University of Petroleum (UPC) China University of Petroleum - Beijing (CUPB)

China University of Petroleum is dedicated to the development of the petroleum and petrochemical industries. The university is an engineering-oriented institution with a focus on petroleum and related fields. In addition, UPC offers courses in management, economics, and liberal arts to ensure that the next generation of petroleum experts are well-rounded and prepared to meet the energy challenges of the future. China University of Petroleum has strong ties to leaders in the Chinese petroleum industry and stands out as the undisputed world leader in the study of petroleum and petrochemicals.

China University of Petroleum was founded in 1953, a time when china was facing a severe oil shortage and a crippling lack of experts in the field of energy. It was in response to this crisis that the new university was formed by the Engineering Department of Tsinghua University. Other prestigious Chinese universities also supported the founding of UPC and faculty were drawn from Peking University, Tianjin University, and Dalian Institute of Technology. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, students and faculty from China University of Petroleum were involved with the development of oil fields throughout China. UPC played such an important role in the development of china’s petroleum industry that it was one of the few institutions that wasn’t shut down during the late 1960’s—in fact it was during this period that the university began to grow.

Today, China University of Petroleum has three campuses. The original campus, known as UPC Beijing, is located in the rural Changping District of Beijing. The second campus known as UPC East China, is located in Qingdao. The third campus is located in Dongying, Shandong Province and is administered by the Qingdao campus. The Dongying Campus serves as the university’s research base and an important site for industry collaboration. Students applying to China University of Petroleum must choose to apply either to UPC East China or UPC Beijing, as the two have grown largely independent of each other.

China University of Petroleum is co-sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Education and four leading Chinese petroleum companies (CNPC, SINOPEC, CNOOC, and CHEMCHINA). The university has 12 schools, as well as a college of international education devoted to foreign students. UPC currently has about 25,000 students, which includes about 1,100 international students. The university is one of the best locations in China for distance learning and there are over 70,000 students enrolled in UPC’s distance learning courses. The university has quite a large faculty and currently employs 1782 teachers of which 971 are professors and associate professors.

UPC has official partnerships with nearly 120 universities in over 20 countries worldwide. The university sends more than 800 of their students on study abroad trips per year. Each year over 200 of UPC’s professors also travel abroad for research and collaboration with international institutions. The university hosts more than ten annual international academic conferences which draw scholars and experts in the field of petroleum from all over the world.

China University of Petroleum was founded by China’s top universities during an unprecedented energy crisis. Now, as the world is entering a new energy crisis, UPC has sixty years of experience that many international students will be eager to learn from. With ties to the Chinese petroleum industry, developed research centers, and international collaboration, China University of Petroleum is an excellent place to seek a degree in China.