Wenzhou Medical University (WMU) is a higher education institution under the administration of the Zhejiang Provincial Government. The university can trace its origin back to the former Zhejiang Specialized Medical School founded in 1912. It was relocated from Hangzhou to Wenzhou in August 1958 by Zhejiang Medical College, initially named “Zhejiang Second Medical College” and later renamed “Wenzhou Medical College” after its location. In 2013, the institution was officially renamed “Wenzhou Medical University.” In 2015, WMU was shortlisted as a university jointly developed by the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, the National Health Commission, and the Ministry of Education. In 2017, WMU was listed among the Zhejiang Provincial Key Construction Higher Educational Institutions. In 2023, it was approved as a high-level university under development in Zhejiang province.

WMU began offering five–year undergraduate programs in 1958 and initiated master’s degree programs in 1978. As one of the first institutions in China authorized to confer master’s degrees, and later a doctoral degree-granting unit, WMU offers a comprehensive range of academic programs, including 5 Primary Category Discipline PhD programs in Clinical Medicine, Basic Medical Science, Pharmaceutical Science, Biomedical Engineering and Medical Aspects of Specific Environments, 4 professional doctoral programs in Clinical Medicine, Medical Technology, Stomatology and Pharmacy, 13 Primary Category Discipline master’s degree programs in Clinical Medicine, Nursing, Traditional Chinese Pharmacology, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Basic Medical Science, Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Pharmaceutical Science, Stomatology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and Public Management, Forensic Medicine and Medical Aspects of Specific Environments, 9 professional master’s degree programs in Clinical Medicine, Electronic Information (Biomedical Engineering), Stomatology, Nursing, Pharmaceutical Science, Public Health, Applied Psychology, Medical Technology and Biology and Medicine , and post-doctoral research stations under the Primary Category Disciplines of Clinical Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science. WMU ranks 72th in the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) Chinese university rankings. 14 disciplines are ranked within the top 1% of ESI globally, including Pharmacology & Toxicology, Clinical Medicine, Biology & Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Genetics, Materials Sciences, Neuroscience & Behavior, Chemistry, Immunology, Engineering, Environment and Ecology, Microbiology, Agricultural Sciences, Psychiatry/Psychology and Computer Science. Notably, Clinical Medicine and  Pharmacology & Toxicology rank within the global top 1‰. WMU features 1 National Key Laboratory, 1 State Engineering Technology Research Center, 1 State Engineering Research Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, 1 State Key Laboratory co-built by the Ministry of Education and Zhejiang Province, 1 National Research Center for Clinical Medicine (Ophthalmic Diseases), 2 Collaborative Innovation Centers jointly built by the Ministry of Education and Zhejiang Province, 1 Key Laboratory of the National Medical Products Administration,  2 National International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Bases, 1 National Traditional Chinese Medicine platform, and 46 provincial or ministerial scientific research platforms. Additionally, there are 1 Provincial Peak Discipline, 1 Provincial Advantageous Characteristic Disciplines, 2 Provincial Primary Category Class-A Disciplines, 6 Provincial Primary Category Class-B Disciplines, 1 Advantageous Characteristic Disciplines of Provincial Key Universities, 2 Provincial Top Priority Disciplines, and 10 Key Disciplines of Provincial Universities.

Dedicated to serving the needs of both individuals and society, WMU is committed to the mission of cultivating outstanding healthcare professionals who are driven by passion and self-assurance, capable of achieving results and fostering innovation. The university offers 30 undergraduate programs, 2 bachelor-master integrated "5+3" programs, and 1 Chinese-foreign cooperative education program in clinical medicine. Currently, WMU enrolls 16,804 full-time undergraduate students (excluding Wenzhou Medical University Renji College, an independent college), 8,727 postgraduate students (including 1,004 doctoral students), and 550 international degree students. It has established a comprehensive, multi-faceted talent training system covering undergraduate, master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral programs, as well as adult education, international education, and education for students from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. WMU consistently elevates the quality of its talent cultivation. The passing rate of its clinical medicine graduates in the national qualification examination for medical practitioners consistently ranks among the top 10% nationwide. According to the latest data from the Provincial Education Examination Institute, the Class of 2020 ranked first among the undergraduate colleges and universities in Zhejiang province in terms of employability competitiveness three years after graduation, with 24 indicators ranking first among provincial undergraduate colleges and universities in Zhejiang.

WMU has a strong faculty and staff of over 16,000 individuals, including healthcare professionals across its affiliated hospitals, with over 2,600 of them holding senior and associate senior professional titles. The main campus has 1,853 full-time teachers, including 502 holding senior professional titles, 601 holding associate senior professional titles, and 1,470 holding doctoral degrees. This includes 1 academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 2 fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and 2 recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. Many excellent talents were selected for prestigious talent programs and accolades, such as the National Ten Thousand Talents Plan, Young and Middle-Aged Leading Talents in Scientific and Technological Innovation by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Provincial Special Experts, the National Scientific and Technological Progress Award, the Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Prize, the Science and Technology Prize of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation, the National Outstanding Teacher Award, the National Teacher Ethics Model Award, and the National March 8th Red-Banner Holder. WMU also houses 1 Innovation Team of the Ministry of Education, 2 Huang Danian-style Outstanding Teaching Teams of National Universities and Colleges, and 2 Innovation and Talents-Introduction Bases in Higher Education of the Ministry of Science and Technology (111 Bases). The university has been recognized as a Provincial Advanced Unit for valuing talents.

WMU possesses 18 national first-class undergraduate program construction sites, 4 national distinctive program construction sites, 1 pilot project of national comprehensive reform on disciplines, 5 pilot projects of Excellent Doctor Education and Training Plan of Ministry of Education, 1 national pilot zone for talent training innovation,  2 national experimental teaching demonstration centers, 1 national practice base, 1 national clinical teaching and training demonstration center, 1 national virtual simulation experimental teaching center; 23 national first-class courses, 5 national excellent courses for educational resource sharing, 1 national bilingual demonstration course, 2 national English-taught brand courses for international students, 1 model course for model courses for ideological and political education among the first batch of demonstration courses recognized by the Ministry of Education. One of the textbooks chief-edited by the university faculty was awarded the second prize in the first National Excellent Textbook competition, and the university has won one National Advanced Collective Award for Textbook Construction. The university has 2 first-batch national pilot projects for virtual teaching and research office construction, 2 national teaching teams, 3 national teaching masters, 1 teaching team of the Ministry of Education for ideological and political teaching, 1 teaching master of the Ministry of Education for ideological and political teaching, 7 second prizes of national teaching achievement awards (as lead of the projects) and 1 first prize of national teaching achievement award (as the second participating institution).

WMU has undertaken over 1,700 national-level scientific research projects, including more than 80 major and key projects such as those under the National Key Research and Development Program of China. The university has achieved over 240 national, provincial and ministerial-level awards for its research outcomes, including 1 first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, 1 second prize of the National Natural Science Award, 5 second prizes of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, 2 second prizes of the National Technology Invention Award, 1 first prize and 3 second prizes of the Ministry of Education Science and Technology Award, 5 first prizes of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award, 1 first prize of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association Science and Technology Award, 1 Zhejiang Science and Technology Award for Major Contributions, 21 first prizes of Zhejiang Science and Technology Award, 1 first prize, 1 second prize and 3 third prizes of the Ministry of Education Outstanding Achievement Award in Humanities and Social Sciences, 2 second prizes of the National Outstanding Achievement Award in Educational Research, and 23 prizes of the Zhejiang Outstanding Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences.

Wenzhou Medical University embraces internationalization in the course of its development, forging partnerships with over 170 educational and research institutions, including more than 20 of the world’s top 100 universities. Substantive exchanges and cooperation have been carried out in the areas of overseas student exchanges, joint education programs, faculty academic exchanges, research collaboration, Chinese-foreign cooperative education, and education for international students. There are a number of Chinese-foreign cooperative education programs, such as the Doctoral Program in Optometry & Ophthalmology with The New England College of Optometry (USA), the Joint PhD Program in Clinical Medicine and Medical Science with Lund University (Sweden), the Master’s Program in Nursing Science with Burapha University (Thailand), and the PhD Program in Pharmacy with Chonnam National University (Republic of Korea). The university's partnership with the University of Alberta, a top-100 global institution, led to the establishment of the Alberta Institute, Wenzhou Medical University, currently the highest level of Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution specializing in medicine in China. WMU also established China's first overseas clinical medical education program in cooperation with the Medical University of Lublin (Poland) and the first "Chinese + Medicine" program approved by the Ministry of Education, in partnership with the SUNY College of Optometry. WMU has been selected as an implementation institution of the “Overseas Study and Research Program for Young Teachers” sponsored by the China Scholarship Council and recognized as an “Internationalized Featured University of Zhejiang Province.”

WMU has three campuses, covering a total area of 1,436 mu (approximately 237 acres). Its library houses an extensive collection of over 2.17 million volumes of printed materials and 1.05 million volumes of electronic documents. WMU publishes five academic journals and one academic newspaper, among which the academic journal Eye and Vision is indexed in SCIE, three journals are listed as key magazines of China technology, and the Chinese Journal of Optometry, Ophthalmology, and Visual Science is part of the Chinese Medical Association Journals. WMU has five affiliated hospitals, all of which are classified as Grade A tertiary hospitals. The university also partners with 31 non-directly affiliated hospitals and teaching hospitals. The affiliated Eye Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital, and the Second Affiliated Hospital consistently rank among the top 100 in the Science and Technology Evaluation Metrics (STEM) for Chinese Hospitals. In particular, the affiliated Eye Hospital holds the first place among all eye hospitals nationwide.

Guided by the motto that stresses "Benevolence, Reverence, Diligence, Modesty, Seeking Truth, and Striving for Progress", WMU has been pursuing excellence through its unique strength and university culture, as well as the potential of its people. The university has cultivated a distinctive school-running philosophy for a regional higher education institution: utilizing specialized disciplines to guide and propel overall development, elevating educational standards by fostering internationalization, and serving the regional social and economic development using its strength in healthcare services and capacity in bringing together the education, research, and business sectors. In 2023, WMU ranked 93rd in the Wushulian Chinese University Rankings, demonstrating its comprehensive strength and academic excellence.

WMU seeks to establish itself as a top-tier domestic medical university with unique strengths and global recognition. It places a strong emphasis on providing high-quality undergraduate education while actively expanding and enhancing its graduate programs and prioritizes medical disciplines while promoting coordinated development across multiple disciplines. Grounded in Zhejiang province and contributing to the local community, WMU boasts a broader national and international outlook to serve the entire country and engage with the global arena.