INTRODUCTION
Xinjiang Medical University (XMU) formerly the Xinjiang Medical College is a medical university in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It was ratified by the National Ministry of Education in 1998 and entitled by Jiang Zemin. The curriculum places a particular emphasis on medicine, management and linguistics, with the university facilitating 25 specialties for undergraduate students and 17 specialties for academic education. Over 50,000 students have been educated at XMU and in 2010, 13,100 students were enrolled at the university, with 5,405 people employed in teaching positions. XMU is situated at the base of Carp Hill in Northeast Urumqi and consists of a campus size that is over 3 million square feet. XMU was founded by incorporating the Traditional Chinese Medicine College of Xinjiang Medical University with the Xinjiang Medical College. Prior to incorporation, Xinjiang Medical College was amongst 156 key projects aided by the former Soviet Union during the First Five-year Plan period and began recruiting new students in 1956. During its sixty years of existence, XMU has received attention from a number of national and international leaders, including Chinese Communist Party officials and other provincial and urban figures across China.
Presently, XMU comprises eight medical and allied colleges: The Medical College, The Public Health College, The Traditional Medicine College, Basic Medical Sciences College, The Pharmacy College, The Nurses Training College, Continuing Education College and The Vocational College. XMU students can attain the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree after successful completion of a 6-year course. During the first two years of study, the curriculum includes basic theoretical subjects, such as anatomy, physiology, histology, embryology, biochemistry, and organic and inorganic chemistry. Clinical subjects, which begin in the third year, include gynecology, surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, E.N.T., neurology, dermatology and psychiatry.
The university is affiliated with all hospitals in the region and, as of 2010, manages 40 clinical positions throughout these centres. The foremost affiliated hospital facilitates clinical teaching, internship placements for PhD students and a seven-year training program for post-graduate students and supervision of international students. The teaching faculty consists of 1163 professors and assistant professors, and 4290 employees in other roles. The university has also instituted 400 supervisory positions for the doctorate and masters students. The campus has a number of buildings from the late Russian era in Xinjiang. The university campus has been completely updated and modernized and a library, canteens, hospitals and training centres are included facilities. The experimental laboratories include modern bio information processing systems and models.
In 1995, the university built a new library building which now covers 16,000 m2 and has over 1.07 million books. There are more than 1,300 periodicals and journals available in Chinese and other languages. Six book databases have been introduced and there is a connection to Partners Harvard Medical International's library database. The library seats more than 2500 in the reader's area and over 350 in the electronic library access area. The International Education College of the Xinjiang Medical University has recruited medical students since 2001. As of April, 2008, more than 500 students are studying at the college and there are over 400 faculty members. In January 2009, the Government of the People's Republic of China announced a scholarship program that seeks to award students who perform well in the Faculty of Sciences Pre-Medical degree. The students are required to study clinical medicine in Chinese for 6 years, and a passing score on the HSK band 3 is to be attained by scholarship holders within one year of admission.
