TheGymnasium in the Early Days of the University
The Schoolof Physical Education at South China University of Technology (SCUT) traces itsroots to the Physical Education Teaching and Research Section (Group) of SouthChina Institute of Technology, founded in 1952. It was renamed the Departmentof Physical Education in 1992, and the School of Physical Education wasofficially established in 2006. The School comprises “three departments, fivecenters, one base, and one club”:
Three Departments: Department of PhysicalEducation, Department of Competitive Sports, Department of Sports Science
Five Centers: Guangdong Provincial ResearchCenter for Physical Fitness Monitoring and Rehabilitation Training of DrugRehabilitation Patients; Guangdong Provincial Research Center for InnovativeDevelopment of School Physical Education; Guangdong Provincial School SportsRehabilitation Center; Sports and Health Management Center; Sports VenueManagement Center
One Base: Guangdong Provincial ResearchBase for Sports Industry Development
One Club: Guangdong SCUT Youth SportsClub (National Level)
The Schoolcurrently has 75 faculty and staff members, including 66 full-time teachers.Among the teaching staff, there are 12 professors and 30 associate professors.The School counts one recipient of the Ministry of Education’s New Century ExcellentTalents Program, one Outstanding Teacher of Guangdong Province, and one memberof the Ministry of Education’s National Higher Education Physical EducationTeaching Steering Committee. There are two doctoral advisors and 27 master’sadvisors. Nineteen faculty members (29%) hold doctoral degrees. Additionally,six faculty members hold the title of “International-Class Athlete,” seven arecertified as “International-Class Referees,” and 17 hold “National-ClassReferee” certification.
The Schoolhas 113 graduate students and 309 undergraduates. In recent years, the studentemployment rate has consistently exceeded 96%. There are seven Party brancheswith a total of 122 Party members, comprising 54 faculty members and 68students.
Guided bythe goal of “a first-class university with first-class sports,” the Schoolupholds a philosophy of physical education that emphasizes “comprehensivedevelopment, education first, and equal attention to physique and character.”It is committed to a connotation-driven development path, leveraging theadvantages of a national “Double First-Class” university. Following theprinciple of “teaching as the core, mass participation as the foundation,competition as the highlight, and research as the driving force,” the School isforging a path for university sports development with distinctive SCUTcharacteristics. It has been honored as a “National Advanced Unit for SunshineSports.”
From 2017 toNovember 2025, SCUT’s sports teams have won 703 gold, 568 silver, and 506bronze medals in provincial-level and higher collegiate competitions. Notableachievements include:
The 14th National Student Games (2021): won the“President’s Cup” for the eighth time
Chengdu World University Games (2023): six goldmedals
Germany World University Games (2025): sixgold, one silver, one bronze
11th Guangdong Provincial University Games(2022): swept the top four spots in Group A and Group B medal standings andoverall team totals with 81 gold, 47 silver, 26 bronze
12th Guangdong Provincial University Games(2025): won 26 gold, 42 silver, 41 bronze, securing third place (First Prize)in Group B team total and retaining first place (First Prize) in Group A teamtotal for the third consecutive Games
15th National Games (2025): SCUT students won10 gold medals, writing a remarkable chapter in the university’s sports history
The numberof research and innovation projects secured by the School’s faculty hascontinued to grow. Since 2020, the School has received 9 national-levelprojects, 27 provincial/ministerial-level projects, 18 departmental-levelprojects, and 45 other projects, with total research funding exceeding 8.5million RMB. In particular, a major breakthrough was achieved in 2020 with sixgrants from the National Social Science Fund. The School has won two secondprizes and three third prizes in the Guangdong Provincial Philosophy and SocialSciences Outstanding Achievements Awards. Faculty have published 180 papers(including conference papers), 36 of which are in domestic core journals or internationalSCI-indexed journals. Many research findings have received comments andapproval from provincial and ministerial leaders and have been adopted byrelevant government departments.
Leveragingits disciplinary strengths, the School has built high-level academic teams andactively engages in industry-university-research collaboration. It contributesto society through sports industry research, scientific and technologicalconsulting for provincial and national teams, sports venue management and operation,and exercise interventions for drug rehabilitation patients. At the same time,it translates research outcomes into teaching resources to further enhance itsacademic programs. The School has three courses designated as NationalFirst-Class Undergraduate Courses and six as Guangdong Provincial First-ClassUndergraduate Courses. A student project team from the School won first prizeat the 16th “Challenge Cup” National College Student Extracurricular AcademicScience and Technology Competition, and a gold medal at the final of the 6thChina International “Internet+” College Student Innovation and EntrepreneurshipCompetition. The School’s “Sport for Love” youth volunteer team, which promotesphysical activity for special-needs populations, received the “NationalOutstanding Youth Volunteer Organization Award” from the Central Committee ofthe Communist Youth League.
The Schooloffers a Master’s degree program in Physical Education and an undergraduateprogram in Sports Training (designated as a National First-Class UndergraduateMajor). It has established student exchange programs for undergraduates andgraduates with domestic and international institutions, including theUniversity of Texas at Austin, Shanghai University of Sport, and NationalTaiwan Normal University. It also collaborates with renowned overseasuniversities such as Springfield College, Western Michigan University, and theUniversity of Toulouse on faculty development, academic research exchanges, andstudent athletic competitions. The School is dedicated to cultivatinghigh-level, versatile, and application-oriented sports professionals withinnovative spirit, practical ability, and balanced moral, intellectual, andphysical development.
(Data as of: November 2025)
