The SYSU organised centennial celebration conference on November 12, 2024 where a number of initiatives were announced for the future.

[citation needed] In 1924, Sun Yat-sen founded National Kwangtung University (國立廣東大學) in Canton and inscribed in his own handwriting the school motto of "Study Extensively, Enquire Accurately, Reflect Carefully, Discriminate Clearly, Practise Earnestly.

[11] One of the predecessors of the Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Science was the Pok Tsai Medical School, which, founded in 1866, was the earliest institution of learning of western medicine in China, where Sun Yat-sen once studied and engaged in revolutionary activities.

In 1925, the Kung Yee institutions were taken over by the government and became the Medical Department of the National First Sun Yat-sen (Zhongshan) University.

Furthermore, it affiliated with Guangzhou Hospital and Lingnan University to form the Sun Yat-Sen Medical College in 1936.

In 1988, Lingnan College was reestablished within Sun Yat-sen University and is now one of the top schools of economics and management in China.

[51] Nature Index tracks the affiliations of high-quality scientific articles and presents research outputs by institution and country on monthly basis.

[citation needed] Sun Yat-sen University has made several adjustments to its academic departments throughout its history.

Starting from the end of 2022, Sun Yat-sen University has implemented a three-tier academic governance system consisting of "University-Faculties-Schools (Departments).

[citation needed] Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center is a level III (highest rank in China) and class A hospital.

In 2004, SYSUCC has set up a joint laboratory with Karolinska Institutet of Sweden for research in immunotherapy, molecular virology and oncological epidemiology.

In 2006, Sun Yat-sen University Ophthalmic Center was approved to be the State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, the only one of its kind in China.

Developed over a century, the collection is composed of titles in the humanities and social sciences, primarily in English, but also in Western foreign languages.

[65][66] Sun Yat-sen University has established five Confucius Institutes since 2006:[citation needed] According to statistics of the Essential Science Indicators[67] (ESI) database from January 2003 to February 2013, the total number of citations of papers in 15 disciplines of Sun Yat-sen University entered global top 1%.

[73] The south campus of Sun Yat-sen University is located in Haizhu District, Guangzhou, and covers a total area of 1.17 square kilometers.

[citation needed] Add: Tang Jia Wan, Zhuhai 519082, P. R. China[citation needed] The Shenzhen Campus is located at Guangming District in Shenzhen City, and covers an area of 3.217 square kilometers, it's under construction from 2016 and proposed to open at September 2018.

[75][76] Since 2017, at least 36 billionaires graduated from Sun Yat-sen University, putting it the first place in the South Central China region and 7th nationally.