Shantou University held a media briefing in Guangzhou on June 15th regarding its undergraduate admissions for 2026.
The university's Party Committee Secretary, Tang Rui, along with heads of relevant functional departments, attended the meeting to introduce the 2026 undergraduate admissions policy and the university's development status.
They provided authoritative clarifications and in-depth explanations on hotly debated social issues such as the institution's development, funding, and admission scores.
It was announced that the total enrollment target for this year is 4,900 students, with 3,778 spots allocated within Guangdong Province.
Clarification on Li Ka-shing Foundation's Ongoing Support
Secretary Tang Rui provided authoritative on-site clarifications to dispel unfounded rumors circulating online, including claims that "Shantou University is on the decline," "admission scores are falling," "the Li Ka-shing Foundation has stopped its funding," and "the cancellation of full tuition waivers signifies reduced investment."
He stated that Mr. Li Ka-shing has always regarded Shantou University as a "commitment beyond life," and that the Foundation's support for the university has never ceased; in fact, it has increased rather than decreased.
Since 2007, the university has established a stable funding support cycle with the Guangdong provincial government, with the Foundation's total donation for 2025 amounting to approximately 174 million RMB (about 217 million HKD).
In recent years, the Foundation has continued to increase its investment in the university's infrastructure and talent development, focusing on supporting key projects such as high-level talent apartments, the medical school, and research centers.
Regarding the adjustment to the tuition policy, Tang Rui explained that from 2019 to 2022, the university implemented a full tuition waiver for all students.
Starting in 2023, this was upgraded to an Outstanding Freshman Award Program, where the top 10% of incoming freshmen university-wide are selected each year to receive a full tuition award, benefiting over 400 students annually.
This policy adjustment does not signify a halt in funding, but rather an optimization, concentrating resources from a universal tuition waiver into core areas of institutional operation such as discipline construction, scientific research and innovation, and talent recruitment and cultivation, thereby aiding the university's high-quality development and maximizing operational effectiveness.
Rational Analysis of Admission Score Fluctuations
Addressing public concern over fluctuations in the university's admission scores, Tang Rui provided a rational and objective interpretation.
He stated that minor fluctuations in admission scores are not indicative of a decline in educational quality, with the core reasons being twofold: first, a significant expansion in enrollment scale.
The university's undergraduate enrollment in 2017 was just over 1,700 students, while the planned enrollment for 2026 has increased to 4,900, placing the rate of expansion among the highest in the province's universities.
This rapid growth in enrollment volume naturally leads to moderate fluctuations in admission scores.
Second, the university adheres to its founding mission and rejects功利化 adjustments to its academic programs.
The university insists on aligning with national strategies and regional development needs, retaining essential programs such as civil engineering, architecture, and nursing, and has not followed the trend of closing so-called "unpopular majors" to artificially inflate admission scores, thus upholding its educational mission and social responsibility as an institution of higher learning.
It is worth noting that Shantou University has taken a leading role in implementing "AI+" higher education reform.
In 2025, it issued special guidelines on AI-empowered university curriculum construction twice, taking the lead in exploring AI education curriculum standards for local universities and promoting a shift in education from "knowledge transmission" to "capability cultivation."
The university mandates that all 48 undergraduate programs optimize their training plans, break down disciplinary barriers, restructure the curriculum system, and create a series of high-quality interdisciplinary general education course clusters,全力 cultivating top-notch innovative talents suited for future development.
Detailed Breakdown of 2026 Admissions Plan
Su Junzhi, Director of the Admissions and Career Office at Shantou University, introduced the university's admissions plan.
This year, Shantou University's undergraduate enrollment target has increased by 100 students, bringing the total planned enrollment to 4,900.
Of these, 3,778 spots are allocated within Guangdong Province, 1,068 are for other provinces, with 5 spots not allocated by province and 49 reserved spots.
Plans for science, engineering, and medicine programs total 2,950 students, accounting for 60.20%.
The increase in enrollment scale is primarily allocated to majors such as biotechnology, electronic information engineering, communication engineering, materials science and engineering, digital economy, and history.
For the first time in 2026, Shantou University has added Shaanxi Province to its招生 scope, expanding its reach to 26 provinces.
The majority of the enrollment increase is allocated to provinces including Guangdong, Henan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Shandong, and Hubei (over 80 spots each).
In 2026, Shantou University will offer 48 undergraduate majors for enrollment (compared to 56 last year), 30 of which are national or provincial first-class undergraduate program construction sites.
One new major, History (Regional and National History), has been added, along with 28 new major specializations and 2 new Sino-foreign joint training programs.
The setup of major groups has been further optimized, with a total of 40 major groups set for admissions in Guangdong.
Among these, 28 are for the main campus and 12 for the medical school.
Regarding the number of majors within the same group: except for one group containing 7 majors, all other groups contain 6 or fewer majors, achieving the goal of zero调剂 when filling out志愿.
Director Su Junzhi indicated that candidates within the top 48,000 in the science stream and the top 11,000 in the humanities stream in Guangdong Province have a significant chance of being selected for the Outstanding Freshman Award Program when applying to Shantou University and can enjoy the policy of freely choosing their major.
Candidates within the top 75,000 in the science stream and the top 16,000 in the humanities stream in the province have a very high chance of admission to Shantou University.
Candidates ranked beyond 75,000 in science and 16,000 in humanities can also fully utilize the平行志愿 rules to boldly list Shantou University as a冲刺志愿.
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