The World First-Class Universities and First-Class Academic Disciplines Construction (世界一流大学和一流学科建设), together known as Double First-Class Construction (双一流建设),^[1][2][3][4] is a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the Chinese central government, initiated in 2015.^[5][6] There are 147 universities and colleges selected to be part of the program.^[7][8]

In October 2015, the State Council of China published the "Overall Plan for Promoting the Construction of World First-Class Universities and First-Class Disciplines" (Double First-Class Construction), which made new arrangements for the development of higher education in China, replacing previous higher education projects.^[5][9]

In June 2016, the Ministry of Education of China announced that the Project 211 and Project 985 had already been abolished and replaced by the Double First-Class Construction Initiative.^[10][11]

In September 2017, the full list of the universities and their disciplines of the Double First-Class Construction was jointly published by the Ministry of Education of China, the Ministry of Finance of China and the National Development and Reform Commission of China. According to the list, 140 universities have been approved as 'Double First-Class Construction Universities' by the State Council of China. The Double First-Class Construction policy underlines that driving the overall development of universities by building and strengthening their faculties and departments, and ultimately develop the Double First-Class Construction Universities into world-class universities by 2050.^[5][12][13]

In February 2022, the "Some Suggestions on Further Promoting the Construction of World First-Class Universities and First-Class Disciplines" were jointly published by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission.^[14] In addition, with the approval of the State Council of China, the updated Phase 2 list of "Double First-Class Construction Universities" has been released. According to the Phase 2 List of the Double First-Class Construction, the previous university classifications have been abolished, and a total number of 147 universities have been included in the plan (accounted for 4.88% of 3,012 Chinese higher education institutions), after 7 universities newly adding into the list since February 2022.^[15][16][17]

The purpose of the program is to "enhance the comprehensive strength and international competitiveness of China's higher education." The phase-specific objectives include that "an increasing number of Chinese universities and their disciplines join the ranks of world-class institutions, and a number of universities enter the forefront of global excellence, with a group of disciplines reaching the forefront of world-class standings by 2030," and "developing the Double First-Class Construction Universities into world-class higher education institutions through building and strengthening their faculties and departments by the mid-21st century."^[5][18][7]

The Phase 1 list of 140 Double First-Class Construction Universities were jointly issued by Chinese Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, and National Development and Reform Commission without any ranking within the lists (by "school code") in 2017.^[13] In February 2022, the Ministry of Education of China announced that the classifications had been invalidated,^[15] and the universities included in the Double First-Class Construction should be referred to as Double First-Class Construction Universities.^[19][20] According to the updated Phase 2 list of the Double First-Class Construction (without any ranking within the list), a total of 147 universities have been approved and recognized as Double First-Class Construction Universities.^[17]

* represent the newly added universities in the Phase 2 list of Double First-Class Construction.

According to the 'Phase 2 List of the Double First-Class Construction Initiative' jointly published by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Development and Reform Commission in February 2022, 15 universities received warnings on their Double First-Class status revocation (including Anhui University, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Central China Normal University, Guangxi University, Inner Mongolia University, Liaoning University, Ningbo University, Ningxia University, Northeast Normal University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Tibet University, Third Military Medical University, Xinjiang University, Yanbian University, and Zhongnan University of Economics and Law). These 15 universities were required to rectify and improve their research qualities and development, and if the universities failed to pass the final assessment in 2023, they would lose their Double First-Class Construction statuses.^[21][22]

• List of universities in China
• State Key Laboratories, a group of key laboratories sponsored and supervised by the central government of China
• Project 985, an abolished project of developing 39 leading research universities in China
• Project 211, an abolished program for developing China's comprehensive universities
• Excellence League, an alliance of leading Chinese universities with strong backgrounds in engineering