Founded in 1952, Northeast Forestry University (NEFU) was formed by the combination of both Zhejiang University and Northeast Agricultural College's forestry departments. It is currently one of the Ministry of Education key universities and is also one of the universities in the “211 Project”.
Northeast Forestry University is located in the city of Harbin, the center of the region with China's 1argest state-owned forests. Its campus covers more than 136 hectares with teaching buildings, scientific research laboratories and practice sites. In addition, there are still several practice centers which include the Maoershan Experimental Forestry Center (Maoershan National Forest Park) and the LiangShui Experimental Forestry Center (LiangShui State-level Natural Reserve) etc. Therefore，the university has a total area of 33,000 hectares.
NEFU is presently a multidisciplinary university with forestry as its leading field and offers a unique specialization in forestry engineering. NEFU has also specializes in forestry-related aspects of agriculture, science, engineering, economy, management, liberal arts and law. The university at present is comprised of sixteen schools and two departments．There are five post-doctoral scientific research programs, four first-level and thirty-two second-level doctoral degree programs. In addition, there are also ten first-level, seventy-five second-level master's degree programs ， three types of special discipline master's degree programs in nine fields and fifty-seven undergraduate programs. Northeast Forestry University has two national first-level key disciplines, two national subordinate key disciplines, six key disciplines authorized by the National Bureau of Forestry , two key discipline clusters authorized by Heilongjiang Province, four Heilongjiang Provincial first-level key disciplines, and fifteen Heilongjiang Provincial subordinate key disciplines. With the approval of National Planning Commission and Ministry of Education, NEFU runs the national training centers of life sciences and technology. Also, the NEFU operates the teaching and research centers of basic sciences particularly in biology, which are also approved by the Ministry of Education.
NEFU now has more than 28,000 students of various backgrounds. Since the founding of the university, it has trained over 70,000 students and has become the largest national training center for the personnel engaged in advanced sciences relating to forestry. The university has 1,269 full-time teachers, including seven academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and visiting academicians and two specially invited professors of Changjiang Scholar Program. In recent years, some members of the NEFU faculty have received special honors including three teachers awarded the national-level Excellent Teacher award, received the provincial Famous Teacher award, five the provincial-level Excellent Teacher award and two honored as a Provincial Model Teacher.
NEFU has excellent facilities for teaching, research and practice. It has one national scientific observation key station (Maoershan forestry ecological system location station), three key laboratories of Ministry of Education, four key laboratories of the National Bureau of Forestry, and forty-nine research institutions. There are also nine practice sites within the school, including the Maoershan Experimental Forestry Center and LiangShui Experimental Forestry Center and 180 bases outside the school.
Since 2001, NEFU has won more than 140 awards of varying levels in scientific research, including two National second-place awards for Technology and Innovation, three National second-place awards for Advancements in Science and Technology, one Heliang Heli Fund award for Advancements in Science and Technology, six Liangxi prizes awarded by the Forestry Society of China, seventy-four other provincial and departmental awards and has obtained sixty-nine national patents.
NEFU now has more than 28,000 students of various backgrounds. Since the founding of the university, it has trained over 70,000 students and has become the largest national training center for the personnel engaged in advanced sciences relating to forestry ． The university has 1,269 full-time teachers, including seven academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and visiting academicians and two specially invited professors of Changjiang Scholar Program. In recent years, some members of the NEFU faculty have received special honors including three teachers awarded the national-level Excellent Teacher award, received the provincial Famous.
Northeast Forestry University has made great development in international communication and cooperation. It has established intercollegiate cooperative relations with fifty-eight universities and institutions. In recent years, NEFU has invited more than 300 foreign experts and scholars from more than thirty countries and regions (including the United States, Canada, Russia, and Sweden, etc.) to teach, lecture, research, visit and tour the university.
NEFU will carry on the “DongLin” spirit of “working hard in unity, self-inspiration, utilizing advantages to the fullest and competing for the top” and fulfill the school motto of “promoting excellent learning and noble virtue.” The university always continues to uphold and enrich these qualities and seeks to try to build itself into a nationally top-rated research-oriented university with influence in the international university community. Northeast Forestry University seeks to do all this and more by the year 2032, the school's 80th anniversary.