The history of ZSTU dates back to the
Sericultural Academy, which was founded in 1897 and was one of the earliest modern educational institutions in China. The school began to enroll undergraduate students in 1959 and graduate students in 1979. It acquired the right to confer master's degrees in 1983 and was granted the right by
Ministry of Education to appraise the qualifications of teachers applying for the title of associate professor in 1993. In 1995, it started to offer PhD programs in collaboration with
Zhejiang University. The same year saw the first international enrollments and the enrollment of students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. In 1999, it began to confer master's degrees to on-the-job students who are of the equivalent education level. In 2001, it was granted the right to confer master's degrees to engineering students. In 2003 it was approved as an institution qualified to provide joint PhD programs and in 2006 it got the right to confer Doctoral degree. ZSTU now has graduate programs, undergraduate programs and adult education, the latter in the form of public education, non-governmental education and education through international cooperation. In April 1999 the institution changed its name from
Zhejiang Institute of Silk Textile to
Zhejiang Institute of Science and Technology. In May 2004, ZIST was renamed to Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (ZSTU). == Administration ==