Nankai University is a multidiscipline university directly belonging to the Ministry of Education. It is also the alma mater of the beloved and late premier Zhou En Lai. It has traditionally received the respect and concern of the Party and of the nation. The leaders of the country and the Party including Mao Ze Dong, Zhou En Lai and Jiang Ze Ming, have each inspected Nankai. Further honors include Chairman Mao, who personally used calligraphy to inscribe the name of the University and General Secretary Jiang Ze Ming who gave a special remark regarding this University: "A glorious tradition to promote patriotism, dedication, creativity, love of the community, all to build a first-class socialistic University." On December 25th, 2000, the National Education Department and the Tianjin Municipal Government signed an agreement to jointly develop the University of Nankai. As a result, Nankai University is now among one of the National Key Universities of the 21st century.

Nankai University was established in 1919, has a campus that occupies 1,458,694 square meters and building areas that cover 765,965 square meters. The founders were the famous patriotic educators, Zhang Bo Lin and Yen Xiu. During the Second World War against Japan, Nankai University, Beijing University and Qinghua University formed the world famous Southwest Joint University, known as the BeiChen Institute.

Nankai has many faculties: Human Sociology, Natural Sciences, Technical Sciences, Business Administration Sciences, Life Sciences, Medical Technology, to name just a few. It has a good balance between both the Arts and Sciences - always with the emphasis on creativity. Altogether, it has 16 specialized faculties as well as graduate research institutes, continuing education programs, professional institutes, the modern distant learning institutes, and a strong physical education department. These combined faculties offer its students with the option of 55 BA Program, 114 Master Program, 75 PH.D Program, and 11 provincial-level key studies. The University has a very complete, well-staffed faculty which includes more than 1,500 lecturers and professors, 6 fellows in the China Academy of Science and China Academy of Engineering , as well as many well-respected and award-winning professors. The student body comprises of 20,000 students. Of the students, 9,193 are Undergraduates, 957 students are enrolled in its special programs, 2,582 are Master's students, and 1,028 are Ph.D. students. Furthermore, 715 students study abroad and there are 5,676 students in the Continuing Education program.

In addition to being recognized from within the nation, Nankai University is also well received internationally. It has exchange programs and joint international research projects with over 100 Universities Worldwide including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, German, Japan, Russia and Canada. Mathematician Chen Xing Sheng is a permanent resident of the University and has attracted a great many followers also known for their respective mathematical talents. Thus, making Nankai University an important international center for mathematics. The University has many renowned professors, many of whom are Nobel Prize winners such as Yang Zhen Ning. And amongst the renowned lecturers, former State Secretary Kissinger and the present President of Korea Kim Da Jong as well as many other scholars have in past, lectured at Nankai University.

Nankai University has state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. Some of the facilities and student services include: 7 national research laboratories, several computer centers with Internet access, a communication system spanning the entire campus, and nearly 100 teaching laboratories. It has 2 libraries and a Professor's library possessing over 2.88 million books ,528,000 of which are foreign-language books. Students at Nankai have access to over 20,000 journals and publications.

Nankai is mainly a teaching education center and also a science research center. Research results in the Natural Sciences have received both National and International recognition. Its publication in SCI Research ranks number 6 in the country. The publications in the areas of Organic Chemistry, Medical Chemistry, Fundamental Mathematics, Mathematical Applications, Light Sciences, are all at the International level. The University's resources also provide an important force for the country's high-tech industry in the market place. Nankai University's Human Social Sciences studies are amongst the most advanced in the country. Since "95", the University ranks 4th in the Social Studies area, ranks 3rd in the Education department in the field of Social Studies and in History, Economics, Business Administration, Philosophy and Chinese studies. Research results have also received high rating and have a broad impact on society at large. The APEC research institute, Social Sciences Development institutes and other research institutes are now becoming the think-tanks and talent-banks for the National Department as well as for the local governments.

Following the guidance of Deng Xiao Ping's educational theory, Nankai University has advanced the education philosophy of firstly attaining quality focused, ability developed, strong fundamentals, and career driven goals, and then, providing a well-rounded classroom education complete with science laboratories and educational scholastic organizations with the combination of activity and social practices. The University uses the grade point average system to evaluate its students, and provides its students with the major/minor option, as well as a joint-degree system, and is flexible in its course electives, course transfers and faculty changes. In 1999, Nankai received the National Education Department's high rating for its bachelor level education and programs. Nankai University and Tianjin University both cooperate on many levels including the employment of Professors from each other. The University has also established over 30 different kinds of scholarships. Each year about half of the student population can enjoy different levels of scholarships. Student loans and bursaries, subsidies and donations from various community organizations help provide the students with financial aid in order to complete their education. Finally, Nankai University is well known for its good school spirit. Traditionally, it emphasizes the development of the students' character, knowledge, physical well being and virtue. The graduates of Nankai have been recognized by society for their solid fundamentals, visionary capacities, and practical abilities.