Northeast Normal University (NENU) is an institution of higher learning under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education, being selected as one of the universities given priority in construction in the "211 Project". The university, located in Changchun city, Jilin province, occupies an area of 1,500,000 square meters, including 800,000 square meters of the main campus and 700,000 square meters of the new campus.

The NENU's predecessor is the Northeast University, the first comprehensive university founded by the Communist Party in Northeast China in February, 1946. In 1949, the school was moved to Changchun City and renamed Northeast Normal University in 1950.

There are 22,221 full-time students in NENU, including 15,191 undergraduates, 6,599 M.A. and Ph.D. students, and 431 foreign students. There are 1281 full-time teachers, including 348 professors, 409 associate professors and 272 Ph.D. supervisors. There is one academician of The Chinese Academy of Sciences, one academician of The Third World Academy of Science and 11 members of The Academic Degree Committee of the State Council.

NENU presently comprises 19 schools, 56 undergraduate specialties and a graduate school, which offers 142 M.A. degree specialties, and 75 Ph.D. degree specialties. There are 9 faculties authorized to confer doctoral degrees, 11 disciplines with Post-doctoral R&D Stations, 5 key disciplines of The National Institution of Higher Education, 6 disciplines among the construction projects of the key disciplines of the national "Tenth Five-Year Plan" and the "211 Project" and 18 disciplines among the key subject program of Jilin Province. Three disciplines are personnel training and scientific research bases of the national fundamental disciplines of arts and sciences; 2 disciplines are among the key research bases for Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education; 8 laboratories and research centers are authorized by the ministry. In addition, NENU possesses several national training programs and research institutes such as Preparatory School for Chinese Students to Japan (PSCSJ).

NENU preserves education and teaching as "the foundation of school setting" and has formed her own concept of education which is "Be diligent and creative in studies” and "Be exemplary in virtue”. The quality of students has been continuously improved and for this, the university has enjoyed high prestige in basic education, and received a positive evaluation from the society. NENU was named a "National Advanced Unit for Job-Hunting" by the State Council, becoming one of only four universities to be so named nationally in 2004. NENU regards scientific research as "the basis of institution strengthening" and places great emphasis on scientific research and has made significant achievements. The number of articles selected for the Science Citation Index (SCI) ranked the 28th in 2004.

NENU is pursuing educational innovation, stressing the distinctive characteristics of management, working hard to follow through with the Concept of Respect-based Education, implementing reforms in education and teaching, enhancing the development of disciplines and instructors' qualities. The faculties and students are making great efforts together to build NENU into a first-rate normal university in China and to make her well-known in the worldwide.