during the 1930s|thumb|200px • Formerly known as the
South China Institute of Technology (), it was established in 1952, through a reorganization process that unified the engineering schools and departments of major universities from five provinces in
Central and
Southern China, including the former
National Sun Yat-sen University,
Lingnan University,
Hunan University,
Guangxi University, South China Joint University, and four others. • The university was renamed as South China University of Technology in 1988. • In 1995, it was selected as one of the universities into which China will make a significant investment in the 21st century as part of
Project 211. • In 1999, it was rated "excellent" during the Undergraduate Teaching Assessment, and was among the first "Excellent Universities of Undergraduate Education" in the country. In the same year, a national science park was established with the authorization of the State Ministry of Technology and State Ministry of Education. • In 2000, authorization was given for the establishment of a Graduate School. • In 2001, it became one of the 39 national universities sponsored by
Project 985. • In 2017, it became one of the 36
Class A Double First-Class Universities. ==Rankings and reputation==