Top Universities in Tianjin for International Students

September 13, 2026 · CSCA Gateway Team

Tianjin, a major port city near Beijing, is home to two top-tier 985 campuses — Nankai University and Tianjin University — both with long histories and strong reputations.

1. Nankai University (南开大学)

Founded in 1919, a Project 985 and 211 member. QS 2026: #355 globally; ARWU: #101-150 band; EduRank 2026: #429 globally, #25 in China. Strong in Chemistry, Economics/Finance, and Political Science/Public Administration (alma mater of former Premier Zhou Enlai). Admits around 2,174 international students (~7% of total) — a well-established international program.

2. Tianjin University (天津大学)

Founded in 1895 as Peiyang University — China’s first modern/Western-style university. A Project 985 and 211 member. QS 2026: #257 globally; ARWU: #98 globally; EduRank 2026: #440 globally, #28 in China. Strong in Chemical Engineering, Civil/Water Conservancy Engineering (China’s first hydraulics laboratory), and engineering broadly. Admits around 4,228 international students — having trained 30,000+ international students from 150+ countries since 1954.

How This Relates to CSCA

Nankai and Tianjin University both weigh CSCA Mathematics and Physics scores strictly for science/engineering majors, with Tianjin University placing extra weight on Physics for intensive engineering tracks. Nankai, given its humanities/economics reputation, also values a strong CSCA Chinese language score for non-science tracks.