📖 About the university

National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) is a public university in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, directly administered by China's Central Military Commission rather than the Ministry of Education. Its roots trace back to 1953, when the PLA Military Academy of Engineering (popularly known as the 'Harbin Military Engineering Institute') was founded under the guidance of Chen Geng; the school later relocated to Changsha and took its present name in 1978 under the sponsorship of Deng Xiaoping. NUDT is one of the 42 Class A 'first-class university' institutions in China's Double First-Class programme, with five disciplines — information and communication engineering, computer science and technology, aerospace science and technology, software engineering, and management science and engineering — designated as first-class construction disciplines. The university is organised into colleges spanning computer science, electronic science, aerospace science and engineering, intelligence science, meteorology and oceanography, and liberal arts and sciences, and it maintains additional campuses in Nanjing, Wuhan, and Hefei. It enrols roughly 15,700 full-time students, including about 8,900 undergraduates, and is widely regarded as one of China's leading centres for computing and aerospace research, having developed the Tianhe series of supercomputers. Because it trains officers and technical personnel for the People's Liberation Army, NUDT does not offer regular admission to international students or an international Chinese-language pathway; its programmes are reserved for Chinese military cadets and affiliated personnel.

🎯 Fields of study

🏛️ Colleges & schools

🌆 About Changsha

Changsha is the capital of Hunan province and a lively hub of media, entertainment, and nightlife in central-southern China. With a metropolitan population of around ten million, the city sits on the banks of the Xiang River and is famed for its energetic, youthful atmosphere. The climate is humid subtropical, meaning long hot and humid summers and cool, damp winters. Signature attractions include Orange Isle in the middle of the river, historic Yuelu Mountain with its ancient academy, and the acclaimed Hunan Provincial Museum. Hunan cuisine is boldly spicy, with famous dishes like stinky tofu, spicy crayfish, and Chairman Mao's red-braised pork. A growing metro system, Huanghua International Airport, and high-speed rail put the city within easy reach of Guangzhou, Wuhan, and beyond. For an international student, Changsha combines affordable living, strong universities, and one of the most vibrant food-and-entertainment scenes in the country.

💰 Fees & costs

💡 General estimates for international students in China; they vary by major and university, and the official figure is always on the university website.

🛂 Visa requirements by nationality

These are the general steps for the China student visa (X1/X2); details vary by the Chinese embassy in your country.