# Academic institutions of the armed forces of China

The academic institutions of the armed forces of China include the educational institutions of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the People's Armed Police (PAP). Throughout the history of the People's Republic of China, there have been many dramatic reforms to the military education system, closing, merging, reducing and reassigning institutions. The 2017 reforms saw another massive change, as they reduced the number of PLA academic institutions from 67 to 37.
These institutions carry out training for all branches and arms of the PLA and PAP, from officer training to logistics, to technology, to NCO training. The changes in the structure of the system have not stopped. In January 2018, the Coast Guard Academy (海警学院) joined the PAP institution system.
The military program in civilian universities (equivalent to ROTC programs) is in flux and it is not clear what shape it will take in the near future, as of 2023.

## Existing military academies

The official English names are used where available. There is a significant amount of inconsistency in the translation of the Chinese terms 大学, 学院, and 学校, which should normally be "University", "Academy" and "School" respectively, but 学院 will sometimes be found as "College", "Academy", "Institute", or "University", and "大学" sometimes as "College". Other translations will also be found on ocassion.
This table only lists military academic institutions (included in the military order of battle), and does not include non-military colleges and universities affiliated with the army or military factories (not included in the PLA's order of battle), such as Changsha Aviation Vocational and Technical College, the Chinese People's Liberation Army 4808 Factory Vocational and Technical School, etc.

### Institutions directly under the Central Military Commission

| # | Institution Name | Logo | Founded | Location | Branch | School website | Unit Grade | Remarks |
| 1 | National Defense University (中国人民解放军国防大学) | | 1927 | Beijing | Central Military Commission | http://www.cdsndu.org/ | Deputy Theater | Does not recruit gaokao students |
| 2 | National University of Defense Technology (国防科技大学) | | 1953 | Changsha | Central Military Commission | http://www.nudt.edu.cn/ | Corps | Project 985 . Recruits gaokao students. |

### Institutions affiliated with PLA branches

| # | Institution Name | Founded | Location | Branch | Unit Grade | Remarks |
| 1 | Ground Force Command College (陆军指挥学院) | 1952 | Nanjing | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | |
| 2 | Army Engineering University of the PLA (陆军工程大学) | 1973 | Nanjing | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 3 | Army Infantry College of the PLA (陆军步兵学院) | 1949 | Nanchang | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 4 | Army Academy of Armored Forces (陆军装甲兵学院) | 1950 | Beijing | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 5 | PLA Army Academy of Artillery and Air Defense (陆军炮兵防空兵学院) | 1977 | Hefei | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 6 | Army Aviation Academy (陆军航空兵学院) | 1999 | Beijing | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Junior officer training |
| 7 | Army Special Operations Academy (陆军特种作战学院) | 1949 | Guilin | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 8 | Army Academy of Border and Coastal Defence (陆军边海防学院) | 1941 | Xi'an | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 9 | Army Institute of NBC Defence (陆军防化学院) | 1950 | Beijing | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 10 | Army Medical University (陆军军医大学) | 1954 | Chongqing | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 11 | Army Logistics Academy (陆军勤务学院) | 1961 | Chongqing | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 12 | Army Military Transportation University (陆军军事交通学院) | 1949 | Tianjin | Ground Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |- |
| 13 | Naval Command College (海军指挥学院) | 1952 | Nanjing | Navy | Deputy Corps | |
| 14 | Naval University of Engineering (海军工程大学) | 1949 | Wuhan | Navy | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 15 | Dalian Naval Academy (海军大连舰艇学院) | 1949 | Dalian | Navy | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 16 | Naval Submarine Academy (海军潜艇学院) | 1973 | Qingdao | Navy | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 17 | Naval Aviation University (海军航空大学) | 1950 | Yantai | Navy | | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 18 | Naval Medical University (海军军医大学) | 1949 | Shanghai | Navy | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 19 | Naval Service Academy (海军勤务学院) | 1952 | Tianjin | Navy | Deputy Corps | Junior officer training. |
| 20 | Naval NCO School (海军士官学校) | 1986 | Bengbu | Navy | Division | Specialist School |
| 21 | Air Force Command College (空军指挥学院) | 1958 | Beijing | Air Force | Deputy Corps | |
| 22 | Air Force Engineering University (空军工程大学) | 1959 | Xi'an | Air Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 23 | Air Force Aviation University (空军航空大学) | 1978 | Changchun | Air Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 24 | Air Force Early Warning Academy (空军预警学院) | 1952 | Wuhan | Air Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 25 | Air Force Harbin Flight Academy (空军哈尔滨飞行学院) | 1949 | Harbin | Air Force | Deputy Corps | Officer training. Recruits only AFAU graduates |
| 26 | Air Force Shijiazhuang Flight Academy (空军石家庄飞行学院) | 1949 | Shijiazhuang | Air Force | Deputy Corps | Officer training. Recruits only AFAU graduates |
| 27 | Air Force Xi'an Flight Academy (空军西安飞行学院) | 1949 | Xi'an | Air Force | Deputy Corps | Officer training. Recruits only AFAU graduates |
| 28 | Air Force Medical University (空军军医大学) | 1952 | Xi'an | Air Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 29 | Air Force Logistics Academy (空军勤务学院) | 1954 | Xuzhou | Air Force | Deputy Corps | |
| 30 | Air Force Communication NCO Academy (空军通信士官学校) | 1986 | Dalian | Air Force | Division | Specialist school |
| 31 | Rocket Force Command College (火箭军指挥学院) | 1977 | Wuhan | Rocket Force | Deputy Corps | |
| 32 | Rocket Force University of Engineering (火箭军工程大学) | 1951 | Xi'an | Rocket Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 33 | Rocket Force NCO School (火箭军士官学校) | 1971 | Weifang | Rocket Force | Division | Specialist school |
| 34 | Strategic Support Force Space Engineering University (战略支援部队航天工程大学) | 1978 | Beijing | Aerospace Force | Division | Recruits gaokao students. Name change soon in 2024 |
| 35 | Strategic Support Force Information Engineering University (战略支援部队信息工程大学) | 1931 | Zhengzhou | Information Support Force | Deputy Corps | Recruits gaokao students. Name change soon in 2024 |

### People's Armed Police institutions

| # | Institution Name | Founded | Location | Branch | Remarks |
| 1 | PAP Command College (武警指挥学院) | 1980 | Tianjin | People's Armed Police | |
| 2 | Engineering University of the PAP (武警工程大学) | 1983 | Xi'an | PAP | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 3 | Officers' College of the PAP (中国人民武装警察部队警官学院) | 1984 | Chengdu | PAP | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 4 | Special Police Unit Academy (武警特种警察学院) | 1982 | Beijing | PAP | Recruits gaokao students. |
| 5 | Logistics University of the People's Armed Police (武警后勤学院) | 1980 | Tianjin | PAP Logistics | |
| 6 | Non-Commissioned Officers Academy of the PAP (武警士官学校) | 1984 | Hangzhou | PAP | |
| 7 | China Coast Guard Academy (中国海警学院) | 1983 | Ningbo | PAP | |