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Colleges and universities

Changsha has long been the seat of several ancient schools and academies. The Yuelu Academy (later to become Hunan University) was one of the four most prestigious academies in China over the last 1000 years. The city is also the site of the Hunan Medical University (later to become Central South University), which was established in 1914.

As of June 2023, Changsha hosts 59 institutions of higher education (excluding adult colleges), ranking 8th nationwide and 4th among all cities in the South Central China region after Guangzhou, Wuhan and Zhengzhou. Changsha ranked among the top 10 cities in the whole country and among the top three cities in South Central China region with strong education based on an evaluation of Chinese universities' discipline levels, including A+, A, and A− issued by the Ministry of Education as of 2020.

National key public universities

There are three Project 985 universities in Changsha: Central South University, Hunan University, and the National University of Defense Technology, the third highest among all cities in China after Beijing and Shanghai. Hunan Normal University is the key construction university of the national 211 Project. These four national key universities are Double First-Class Construction. Changsha, the provincial capital of Hunan Province, is home to a significant number of top-tier educational institutions. Specifically, among the twelve universities in Hunan Province included in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking, eight are based in Changsha, accounting for almost two-thirds of the total. This concentration of highly ranked universities further solidifies Changsha's status as a prominent hub for higher education within the province.

Hunan University and Central South University are included in the world's top 300 in several global university-rankings, including the Academic Ranking of World Universities, the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking, the CWTS Leiden Ranking and the Center for World University Rankings,. As of 2024, these two universities are placed among the world's top 50 universities ranked by the Nature Index.

Hunan Normal University and the National University of Defense and Technology were ranked in the world's top 501-600 of the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Provincial key public universities

Changsha University of Science and Technology and Hunan Agricultural University were ranked in the world's top 701 and 801 respectively of the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Central South University of Forestry and Technology was ranked # 1429 in the 2022 Best Global Universities by the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking. Hunan University of Chinese Medicine was ranked the best in the Central China region and 26th nationwide among Chinese medical universities, and ranked #1854 globally in the 2023 Best Global Universities by the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking. Hunan University of Technology and Business was ranked # 2341 in the world by the University Ranking by Academic Performance 2022–2023.

General undergraduate universities (public)

General undergraduate universities (private)

Vocational and technical colleges/universities

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.