About Us

The Department of Astronomy (DoA) of Tsinghua University builds on the Tsinghua Center for Astrophysics, which was housed within the Department of Physics and established in 2001 with Prof. Tipei Li as the founding director. Under the leadership of Prof. Li (2001-2010) and Prof. Charling Tao (2010-2014), the center grew steadily, with a primary focus on high-energy astrophysics and compact objects. The center trained a number of excellent students during this period.

From 2014-2019, with the support of the University, the center entered a phase of more rapid growth. The center ventured into two new areas, galaxy and cosmology, and exoplanets, resulting in more balanced research areas and faculty age distributions. With the expansion, the University decided to establish a new Department of Astronomy; the inaugural ceremony was held on April 21, 2019. Over the past five years Department of Astronomy has hired 15 new faculty members, 10-15 graduate students enroll in our PhD program every year, and undergraduate minor program opened in 2023.

In 2024, the Department of Astronomy moved into the brand-new Physics Building, which provides more spacious space to grow. In the coming years we will recruit more faculty members internationally, promote the Multiplexed Survey Telescope (MUST) and the Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor (HUBS). We will strive to create a world-class intellectual environment, build an efficient administrative support, form the unique culture of the Tsinghua Astronomy: striving for mutual respect, mutual support, and openness.We will seize the historic opportunity to make Tsinghua a worldwide center of excellence in astronomy in the next decade.