Northwest University (NWU) can trace its origins back to Shaanxi Imperial College and Peking Imperial College in 1902. The University received its current name in 1912. NWU has been selected among the first group of the universities with first-class disciplines and the leading universities sponsored by the national "211 Project". It also enjoys national support from the "One University for One Province Initiative". Over the years, following its vision of "promoting the national spirit, integrating the ideas from around the world and shouldering responsibility of developing northwest China" and its motto of "Fairness, Integrity, Diligence and Simplicity", NWU has attracted a generous number of distinguished scholars, cultivated generations of talents, made a series of significant academic achievements and enjoyed high academic and social reputation. NWU has been honored as "the Mother of Chinese Petroleum Engineering", "the Cradle of Economists" and "the Cradle of Writers". To its credit, NWU is listed as one of the leading universities of the world by the Encyclopedia Britannica.