University of Pittsburgh + Sichuan University
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · 1 relationship
Historical relationship
University · 2015–2025
Sichuan University
Chengdu, Sichuan · 1 relationship
Analysis
The Sichuan University–Pittsburgh Institute (SCUPI) is an engineering-focused academic entity jointly established by Sichuan University and the University of Pittsburgh in Chengdu. Pitt describes the institute as designed to combine engineering education, design, innovation and an international outlook, while Sichuan University presents it as a Ministry of Education-approved Chinese-foreign cooperative institution. [1] [2]
The institute's academic model links Sichuan University's Jiang'an campus with Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering. Pitt's account of the first cohort says students could follow 2+2, 3+1, 4+0 or a 3+1-plus-graduate-study route, and that graduates completing the relevant programs earned bachelor's degrees from both institutions. SCUPI's current teaching page lists undergraduate programs in industrial engineering, mechanical design and manufacturing, materials science and engineering, electronic information engineering and computer science, with 4+0, 2+2 and 3+1 pathways. [1] [3]
The partnership combined classroom teaching with research and professional preparation. Pitt reported that the institute's classes were taught in English by internationally recruited faculty using a curriculum based on the Swanson School, and that students studied in a purpose-built SCUPI building on Sichuan University's campus. SCUPI's own 2025 research news continues to document lab work and publication activity, indicating that the institute remains an operating academic organization on the Sichuan University side. [1] [4]
The partnership's present status is institutionally divided. PublicSource reported in September 2025 that a Pitt spokesperson said the university's relationship with SCUPI had run its course and that Pitt had ended its involvement, without disclosing a precise end date; meanwhile, SCUPI's official site lists 2026 activities and current teaching information. The existing terminated classification therefore describes Pitt's participation, while the Chinese institute continues to operate and publish under Sichuan University. [5] [2]
Participants
Continue through either entity
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · 1 record in this database
The University of Pittsburgh was founded in 1787 as the Pittsburgh Academy and describes itself today as a state-related research university. Pitt is a member of the Association of American Universities, whose membership comprises 64 doctorate-granting research institutions in North America; the university’s historical account also points to medical and scientific achievements including the first polio vaccine and a heart-liver transplant [1].
Pitt’s official Institutional Research and Analytics office reports a Pittsburgh-campus headcount of 31,237 students in fall 2025, 11,005 degrees and certificates awarded in FY2025, and 14,888 employees in fall 2025. Its reported six-year graduation rate is 86% for the fall-2019 Pittsburgh-campus cohort. These figures are campus- and cohort-specific rather than a universal university-wide rate [2].
Demand also rose for the fall-2025 entering class. Pitt’s 2024–25 chancellor’s report says the Pittsburgh campus received nearly 65,000 first-year applications, while undergraduate enrollment increased from 20,418 to 21,406. Enrollment in master’s and professional programs, excluding PhD students, rose 6.4%, from 6,676 in fall 2024 to 7,103 in fall 2025 [3].
Chengdu, Sichuan · 1 record in this database
Sichuan University is a comprehensive research university in Chengdu, Sichuan, founded in 1896. Its current 2026 admission guide identifies four major campuses—Wangjiang, Huaxi, Jiang’an and Meishan—and says the university offers 13 disciplines covering fields including literature, science, engineering, medicine, economics, management and law. The guide also describes multiple state key laboratories and research bases supporting teaching and research. [1]
The same current university source reports more than 38,000 full-time undergraduate students, more than 33,000 master’s and doctoral students, and nearly 3,000 international students and students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It reports that Sichuan University ranked 87th in ShanghaiRanking’s 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities, and that eight disciplines were in the ESI global top 0.1 percent while 21 were in the global top 1 percent. These rankings and enrollment figures are explicitly presented as the university’s 2026 admission-guide data. [1]
Sichuan University also hosts the Sichuan University–Pittsburgh Institute, jointly established by Sichuan University and the University of Pittsburgh. SCUPI says it combines the two universities’ mission, curriculum, teaching and educational resources, with all courses taught in English and an emphasis on engineering, design, innovation and international outlook. Its official milestones record 2+2 and 3+1 mobility programs beginning in 2017 and 2018, and an increase in approved undergraduate enrollment to 375 students per year in 2023. [2] [3]