Beijing Normal University: a key university directly under the Ministry of Education, is a well-known institution with the main features of teacher education, educational science and basic disciplines of arts and sciences. It was included in the first batch of 2 1 1 project construction plans during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period.
East China Normal University is a comprehensive research university sponsored by the state and headed by the Ministry of Education, focusing on the Ministry of Education and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. It is the first socialist normal university established after the founding of New China. 1996 was listed in the 2 1 1 national key construction universities.