Air Force Medical University

The Air Force Medical University is a public military medical university in the Xincheng District of Xi'an, Shaanxi, China, and it is affiliated with the People's Liberation Army Air Force.空军军医大学是一所公立军医大学，位于中国陕西西安新城区，隶属中国人民解放军空军，是空军唯一的高等医学教育机构。

Known until 2017 as the Fourth Military Medical University, it still uses that name in external civilian contexts and is a member of China's Double First-Class Construction.该校在2017年之前称为第四军医大学，对外至今仍沿用这一校名，并入选中国双一流建设高校行列，在部分学科获得重点支持。

Its medical lineage combines the National Central University medical school founded in Nanjing in 1935 with a health school raised by the Eighth Route Army in north-western Shanxi in 1941.学校的医学脉络由1935年在南京成立的国立中央大学医学院与1941年八路军在晋西北创办的卫生学校两条源流汇合而成，一条来自民国时期的国家级医学院，一条来自抗战时期的部队卫生教育。

History

• In May 1935 the medical college of National Central University was founded in Nanjing and quickly became one of the strongest medical schools in Republican China, drawing patients to its teaching hospital in the capital.1935年5月，国立中央大学医学院在南京成立，当时南京是国民政府首都，学院依托附属医院收治病人，很快发展成为民国时期实力最强的医学院之一。
• After the outbreak of the war with Japan in 1937 the college moved west to Huaxiba in Chengdu, where it shared premises with other refugee universities, and it returned to Nanjing in 1946.1937年抗日战争爆发后，学院西迁至成都华西坝，与其他内迁高校共用校舍办学，抗战胜利后于1946年迁回南京。
• In August 1949 it was renamed the medical college of National Nanjing University, following the reorganisation of the national university system after the communist victory.1949年8月，随着国立大学体系的调整，学院更名为国立南京大学医学院。
• In January 1952 the college separated from Nanjing University as the East China Military Region Medical College, and in March it became the Third Military Medical College of the People's Liberation Army.1952年1月，医学院从南京大学分出改建为华东军区医学院，同年3月改称中国人民解放军第三军医学院。
• In December 1952 it was renamed the Fifth Military Medical University, the institution that would later supply most of the faculty of the Xi'an campus.1952年12月，学校更名为中国人民解放军第五军医大学，其师资后来构成西安校部的主体。
• The other lineage began in April 1941, when the Eighth Route Army's north-western Shanxi military region opened a health school to train front-line medical workers.另一条脉络始于1941年4月，八路军晋西北军区成立卫生学校，为前线培养医护与卫生人员。
• The school was renamed the Jin-Sui Military Region Health School in September 1942 and the Northwest People's Medical School in December 1948, when it moved to Xi'an.该校于1942年9月更名为八路军晋绥军区卫生学校，1948年12月改称西北人民医药专门学校并迁至西安。
• In January 1950 it was upgraded to the Northwest Military Region People's Medical College and in January 1951 renamed the First Military Medical College.1950年1月学校升格为西北军区人民医学院，1951年1月改称中国人民解放军第一军医学院。
• In October 1952 the college was elevated to the Fourth Military Medical University, based in Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province.1952年10月，学院升格为中国人民解放军第四军医大学，校部设在陕西省省会西安。
• In July 1954 the Fifth Military Medical University moved from Nanjing to Xi'an and merged with the Fourth, while part of its staff helped form the Sixth Military Medical School in Nanjing.1954年7月，第五军医大学由南京迁至西安与原第四军医大学合并，部分人员则参与组建南京的第六军医学校。
• Cai Qiao, a physiologist who had trained in the United States, led the Fifth Military Medical University from 1952 until the merger two years later.曾在美国从事研究的生理学家蔡翘，自1952年起担任第五军医大学校长，直至两年后两校合并。
• In 1959 the central government named the university one of the first 20 national key universities, a status that concentrated national resources on a handful of institutions and shaped its later research funding and recruitment.1959年，中央确定该校为全国首批20所重点大学之一，这意味着国家把有限资源集中投向少数高校，也深刻影响了学校此后的科研投入与人才引进。
• In 1995 the university was designated a key construction institution of the People's Liberation Army, and in 1997 it joined the first group of 22 universities in the 211 Project, a national scheme launched in 1995 to raise about one hundred institutions to international standards.1995年学校被确定为军队重点建设院校，1997年成为国家首批22所211工程重点建设院校之一，该工程于1995年启动，目标是把约一百所高校建设成为具有国际水平的大学。
• In 1999 the PLA Dalian Medical College and the PLA Air Force Medical College were merged into the university, the latter as its Jilin Military Medical College.1999年，中国人民解放军大连医学高等专科学校与空军医学高等专科学校并入，后者成为第四军医大学吉林军医学院。
• The Jilin handover was marked in July 1999 at a ceremony in the new college, and the branch was detached in 2004 to create Jilin Medical College.1999年7月，吉林军医学院举行交接与揭牌仪式，该分院于2004年分离移交地方，建立吉林医药学院。
• In 2005 the Bethune Military Medical College merged into the university, and in 2011 it became independent again as the PLA Bethune Non-Commissioned Officer School.2005年白求恩军医学院并入该校，2011年又独立设置为中国人民解放军白求恩医务士官学校。
• In 2016, during the reform of the armed forces, the university passed from the General Logistics Department to the Central Military Commission's training and management department, ending the logistics system's control of military universities and hospitals.2016年深化国防和军队改革中，学校由中国人民解放军总后勤部转隶中央军事委员会训练管理部，结束了总后勤部对军队院校和医院的统一管理。
• In 2017 the university was transferred to the People's Liberation Army Air Force and renamed the Air Force Medical University, while keeping the Fourth Military Medical University name for external use, a practice that lets its hospitals keep their long-standing civilian identities.2017年，学校转隶中国人民解放军空军并更名为空军军医大学，同时保留第四军医大学的对外称谓，其附属医院在社会上仍常以旧校名相称。
• The inauguration was held in Xi'an on 21 July 2017, when air force political commissar Yu Zhongfu presented the army flag to president Zhou Xianzhi and commissar Ji Zhihong.2017年7月21日，学校在西安举行成立大会，空军政委于忠福向校长周先志、政委季志宏授予军旗。
• Zeng Yusheng, a major general, led the merged university from 1954 to 1959, the years in which the first national key university designation was awarded.少将曾育生自1954年至1959年担任合并后的第四军医大学校长，任内学校获得首批全国重点大学身份。
• Tu Tongjin, a major general and neurosurgeon, served as president from 1964 to 1975, a period when the university's clinical departments were reorganised.少将涂通今是神经外科专家，1964年至1975年任校长，任内学校临床科室经历重组。
• Fan Daiming, a gastroenterologist, was president from 2007 to 2012 and later became an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.消化病学专家樊代明于2007年至2012年担任校长，后当选中国工程院院士。
• Zhao Yimin, a prosthodontist, served as acting president from 2012 to 2015, and Su Bo had led the university from 1995 to 2004.口腔修复学专家赵铱民于2012年至2015年任代理校长，此前苏博于1995年至2004年担任校长。
• Zhang Shitao was president from 2015 to 2016, and Zhou Xianzhi took office in August 2016, leading the institution through its transfer to the air force.张士涛于2015年至2016年任校长，周先志于2016年8月接任，并主持了学校转隶空军的过程。
• The university traces its teaching hospital tradition to the field hospitals of the 1940s, which were consolidated into the Xijing Hospital after the 1954 merger in Xi'an.学校的附属医院传统可追溯到20世纪40年代的战地医院，这些医疗力量在1954年合并后整合为西京医院。
• When the air force took over in 2017, the university became the service's only medical university, a change that reoriented its aerospace medicine teaching.2017年转隶空军后，学校成为空军唯一的高等医学教育机构，其航空航天医学教学由此得到强化。

Academics

• The university is organised into departments of basic medicine, aerospace medicine, biomedical engineering, military preventive medicine, pharmacy, stomatology, nursing, medical psychology and general practice, with a headquarters divided into training, political, logistics, research and graduate-school departments.学校下设基础部以及航空航天医学、生物医学工程、军事预防医学、药学、口腔医学、护理、医学心理和全科医学等系，校机关则分为训练部、政治部、校务部、科研部和研究生院。
• In 2017 it ran 165 training programmes across three levels, namely degree education for cadres, postgraduate education and in-service military training.截至2017年，学校设有生长干部学历教育、研究生教育、任职教育3个培养层次，共165个培训专业。
• It was among the first institutions authorised by the State Council to award doctoral and master's degrees, and it holds 11 first-level doctoral programmes.学校是国务院批准的第一批博士、硕士学位授权单位，现有一级学科博士学位授权点11个。
• Thirteen first-level master's programmes and ten postdoctoral stations support research training in medicine, pharmacy, nursing and biomedical engineering.学校拥有一级学科硕士学位授权点13个、博士后流动站10个，覆盖医学、药学、护理学与生物医学工程等方向。
• Twenty-five of its disciplines rank among the top ten nationally in the Ministry of Education's subject assessments, and gastroenterology and cell biology rank first in the country.在教育部组织的学科评估中，学校有25个学科排名全国前10名，其中消化学与细胞生物学两个学科排名全国第一。
• Six subject fields entered the top one percent of the Essential Science Indicators ranking compiled by Clarivate, reflecting the volume and citation impact of its medical research.学校有6个学科领域进入科睿唯安编制的基本科学指标数据库世界前1%，体现出医学研究的规模与国际引用影响力。
• Fifteen PLA key medical laboratories and 28 PLA medical specialty centres provide the infrastructure for military medicine, aviation medicine and trauma research.学校拥有全军医学专业重点实验室15个、全军医学专科中心28个，构成军事医学、航空医学与创伤研究的基础平台。
• It also holds 20 national clinical key specialty military projects, two national clinical medical research centres, two national key laboratories and one national major research infrastructure.学校还拥有国家临床重点专科军队建设项目20个、国家临床医学研究中心2个、国家重点实验室2个和国家重大科研基础设施1个。
• Nineteen disciplines carry national key or national key cultivation status, a concentration unusual for a medical university of its size.学校有国家重点学科和国家重点培育学科19个，这一密度在同类规模的医科大学中较为少见。
• Undergraduate admissions in 2017 were limited to clinical medicine, stomatology, biomedical engineering, biotechnology and pharmacy, and graduates receive their bachelor's degrees as military cadets.2017年学校招收的本科专业仅有临床医学、口腔医学、生物医学工程、生物技术和药学5个，毕业生以军校学员身份获得学士学位。
• The aerospace medicine department trains flight surgeons for the air force, a mission that became central after the 2017 transfer.航空航天医学系为空军培养航空军医，这一使命在2017年转隶空军后成为学校的核心任务之一。
• The nursing and medical psychology departments prepare nurses and clinical psychologists mainly for military hospitals and air force medical units.护理系与医学心理系主要面向军队医院和空军卫生单位培养护士与临床心理人员。
• The university's three affiliated hospitals, Xijing, Tangdu and the Stomatological Hospital, serve as clinical teaching bases for its degree programmes, with Xijing carrying the largest share of inpatient teaching.学校的三所附属医院西京医院、唐都医院和口腔医院，是各层次学位教育的临床教学基地，其中西京医院承担的住院教学任务最重。
• The PLA Air Force 986 Hospital is also affiliated with the university, extending its clinical network beyond the three historic hospitals and giving cadets a fourth training site.中国人民解放军空军第九八六医院同样隶属该校，使临床网络超出三所历史悠久的附属医院，并为学员提供第四个临床训练场所。
• The university holds Double First-Class status in selected disciplines, a designation renewed under the national list published in 2022.学校在部分学科入选双一流建设，该身份在2022年公布的国家名单中得到延续。
• Military preventive medicine and medical psychology are taught as separate departments rather than as options within a school of public health.军事预防医学与医学心理在学校均设独立学系，而非作为公共卫生学院下的选修方向。
• Research output is concentrated in gastroenterology, orthopaedics, burns and trauma, dentistry and cell biology, fields tied to the specialties of its hospitals and to the injuries most often seen in military practice.学校的研究产出集中于消化病学、骨科、烧伤与创伤、口腔医学和细胞生物学，这些方向既对应附属医院的专科优势，也对应军事实践中常见的伤情。

Campus

• The main campus stands in the Xincheng District of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, in the north-western part of China, in one of the city's central urban districts inside the old walled area.学校本部位于中国西北地区陕西省省会西安的新城区，这里是城墙以内的中心城区之一。
• Xijing Hospital, the first affiliated hospital, is the largest clinical site of the university and the base of its gastroenterology and burn units.第一附属医院西京医院是学校规模最大的临床基地，也是消化病与烧伤专科的依托单位。
• Tangdu Hospital, the second affiliated hospital, supports teaching in surgery, oncology and respiratory medicine.第二附属医院唐都医院承担外科学、肿瘤学与呼吸病学的教学任务。
• The Stomatological Hospital, the third affiliated hospital, is a dedicated dental teaching institution in Xi'an.第三附属医院口腔医院是西安专门从事口腔医学教学与诊疗的机构。
• The PLA Air Force 986 Hospital joined the affiliated network after the 2017 transfer to the air force.空军第九八六医院在2017年转隶空军后加入学校的附属医院体系。
• Between 1999 and 2004 the university also ran a branch campus in Jilin Province through its Jilin Military Medical College.1999年至2004年间，学校通过吉林军医学院在吉林省设有分校区。
• From 2005 to 2011 the Bethune Military Medical College in Shijiazhuang formed a second out-of-province campus before becoming independent.2005年至2011年，位于石家庄的白求恩军医学院构成学校第二个省外校区，其后独立设置。
• The Xi'an site combines lecture buildings, laboratories and the three hospitals within a compact urban block, a layout inherited from the 1954 merger.西安校部把教学楼、实验室与三所附属医院集中在紧凑的城区街区内，这一格局承自1954年的合并。

Reputation

• In the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the Air Force Medical University is placed in the 601-700 band.在2026年软科世界大学学术排名中，空军军医大学位列第601-700名区间。
• The university does not appear in the 2027 QS World University Rankings.该校未进入2027年QS世界大学排名。
• It is not included in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.该校未进入2027年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名。
• It is not included in the 2026-2027 U.S. News global universities list.该校未进入2026-2027年度U.S. News全球大学榜单。
• Its membership of the 211 Project from 1997 and its Double First-Class status, a list first published by the Ministry of Education in 2017, place it among China's leading medical universities.学校自1997年进入211工程，并在教育部2017年首次公布的双一流名单中入选部分学科，位居中国主要医科大学之列。
• Two disciplines, gastroenterology and cell biology, were ranked first nationally in the 2017 assessment, with 25 disciplines in the national top ten.在2017年的学科评估中，消化学与细胞生物学排名全国第一，另有25个学科进入全国前10名。
• Six fields in the Essential Science Indicators top one percent give the university a broad citation footprint in clinical and life sciences.基本科学指标数据库中有6个学科领域进入世界前1%，使学校在临床与生命科学领域拥有广泛的引用影响。
• Nineteen national key and cultivation disciplines and two national key laboratories underpin its standing in military medicine.19个国家重点及培育学科与2个国家重点实验室，支撑起学校在军事医学领域的地位。
• Its affiliated hospitals are tertiary institutions that draw patients from across north-western China, and their caseload supports clinical research.附属医院均为三级医院，服务范围覆盖西北地区，其病例资源为临床研究提供了支撑。
• It is one of the three medical universities run by the Chinese armed services, alongside the Army Medical University in Chongqing and the Naval Medical University in Shanghai, one for each of the three service branches.该校与重庆的陆军军医大学、上海的海军军医大学同为中国人民解放军陆海空三个军种各自所属的军医大学。

Student life

• Students are organised as military cadets in a cadet brigade, with separate battalions for postgraduate students and a cadre retraining group.学生以军校学员身份编入学员旅，另设研究生管理一大队、二大队和干部轮训大队。
• Cadets wear air force uniforms and combine academic study with military training and physical conditioning throughout the academic year.学员身着空军制服，在学年中把专业学习与军事训练、体能训练结合起来。
• The 2017 intake chose among only five undergraduate majors, all of them clinical or biomedical in orientation.2017年入学的本科生只能在5个临床或生物医学类本科专业中选择。
• Clinical students rotate through Xijing, Tangdu and the Stomatological Hospital from their later undergraduate years, moving across specialties before a final year of supervised internship.临床医学学生在本科高年级起轮流在西京医院、唐都医院和口腔医院实习，在最后一个学年的带教实习之前先完成多个专科的轮转。
• Postgraduates work in the university's 15 PLA key laboratories and 28 specialty centres, often on trauma, burns and digestive disease projects.研究生在学校15个全军重点实验室和28个专科中心开展研究，课题多集中于创伤、烧伤和消化系统疾病。
• Aerospace medicine students train in altitude chambers and flight physiology facilities, preparing for duty with air force units.航空航天医学专业学生在低压舱与飞行生理设施中训练，为赴空军部队任职做准备。
• The university's military status means that graduation is tied to assignment within the armed forces rather than to civilian recruitment.由于学校属于军队院校，毕业分配与部队任职挂钩，而非面向社会招聘。

Notable people

• Cai Qiao, a physiologist who had worked in the United States, was president of the Fifth Military Medical University from 1952 to 1954.蔡翘是曾在美国工作的生理学家，1952年至1954年任第五军医大学校长。
• Zeng Yusheng, a major general, was the first president of the merged Fourth Military Medical University, serving from 1954 to 1959.少将曾育生是合并后第四军医大学的首任校长，任期为1954年至1959年。
• Tu Tongjin, a neurosurgeon and major general, led the university from 1964 to 1975 and helped rebuild its surgical departments.神经外科专家、少将涂通今于1964年至1975年担任校长，推动重建学校的外科体系。
• Fan Daiming, a gastroenterologist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was president from 2007 to 2012.消化病学专家、中国工程院院士樊代明于2007年至2012年担任校长。
• Zhao Yimin, a specialist in prosthodontics, served as acting president between 2012 and 2015.口腔修复学专家赵铱民于2012年至2015年担任代理校长。
• Su Bo, a major general, was president from 1995 to 2004, a decade that included the 1997 entry into the 211 Project.少将苏博于1995年至2004年担任校长，任内学校于1997年进入211工程。
• Chen Jingzao served as president from 1991 to 1995, when the university was consolidating its military medical research programmes.陈景藻于1991年至1995年担任校长，其时学校正整合军事医学研究体系。
• Zhou Xianzhi became president in August 2016 and continued after the 2017 renaming as Air Force Medical University.周先志于2016年8月出任校长，并在2017年更名空军军医大学后继续任职。
• Ji Zhihong was political commissar from 2015 and received the army flag alongside the president at the 2017 inauguration.季志宏自2015年起任政治委员，并在2017年成立大会上与校长一同受领军旗。
• Yu Zhongfu, then political commissar of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, presided over the flag presentation in July 2017.时任中国人民解放军空军政委于忠福主持了2017年7月的授旗仪式。
• Shi Shuhan headed the Northwest People's Medical School from December 1948, the earliest recorded head of the university's north-western lineage.史书翰自1948年12月起主持西北人民医药专门学校，是该校西北脉络有记载的最早负责人。
• Norman Bethune, the Canadian physician, gave his name to the Bethune Military Medical College that merged into the university in 2005.加拿大医生诺尔曼·白求恩的名字被用于白求恩军医学院，该院于2005年并入学校。