Shenzhen University (SZU, Chinese: 深圳大学) is a municipal public research university in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. The university is funded by the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government. SZU ranked 10th in the world for Nature Index 2021 Young Universities (Leading 150 Young Universities) and 38th in China for Nature Index 2022. Location SZU comprises two campuses, Houhai campus and Xili campus, occupying 2.72 square kilometers in total. The Houhai campus is located on the coastline of Houhai Bay with 1.34 square kilometers. The new Xili campus now under construction is located in the city's University Town and takes up 1.38 square kilometers. History Shenzhen University was established as a full-time comprehensive university, in line with the aim of China's Ministry of Education (MOE) to further develop the critical infrastructure in the Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen with strong supports from Chinese leading universities including Peking University, Tsinghua University and Renmin University of China. Professor Zhang Wei, who was the former vice-president of Tsinghua University, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was appointed its first president of to develop it. Shenzhen University has had a favored status in China's political and academic circles. Deng Xiaoping gave his personal approval to the university and Jiang Zemin penned the university's characters in his own hand. The university has been visited by several heads of state, scientists and researchers such as Nobel Prize winner in Physics Dr. Yang Zhenning. Many business and academics have made donations to support the development of Shenzhen University and some entrepreneurs have set up funds and scholarships in various disciplines.In 1995, Shenzhen University passed the teaching evaluation for the undergraduate program accredited by MOE, and was among the first group of universities in China to have its undergraduate programs certified. In 1996, Shenzhen University was accredited by the Academic Degree Evaluation Committee of the State Council for Master's programs. In 1997, Shenzhen University reorganized into the faculty and college structure, adopted a work-study program and committed to an integrated approach to teaching. Since 2017, the university has concentrated research-oriented teaching and has invested heavily in providing state of the art research laboratories. In 2017, the research budget totaled 9,705,000 million RMB. In 2006, three faculties were accredited to offer Ph.D degrees. Administration Faculty departmental structure SZU now has 27 schools (colleges), providing 96 undergraduate majors, 38 first-grade master degree conferring disciplines; 18 professional