Inner Mongolia University (IMU) is located in Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, a city rich in cultural heritages, over 400 kilometers from Beijing. Established after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, IMU is the first comprehensive university created by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State in frontier ethnic regions. The university was established in 1957 with high standards, and Ulanhu, then Vice Premier of the State Council and Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, served as the first president (1956-1968). The CPC and the Central Government selected a group of renowned academic experts and scholars from over a dozen prestigious universities, including Peking University, to form the initial faculty team, bringing with them rich academic traditions and esteemed university spirit of these institutions. This has laid a solid foundation for IMU’s future development, fostering a strong academic culture and university ethos.
IMU began enrolling postgraduate students in 1962, and it was designated as one of China’s key universities in 1978. In 1984, it was authorized to confer doctoral degrees. In 1997, it was approved as a key university under Project 211. In 2004, it became a university jointly constructed by the People’s Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Ministry of Education. In 2012, it was selected as part of the Plan to Enhance the Comprehensive Strength of Universities in the Central and Western Regions.
The university has 22 colleges and schools (including the headquarters and Manzhouli College) and jointly operates the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People’s Hospital, the High School Affiliated to Inner Mongolia University, and the Primary School Affiliated to Inner Mongolia University. IMU offers 11 major academic disciplines, including philosophy, economics, law, education, literature, history, science, engineering, agriculture, management, and arts. It has two national key disciplines—Chinese Ethnic Minority Languages and Literature and Zoology, and one state-level key discipline under cultivation—Ecology. Additionally, it has 18 key disciplines and 8 key disciplines under cultivation at the regional level.
IMU has established cooperative relationships with 116 universities and research institutions at home and abroad, witnessing increasingly expanding and deepening international cooperation and exchanges for faculty and students. In collaboration with Arizona State University, IMU has established the China-U.S. Center for Ecology, Energy, and Sustainability Research in Inner Mongolia. In partnership with Aichi University, it has established the Sino-Japan Joint Research Center for Geographical Information System Application and Regional Economy and Industries. It also collaborates with the University of Warwick to operate the Sino-Britain Digital Laboratory for Enterprises. Additionally, IMU hosts several research centers, including the Center for Studies of Mongolia, the Center for Russian Language and Culture, the Canadian Studies Center, the Center for Japanese Studies, the Australian Studies Center, and the American Studies Center. Furthermore, it has established a Confucius Institute in cooperation with Kalmyk State University in Russia. IMU is one of the first national demonstration institutions for international education in China, approved by the Ministry of Education. It is also a Chinese language preparatory educational institution for students from Mongolia in Inner Mongolia, an HSK online testing center under the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation (commonly known as "Hanban") for international students, and a university that accepts students on the Chinese Government Scholarship (CGS), the International Chinese Language Teachers Scholarship (ICLTS), and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Government Scholarship (IMARGS).