1. Lanzhou University: It is a national key comprehensive university directly under the Ministry of Education. It has an important strategic position in the national higher education pattern and is the first institution of higher learning with modern significance in northwest China.
2. Northwest Normal University: It is a key university jointly established by Gansu Provincial People's Government and the Ministry of Education. It is the first unit in the State Council that has the right to award bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctor's degree.
3. Lanzhou University of Technology: Located in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, it is a high-level university in Gansu Province approved by the Gansu Provincial People's Government, the Ministry of Education and the State Bureau of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.