The School of Computer Science and Technology (National Pilot School of Software Engineering) of Xidian University is one of China’s earliest institutions to establish a Computer Science and Technology program with its history dating back to 1958. After over 60 years of development, the School has made remarkable achievements in disciplinary development, talent cultivation, scientific research, and faculty development. It currently comprises 4 departments, 8 research institutes, and 1 practical teaching center. It hosts 10 provincial- and ministerial-level research platforms, including the National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for "Computer Networks and Information Security," the "Discipline Innovation and Intelligence Base for Big Data Fundamental Theory and Intelligent Analysis" under the National Program for Introducing International Intelligence in Higher Education, and the Ministry of Education Engineering Research Center for "Blockchain Technology Application and Evaluation." The School offers doctoral programs in two first-level disciplines: Computer Science and Technology and Software Engineering, as well as postdoctoral research stations in both disciplines.
Computer Science and Technology was selected twice for China’s "Double First-Class" Initiative in 2017 and 2022, and was awarded an "A" rating in the fifth round of National Discipline Evaluation. Software Engineering was among the first first-level disciplines authorized to confer doctoral degrees in China and received a "B+" rating in the fifth round of National Discipline Evaluation. In 2024, the discipline of Computer Science entered the top 0.01% globally in ESI rankings. In 2021, "Computer Science" was selected for the Ministry of Education's Base for Training Top Students in Fundamental Disciplines 2.0. The same year, the School was designated as one of the first National Exemplary Pilot Schools of Software Engineering.
The School offers 3 undergraduate programs in Computer Science and Technology, Software Engineering, and Data Science and Software Engineering (Joint Education Program with Heriot-Watt University). Both Computer Science and Technology and Software Engineering are National First-Class Construction majors, National Characteristic majors, and Pilot Programs under the National "Excellent Engineer Education and Training Program." Computer Science and Technology and Software Engineering have all passed National Engineering Education Accreditation. The School boasts a national teaching team for "Core Courses of Software Engineering," 33 National- and Provincial-level High Quality Courses, 15 National Teaching Achievement Awards, and 32 Provincial Teaching Achievement Awards.
The School boasts a distinguished faculty team, including 2 dual-appointed academicians, 15 national-level talents, 17 provincial and ministerial-level talents, 2 distinguished teaching scholars under the Shaanxi Provincial Special Support Plan, and 5 Shaanxi Provincial Teaching Masters. It also hosts 6 Shaanxi Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Teams, fostering a high-caliber faculty with noble ethics and excellent expertise renowned for academic excellence, professionalism, and dynamic innovation. The School has undertaken major national R&D initiatives, significant engineering projects, and key National Natural Science Foundation programs. Its research achievements have been widely recognized, earning nearly 40 prestigious scientific awards, including the Second Prize of National Technological Invention and the Second Prize of National Natural Science. Faculty members have published over 1,000 academic papers in top-tier international journals and conferences, demonstrating strong global academic influence.
Focusing on cutting-edge disciplines and addressing major national application needs, the School has developed distinctive disciplinary directions such as advanced computing theory, computer system architecture, data engineering, computational bio-informatics, computer networks and the Internet of Things, software engineering fundamental theory, intelligent software engineering, industrial software engineering, and visual intelligence software engineering. In recent years, students have achieved excellent results in competitions such as the National Electronic Design Contest, the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, and the Collegiate Programming Contest. Graduates enjoy high employment rates, high starting salaries, high employer satisfaction, and strong adaptability. The initial employment rate of School of Computer Science and Technology has consistently remained above 98%, with graduates primarily joining state-owned research institutes, including renowned domestic and international companies such as Huawei, Inspur, ZTE, Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance. The School of Computer Science and Technology of Xidian University enjoys a high reputation in society. It has cultivated over 40,000 outstanding alumni, including Academician Mengfei YANG, and nurtured a group of high-level talents such as ACM Fellows, IEEE Fellows, recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, Chang Jiang Scholars, and leading talents of the National Ten Thousand Talents Plan. The School has made outstanding contributions to serving the national information industry and is a vital talent cultivation base in China's computer and software fields.
The School actively promotes international exchanges and cooperation, maintaining close relationships with universities and institutions in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and other countries and regions. The School facilitates annual faculty and scholar exchanges, which continue to broaden its global impact and strengthen its reputation both at home and abroad.
The School has completed the full English-medium program construction for the 2019 cohort of the Computer Science and Technology major, offering 11 English-taught courses and graduating 21 international undergraduate students. Currently, the School has 93 international undergraduate students and 5 master's and doctoral international students. In 2024, the School has actively promoted the recruitment of a new cohort of undergraduate students for the full English-medium program, comprehensively revised the English-taught curriculum, and expanded the number of English-taught courses to 21. The program aims to cultivate well-rounded professionals with both integrity and ability, basic proficiency in the Chinese language, an understanding of Chinese culture, and mastery of fundamental theories, knowledge, and skills in their field. These graduates are expected to contribute to engineering development and foster friendly cooperation between China and their home countries, serving as cultural exchange ambassadors.
In 2025, the School held a Joint Undergraduate Education Program of Data Science and Software Engineering with the School of Mathematical and Computer Science of Heriot-Watt University. This program leverages the high-quality teaching and research resources in Computer Science and Technology and Mathematics from both universities with a duration of four years and adopts a "3+1" training model. Upon fulfilling the graduation requirements, students will be awarded a Bachelor of Engineering and an Undergraduate Diploma in Data Science and Big Data Technology from Xidian University, and a Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Software Engineering from Heriot-Watt University.
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