A Profound History of Education
Founded on January 8, 1982, the Faculty of Management and Economics (FME), Kunming University of Science and Technology (KUST) was originally named the Department of Management Engineering of Kunming Institute of Technology, approved by the former Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. It was renamed the Faculty of Management and Economics, KUST in January 1998. In July 1999, the former Faculty of Management and Economics, KUST merged with the School of Business Administration of the former Yunnan University of Technology to form the new Faculty of Management and Economics, KUST.
A Complete Disciplinary System
FME began enrolling undergraduate and master's students in 1986, doctoral students in 2000, obtained approval for the MBA program in 2003, and established a postdoctoral research station in 2010, forming a complete talent training system covering "Bachelor-Master-Doctorate-Postdoctoral". It has three basic teaching units: the Department of Management Science and Engineering, the Department of Business Administration, and the Department of Applied Economics.
Currently, it offers 6 undergraduate majors: Information Management and Information System, Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, International Economy and Trade, and Quality Management Engineering. Among them, Information Management and Information System, Business Administration, and International Economy and Trade are national first-class undergraduate major construction sites; Quality Management Engineering and Finance are provincial first-class undergraduate major construction sites.
FME is equipped with a first-class doctoral degree program in Management Science and Engineering and a national postdoctoral research station. It has 3 first-class master's degree programs in Management Science and Engineering, Business Administration, and Applied Economics, as well as 4 professional degree programs: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Accounting, Master of Finance, and Master of Engineering Management (with two concentrations: Logistics Engineering and Project Management). Notably, Applied Economics and Business Administration have been selected into Yunnan Province's list of doctoral degree program cultivation and construction.
After more than 40 years of development, FME has become a business school with distinctive regional characteristics, a large scale of operation, and complete educational levels. It has cultivated a large number of talents for the country and plays a vital role in regional economic and social development. A number of outstanding alumni have grown into academic elites, senior leading cadres, and business pioneers, injecting a strong "KUST Power" into national development.
As of March 2026, FME has 1,149 undergraduate students, 2,076 master's students, and 201 doctoral students. Master's and doctoral students account for nearly 70% of the total enrollment. Over more than 40 years since its establishment, FME has transformed from a traditional teaching-oriented institution focused on undergraduate education to a research-oriented college centered on postgraduate education.
Strong Teaching Faculty
FME currently has 134 faculty members, including 109 full-time teachers. Among them, 29 hold senior professional titles and 45 hold associate senior titles, with senior title holders accounting for 67.89%. A total of 102 full-time teachers hold doctoral degrees, accounting for 93.58%—both the senior title ratio and doctoral degree ratio far exceed the average level of similar domestic institutions, marking the formation of a research-oriented faculty team.
Full-time teachers under 45 years old account for 50%. There are 27 doctoral supervisors and 114 master's supervisors. The faculty includes 1 expert enjoying the Special Government Allowance of the State Council, 1 member of the Management Science and Engineering Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, 1 overseas high-level talent, and 55 high-level talents such as provincial-level distinguished teachers and cultural masters. Relying on a balanced, optimized, and sustainably developing faculty team, FME has built itself into a high-level research-oriented business school.
Outstanding Scientific Research Strength
Since 2020, FME has undertaken nearly 300 scientific research projects of various types. These include 40 newly approved projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Social Science Fund of China, 15 projects of the Ministry of Education's Humanities and Social Sciences Research Program and other national ministerial-level projects, 16 provincial major and key projects, and more than 90 other provincial and ministerial-level projects.
In 2025, FME achieved a key breakthrough in national-level major and key projects, obtaining 1 key project of the National Social Science Fund of China and 1 sub-topic of the National Key R&D Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
In terms of high-level papers, since 2020, faculty members have published 69 papers in important journals recognized by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and more than 400 papers in SSCI, SCI, and CSSCI indexed journals, with continuous improvement in paper quality. In 2024, a faculty member published a paper in a UTD24 top international business journal for the first time, achieving a "zero breakthrough" in publications in such journals.
In academic awards, FME has won 1 second prize of the Higher Education Scientific Research Outstanding Achievement Award of the Ministry of Education, and more than 20 provincial and ministerial awards such as the Yunnan Provincial Excellent Achievements Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences and the Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award.
Faculty members also actively provide decision-making consultation for governments at all levels. In the past five years, more than 50 research reports and expert suggestions have received instructions from provincial and ministerial-level leaders or been adopted by government departments.
High-Quality Teaching Platforms
More than 60 courses of FME have been approved for construction projects such as first-class courses, high-quality courses, and excellent courses, including 4 national-level construction projects and 7 provincial-level construction projects.
FME has published 1 excellent textbook of the Business Administration Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, and 3 provincial-level planning textbooks and high-quality textbooks. It has built 2 provincial-level teaching teams, 5 provincial-level postgraduate supervisor teams, 4 provincial-level philosophy and social science innovation teams, and 13 provincial and ministerial-level scientific research innovation platforms.
It has presided over 2 projects of the National Education Science Planning Program. FME has won 2 first prizes of Yunnan Provincial Teaching Achievement Award, 1 first prize of Yunnan Provincial Excellent Educational Research Achievement Award, and 1 Excellent Research Achievement Award of Yunnan Higher Education Association. Faculty members have won 2 special prizes and 2 third prizes in Yunnan University Teacher Teaching Competition.
Excellent Talent Training
Adhering to the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, FME continuously deepens the reform of talent training models. Its student source quality, training quality, and employment quality rank among the top universities in Yunnan Province.
As of March 2026, FME has 1,149 undergraduate students, 2,076 master's students, and 201 doctoral students. Master's and doctoral students account for nearly 70% of the total enrollment. In recent years, FME has transformed from a traditional teaching-oriented institution focused on undergraduate education to a research-oriented college centered on postgraduate education.
After more than 40 years of development, FME has become a business school with distinctive regional characteristics, a large scale of operation, and complete educational levels. It has cultivated a large number of talents for the country and plays a vital role in regional economic and social development. A number of outstanding alumni have grown into academic elites, senior leading cadres, and business pioneers, injecting a strong "KUST Power" into national development.
Excellent Educational infrastructure
FME is mainly located in the Chenggong Campus of KUST, with the MBA education center in the Lianhua Campus of KUST. The total building area is 6,484.62 square meters, including 2,792.24 square meters for teaching and research, 1,603.58 square meters for classrooms, 1,096.08 square meters for laboratories and experimental venues, 666.6 square meters for administrative use, and 326.12 square meters for other purposes.
FME has built more than ten open laboratories equipped with 14 servers. It has subscribed to economic databases and service terminals such as China Research Data Service Platform and Wind, and owns an economic management literature repository. It has independently built data resources including the China-South Asia-Southeast Asia Cross-Border Investment Panoramic Monitoring and Intelligent Analysis Database, Dounan Flower Trading Database, Low-Carbon Innovation Database, Urban Economy Database, Industrial Transformation and Upgrading Database, and Dynamic Evolution and Risk Monitoring Database of Chinese Enterprises' Layout in ASEAN.
Extensive International Cooperation
FME attaches great importance to external exchanges. In recent years, it has successfully hosted and undertaken a number of influential academic conferences, including the "China-Thailand Academic Conference on High-Quality Development of Regional Economy", the "1st Annual Academic Conference on Scientific and Technological Innovation Empowering High-Quality Industrial Development for South Asia and Southeast Asia", the "16th China Youth Innovation Forum", and the kick-off meeting of the 2024 Emergency Management Project "Realization Paths and Countermeasures for High-Quality Development of China-ASEAN Economic and Trade Cooperation" funded by the Management Science Department of the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
These events have brought together renowned scholars, experts, and young talents in related fields from home and abroad. Through keynote speeches, panel discussions, and achievement exhibitions, they have built an interdisciplinary and cross-regional in-depth dialogue platform. The successful holding of these academic activities has not only promoted the collision and integration of cutting-edge theories and innovative practices, but also significantly enhanced the recognition, popularity, and reputation of the faculty and even the university in domestic and international academic circles, laying a solid foundation for continuously expanding the international cooperation network and attracting high-end academic resources.
FME values international cooperation and is committed to building an education and research platform facing South Asia and Southeast Asia. It cooperates with the National University of Laos to train doctoral students, and jointly initiated the "China-Thailand University-Industry-Research Alliance for Economics and Management" with more than ten Chinese and Thai universities including Chulalongkorn University, Chiang Mai University, and Kasetsart University.
It carries out in-depth cooperation with Chiang Mai University and Kasetsart University of Thailand, expanding short-term exchange programs, "2+2" undergraduate cooperation programs, and "3+2" postgraduate joint training programs, providing students with more international exchange opportunities to broaden their global vision and explore a characteristic training model with demonstration effects.
The scale of international students in the faculty continues to expand, especially the training of doctoral international students, demonstrating the in-depth expansion of the faculty in international education and contributing "KUST Wisdom" to the construction of a regional education community.
Future Vision
In the new historical era, the Faculty of Management and Economics, Kunming University of Science and Technology upholds the university motto of "Be Virtuous and Responsible, Seek Knowledge and Practice". It adheres to connotative and open development, and continues to carry forward the faculty-running style of being pragmatic, inclusive, and responsible.
With the mission of "fulfilling the era task of fostering virtue through education", FME will seize opportunities and strive forward to become a distinctive and regional first-class business school.
