On Aug 21, Renmin University of China (RUC) welcomed more than 3,000 new undergraduate students to its Zhongguancun and Tongzhou campuses in Beijing, where they began a new chapter in their academic journey.

University leaders visited orientation sites to welcome new students and their families and met faculty, staff and student volunteers supporting the registration process. Zhang Donggang, Party secretary of RUC, extended a warm welcome to the incoming students. He said that joining RUC means not only embarking on a new stage of learning, but also taking on the responsibility to contribute to the country’s development. He encouraged students to pursue their aspirations, embrace the opportunities of the digital and AI era, and continuously strengthen their knowledge and abilities through both study and practice.

RUC President Ma Huaide encouraged students to maintain a passion for learning and curiosity about the unknown. He expressed the hope that they would deepen their academic pursuits, cultivate their character, discover their interests, and develop their talents in the university's open and inclusive environment. He also urged them to take advantage of RUC's interdisciplinary strengths in the humanities, social sciences, science, and engineering to grow into future leaders capable of contributing to national development.

This year’s incoming class includes 3,138 students from 1,240 high schools across all 31 provincial-level regions of the Chinese mainland, in addition to 52 students from China’s Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions, and 189 international students from 36 countries.
The university continued to perform strongly in undergraduate admissions this year. Its humanities and social sciences programs remained among the nation’s most competitive, while science and engineering disciplines saw sustained growth in applicant interest, reflecting the continued appeal of RUC’s interdisciplinary talent development and evolving disciplinary structure.

To respond to national strategic needs and advances in emerging interdisciplinary fields, RUC has further optimized its undergraduate programs by introducing new majors, including International Organizations and Global Governance, and Quantum Information Science. The university also began enrolling students in programs including Artificial Intelligence (Smart Governance), and Data Science and Big Data Technology (Sino-foreign cooperative education), creating new opportunities for cultivating innovative talent.

This year also marked the first intake of undergraduate students at RUC's Tongzhou Campus, ushering in a new phase in the university's multi-campus development. To greet the incoming students, both the Zhongguancun and Tongzhou campuses offered a range of orientation services, including welcome stations at major transportation hubs, shuttle services, and volunteer assistance. Students also received specially prepared welcome gifts, including journals, university history badges, commemorative bookplates, and message cards from faculty members. Together, these thoughtful arrangements helped ensure that every new student felt welcomed and at home from the moment they arrived on campus.

Xie Zhengyue, a freshman from the School of Economics, shared that his father was an alumnus of the School of Economics of the 1990 cohort. “Growing up, I often heard him talk about his university days. Now I'm following in his footsteps as a member of the same school. The warm guidance from senior students during registration made me feel both welcomed and reassured. I hope to discover my passion and make the most of my years at RUC.”

Lang Zhihaoyuan, a freshman from the Department of Psychology, said: "Coming from Yunnan to Beijing, I finally stepped onto the campus I had long dreamed of. Everything I once imagined about university has now become real. I was delighted to find a message from Party Secretary Zhang Donggang on a welcome card saying, ‘I'd like to be good friends with you.' It instantly made me feel the warmth of the RUC family."

Going forward, the university will continue to enhance its talent development system, providing comprehensive support for students' growth while cultivating students with global perspectives, innovative capabilities, and a strong sense of social responsibility.