• It is directly subordinated to the Ministry of Education of China and is the largest and national key university.
• It is one of the universities with high academic standards and supported by the national key construction project.
• It is one of the 22 universities in China which first established postgraduate schools.
• It has 7 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 3 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
• It has one member on the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council of China.
• It has 14 members on the Academic Programs Evaluation Subcommittee under the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council.
• It has one chief scientist in the national "973" Project.
• It has 15 postdoctoral training centers.
• It has 12 national key disciplines.
• It has 7 national bases for basic science studies and personnel training.
• It has 5 national key laboratories and 13 laboratories under the Ministry of Education and other ministries.
  

With ringing in the new millenium, Jilin University has emerged with a new posture and voice among all other noted Chinese universities, and it has opened its door to all excellent students from around the world.

The new Jilin University, an amalgamation of former five universities in Changchun, was established on June 12, 2000 in accordance with the decision of the State Council to reform and readjust the structure of higher education in China. The merger was approved by the Ministry of Education. The former five universities include Jilin University, Jilin University of Technology, Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences, Changchun University of Science and Technology and Changchun Institute of Post and Telecommunications.

The newly established Jilin University covers wide academic areas, including 11 major disciplines, i.e. philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, and management.

The university has established extensive academic exchange and cooperative programs with more than 110 universities, colleges and research institutions around the world. The College of International Exchange of the University is mainly responsible for offering the Chinese language training programs for the overseas students.

Since the merging, Jilin University has been made into the largest national key university with all-round education programs and high academic standards under the Ministry of Education. Supported by the national key construction project, it is looking forward to a broader prospect for its further development.

The former Jilin University was established in 1946, and it grew out of the Northeast Administration College and the Northeast People's University. It developed and enlarged under the national policy of distributing higher education resources in key areas of the country. Over the years it evolved its unique university spirit and academic atmosphere, and was designated as a national key university covering wide and broad disciplines in both science and humanities. Before the merger, it had trained great numbers of talented persons and reached remarkable achievements in science and technology. As a result, it had become one of the important national training bases for professionals in basic sciences and for those pursuing high-level academic studies.

The former Jilin University of Technology, which developed from Changchun Automobile and Tractor College, was established in 1955. It developed along with the upsurge of automobile and agricultural machinery industry in China and became a national key university in the country. It covered the disciplines of engineering, management, science and humanities with its education programs specially featuring automobile and agricultural machinery. In addition, it was one of the important bases for solving key problems in science and technology and for training high-level personnel in automobile and machinery industry. Therefore, it was noted as the cradle of talented professionals in automobile and agricultural machinery in China.

The former Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences was founded by Marshal Nie Rongzhen in 1939. Dr. Norman Bethune, the great internationalist, participated in the establishment of its teaching and clinical resources. Before the merger, the university had trained a great number of medical personnel and famous medical specialists and reached outstanding achievements in scientific research.

The predecessor of the former Changchun University of Science and Technology was the Changchun Junior College of Geology which was set up in October 1951. Its first president was Professor Li Siguang, the well-know scientist in geology. As a national key university it had multiple disciplines and unique education programs, and had trained a large number of talented professionals in mineral resource survey, exploration, extraction, protection, and comprehensive utilization of mineral resources, thus enriching the studies of earth sciences.

The former Changchun Post and Telecommunications College, established at Jiamusi City of Heilongjiang Province in 1947, was the only institution of higher learning in the northeast part of China offering courses in information and telecommunication engineering. It was well equipped for its education programs and displayed a promising trend in developing new disciplines. In the past years, it had trained a great number of talented professionals in informatics and telecommunication.