The discipline of Biomedical Engineering at Tsinghua University was established in 1979. Its major stages of development are as follows:

I. Mission and Commitment, Striving Forward (1979–2000)

1979

Amid the era of China's reform and opening up, with the rapid changes taking place, in 1979, the discipline of Biomedical Engineering at Tsinghua University was established within the Department of Electrical Engineering of Tsinghua University.

1980–2000

Leveraging the strong engineering capabilities of Tsinghua University, the discipline of Biomedical Engineering forged ahead during the 1980s and 1990s. It achieved a series of high-level results in fields such as biomedical signal processing and ultrasound imaging and nurtured a large number of key figures in the discipline.

II. New Opportunities in the New Century: Medical-Engineering Integration and Collaborative Innovation (2001–2010)

2001

With the advent of opportunities for medical and health development in the new century, the School of Medicine at Tsinghua University was established on October 25, 2001. The discipline of Biomedical Engineering was entirely incorporated into the School of Medicine, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering was founded as one of the inaugural departments.

2002

Biomedical Engineering was selected as a national key first-level discipline.

2004

The Department of Biomedical Engineering established a discipline point in biomedical engineering at Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School.

2006

Academician Cheng Jing and his system-biology team joined the discipline of Biomedical Engineering, broadening the discipline's research directions.

2008

The Tsinghua University-Johns Hopkins University Joint Research Center for Biomedical Engineering was established.

2010

The Biomedical Imaging Research Center was established.

III. New Forces and New Vitality，Reform and Innovation, achieving Leapfrog Development(2011–2023)

2017

The cross-disciplinary platforms at the university level such as Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence were established.

2018

A dual-master’s international training program was launched in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University.

2019

The comprehensive major-based training system was implemented, and the minor degree programs were established. The discipline was selected for theNational First-Class Undergraduate Program (Double Ten-Thousand Plan).

2020

During the fight against COVID-19, the school played an important role in providing key biomedical engineering technologies. In March 2020, The President Xi Jinping inspected the School of Medicine and its scientific efforts in epidemic prevention and control, affirming and encouraging the active contributions of Tsinghua faculty and students.

2022

Several translational achievements in advanced medical equipment were applied in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, as well as in regular epidemic prevention and control.

Throughout this period, the discipline of Biomedical Engineering continued to pursue academic frontiers and actively integrated into the innovation-driven development strategy. Progress was made simultaneously in areas such as medical imaging, neural engineering, micro/nano medicine and tissue engineering, and advanced medical devices, thereby meeting the growing health needs of society through leapfrog development.

IV. A New Chapter in Medical-Engineering Integration: The “502 Spirit” (2024–)

In order to support the Healthy China initiative and to further optimize the medical discipline layout of Tsinghua University, the School of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and its Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee were established in January 2024, which was approved by Tsinghua University CPC Committee at the 61st Standing Committee Meeting of the 15th CPC Tsinghua University Committee. Under the framework of Tsinghua New Medicine development, the faculty, staff, and students at the School of BME will remain true to their mission, uphold firm convictions, and carry forward the unique “502 spirit,” continuing to advance with dedication and innovation.