# China Agricultural University

China Agricultural University (CAU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. The university is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. It is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction.
The university was formed in 1995 through the merger of the Beijing Agricultural University and the Beijing Agricultural Engineering University, which evolved from one of the earliest agriculture institutions in China founded in 1905.
As of December 2019, CAU offers 66 undergraduate majors and over 32 masters and 21 doctoral programs. There are around 12,000 undergraduate and 8,900 graduate students. Among them, 508 students are international. Its gymnasium hosted the wrestling events during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

## History

The history of China Agricultural University can be traced back to 1905 when the College of Agriculture was founded in the former Imperial University of Peking. Beijing Agricultural University (BAU) was established in September 1949 through the merging of Peking University's College of Agriculture, Tsinghua University's College of Agriculture and North China University's College of Agriculture.
In 1954, BAU was listed by the State Council as one of the Top-Six National Key Universities as well as one of the Top-Ten Key Universities for further construction and improvement.
In October 1952, BAU's Department of Agricultural Machinery, North China College of Agricultural Machinery and Ministry of Agriculture's Central Agricultural Mechanization School merged to form the Beijing Mechanized Agricultural College, which was renamed Beijing Agricultural Mechanization Institute (BAMI) in July 1953. The BAMI was listed by the State Council in October 1960 as one of the 64 National Key Universities and then renamed again as Beijing Agricultural Engineering University (BAEU) in 1985.
In 1995, Beijing Agricultural University and Beijing Agricultural Engineering University merged as China Agricultural University (CAU). Since then, the university has become the top academic institution in China in terms of agricultural studies.
Rugby re-emerged in the PRC in 1990, with a club formed at Beijing Agricultural University. A professor there, Chao Xihuang, was introduced to the sport by a Japanese businessman, and set up a couple of sides.

## Rankings and Reputation
### General Rankings

The China Agricultural University appeared in the world’s top 500 universities in the global university ranking in 2007.
As of 2024, the university was listed as one of the top 300 global universities in the World University Rankings.

### Subject Rankings

The China Agricultural University is regarded as one of the world's top agricultural research institutions.

#### Agricultural Science

As of 2024, China Agricultural University was ranked the best university in the world in "Agricultural Sciences" by the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), and the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking.
The QS World University Rankings listed CAU the first in Asia and Oceania region and 4th in the world in "Agriculture & Forestry".

#### Veterinary Sciences

CAU ranked 2nd and 3rd in the world in "Veterinary Sciences" by the Academic Ranking of World Universities and U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking, respectively.

#### Food Science and Technology

The university ranked 3rd and 4th globally in "Food Science and Technology" by the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, respectively.