ocated in Wuhan of central China, Wuhan University of Science and Technology (WUST) is a key public higher learning institution claiming traditional strengths in engineering and sciences that are integrated with contemporary popular disciplines such as medicine, economics, management, humanities, art, law, and philosophy. It dates back to the Hubei Gongyi Xuetang (Hubei Technical Institute) founded in 1898 by Zhang Zhidong (1837-1909), Viceroy of Huguang Province in the late Qing Dynasty. The institution began offering undergraduate degrees in 1957 upon the establishment of Wuhan Iron and Steel Institute, the University’s forerunner in the modern times. In 1978 and 1998, it was authorized by China’s State Council to award the master’s and doctoral degrees, respectively. In 1995 the institution was granted university status renamed Wuhan Yejin University of Science and Technology when Wuhan Iron and Steel Institute merged with two colleges also under the then Ministry of Metallurgy. The University acquired its current name in 1999 following its 1998 handover from China’s Ministry of Metallurgy to the local Hubei Provincial Government for administration. Since late 2013 WUST has come to operate under the joint aegis of Hubei Provincial Government, Ministry of Education of PRC and 6 largest mega steel enterprises in China.