating in the Ministry of Education's undergraduate teaching evaluation in 2007. In 2014, it became a postdoctoral innovation practice base in Sichuan Province, was approved as a candidate for new doctoral degree-granting institutions in 2016, passed the undergraduate teaching audit evaluation in 2017, and successfully obtained clinical medicine accreditation in 2018. In 2023, it was designated as a "Priority Nurturing" doctoral degree-granting institution in Sichuan Province.
The college adheres to the principles of "Governing by Law, Building through Democracy, Improving through Quality, Empowering with Talent, and Strengthening through Technology." Upholding the motto "Dedication, Compassion, Truth-Seeking, Innovation," NSMC fosters a spirit of perseverance and self-reliance and adheres to a people-centered philosophy that views quality as the foundation of its development. It has become a provincial higher education institution, focusing on medicine as its core discipline while integrating humanities, management, law, engineering, and education into its multidisciplinary framework.
NSMC has a strong academic foundation. It consists of 19 secondary schools (departments) and offers 26 undergraduate programs. It currently boasts 3 national first-class undergraduate program construction sites, 10 provincial first-class undergraduate program construction sites, 1 national characteristic program, 4 provincial characteristic programs, 4 provincial model application-oriented programs, and 2 provincial model ideological and political education programs. The college offers 5 national first-class undergraduate courses, 38 provincial first-class undergraduate courses, 9 provincial model application-oriented undergraduate courses, and 16 provincial model ideological and political education courses. It also houses 3 provincial experimental teaching demonstration centers, 3 provincial virtual simulation teaching centers, 1 provincial integrated Chinese and Western medicine clinical teaching and training demonstration center, 3 provincial virtual simulation projects, and 2 provincial innovation experiment projects. NSMC’s clinical education system is supported by 3 directly affiliated hospitals, 11 non-directly affiliated hospitals, and 68 teaching and internship hospitals.
The college has achieved remarkable success in talent cultivation. It is one of the first institutions selected for the national "Excellence in Doctor Education and Training Plan" and serves as a training base for undergraduate medical imaging and clinical medicine students in Sichuan Province. With over 19,000 full-time undergraduate, graduate, and international students, NSMC students have earned numerous awards, including the Second Prize in the National Clinical Skills Competition for University Medical Students, First Prizes in the National Nursing Skills Competition, Computer Design Competition, Health Education and Science Popularization Competition, Basic Medicine Innovation and Experimental Design Competition, and Life Science Competition, as well as a Silver Medal in the China International Innovation Competition. For many years, the college has been recognized as an "Advanced Collective in Employment Work" by Sichuan Province.
NSMC’s faculty team continues to improve. It employs over 1,400 staff members, including more than 100 experts who enjoy government special allowances, provincial academic and technical leaders, outstanding experts with significant contributions to Sichuan Province, scholars under the Tianfu Emei Plan, the Tianfu Qingcheng Plan, and returning overseas scholars. Faculty members have been honored with titles such as "National Outstanding University Counselor," "Sichuan Provincial Outstanding Teacher," "Sichuan Provincial Advanced Worker," "Sichuan Provincial March 8th Red-Banner Holder," "Sichuan Provincial May 1st Women Model Worker," "Sichuan Provincial University Counselor of the Year," and "Sichuan Provincial 'Four-Good Teacher.'" The college has also been recognized as a "National Advanced Collective in Faculty Ethics and Style Construction."
NSMC’s academic strength continues to grow. It currently has 2 disciplines recognized under Sichuan Province's "Double First-Class" initiative, 28 key disciplines, including those identified by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Sichuan provincial authorities. It has 1 postdoctoral innovation practice base and 1 joint doctoral training base. The college offers master’s academic degrees in three primary disciplines: Basic Medicine, Clinical Medicine, and Pharmacy, covering 31 secondary disciplines. It also provides master’s professional degrees in Clinical Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Public Health, Public Administration, and Medical Technology, encompassing 37 professional fields. Its Clinical Medicine program ranks among the top 1% globally in the Essential Science Indicators (ESI).
NSMC’s research capabilities have steadily improved. The college has established 23 provincial and municipal research platforms, including 1 Sichuan Key Laboratory, 1 Provincial New Research and Development Institution, 2 Sichuan Clinical Medical Research Centers, 1 Sichuan Philosophy and Social Science Dissemination Base, 5 Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratories in Higher Education, 4 National Secondary Laboratories for Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1 Sichuan Higher Education Humanities and Social Sciences Key Research Base, 6 Nanchong Key Laboratories, and 2 Nanchong Philosophy and Social Science Key Research Bases. It also has 3 provincial research teams, 1 academician workstation, and 1 public research platform. In recent years, NSMC has undertaken over 900 research projects funded by national and provincial programs, with annual research funding growing by more than 20%. Faculty members have published in leading journals, including Nature. The college’s journal, Journal of North Sichuan Medical College, is recognized as a China Science and Technology Core Journal and an RCCSE China Core Academic Journal (Class A).
NSMC has expanded its international collaborations. The college enrolls students from 11 countries, including Ghana, India, and Pakistan, ranking high among Sichuan’s institutions for its influence on international students. It has established partnerships with international universities such as the University of Toledo, Salus University, Swansea University, and Saskatchewan Polytechnic, and regularly engages in cultural and technical exchanges, including projects on Silk Road culture, Three Kingdoms culture, intangible cultural heritage, and medical technology. Domestically, NSMC collaborates with Nanchong City to co-develop a high-level medical university and partners with Jinan University to establish a clinical medicine doctoral training base.
NSMC actively fulfills its social responsibilities. It integrates education and healthcare to serve national strategies and local development needs, contributing to the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle and the Sichuan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base Area. Its affiliated hospitals, recognized as key national and provincial medical centers, serve over 30 million people in northeastern Sichuan. The college has also played a leading role in poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, and public health initiatives, earning widespread recognition from provincial and national authorities.
Currently, NSMC is guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It fully implements the principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Sichuan Provincial Party Congress, strengthening the Party’s leadership and advancing its "Fourth Entrepreneurship" initiative. By implementing the "1510 High-Quality Development Strategy" and the "14th Five-Year Plan," NSMC is committed to comprehensive reforms, improving the quality of education, and building a distinctive, high-level medical university that meets the needs of the people while contributing to Sichuan’s development. (Information accurate as of July 2024.)
