On June 1, 1953, Beihang began the construction of its own campus in Baiyan Village, Haidian District, which was at that time in the Northwestern suburb of Beijing, merely a piece of farmland without any road nearby. Despite the harsh conditions, thousands of builders managed to construct 60,000 square meters of buildings within 6 months, making it possible for all students and some of the faculty to move to the new campus and start their daily work and study in October, 1953.

In June, 1954, Wu Guang was appointed as the first President of the Beijing Institute of Aeronautics. In the same year, the Institute added two departments — the Department of Aircraft Equipment and the Department of Aeronautical Materials — and seven majors — Aircraft Meters and Automatic Equipment, Aircraft Electrical Equipment, Special Equipment, Metallography and Heat Treating, Casting, Press Working, and Welding—to meet the demand of the aviation industry.

From 1956 to 1957, as required by China’s 12-year Science and Technology Planning, Beihang became the first university to set up majors of Guided Missile, Management, and those that combines science with engineering, such as Aerodynamics. Beihang also established the majors of Missile Design, Liquid Rocket Engine, Radio Equipment, Aeronautical Engineering Economy, and Instrument Technology. Notably, the Department of Aeronautical Engineering Economy in Beihang was unique among all colleges and universities of aeronautics in China at that time. Different from those in the Soviet model, the above new majors came into being to meet the specific demand of the development of China’s aviation industry. Besides, three Laboratories of Aerodynamics, Aircraft Structural Mechanics, and Jet Engine Principles were founded.

In 1958, Beihang, following the general line and guiding principle for education of the Communist Party of China, put forward a series of new measures. It conducted work-study programs, promoted and practiced the combination of teaching, scientific research, design and production, and started the project of aviation model development. With joint efforts of all faculty members and students, Beijing 1, the light passenger airliner approved by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, was developed successfully in 100 days. The test flight of the airliner succeeded on September 24, 1958, and another test flight took place later on the 2,500-kilometer route between Beijing and Shanghai. In the meantime, the whole school managed to develop China’s first sounding rocket, Beijing 2, which completed a successful launch test in Baicheng on September 22 in the same year, as well as China’s first unmanned aircraft, Beijing 5. By adding the self-developed unmanned aircraft control system to the Soviet Antonov An-2, China’s first drone made its successful maiden flight on September 25, 1958. In the same year, Beihang set up the majors of Solver as well as Rocket Ground Equipment and Launchers. The next year, Beihang established majors of Aeronautical Nonmetallic Materials, Corrosion and Surface Protection, Radio Navigation, Radar, Telecontrol and Telemetry, and Atomic Aircraft Engine Design. Two laboratories of Rocket Engines and Missile Control System were founded, formulating a center for further scientific research together with the previous ones. In May, 1959, the CPC Central Committee issued a decision to name a batch of key universities among others, in which Beihang, with its 7-year hard work, was recognized together with other 15 universities as the first batch of key universities in the New China.

In 1960, Beihang established the Department of Aircraft Nuclear Power, Aircraft Manufacturing Technology, and Engineering Physics. The Department of Aircraft Automation was founded in 1961. Till then Beihang had set up 10 departments and 35 majors.

In 1977, China resumed the national college entrance examination. The next year, the graduate admission examination was resumed and Beihang began to recruit undergraduate students. 21 majors were divided into 6 groups, namely, Aircraft Design (composed of three majors: Airplane Design, Winged Missile Design, and Aircraft High-Altitude Equipment Design), Mathematical Mechanics of Aeronautical Engineering (composed of two majors: Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics, and Aircraft Structural Mechanics and Strength), Aero-Engine Design (composed of two majors: Aircraft Engine Design, and Solid Rocket Engine Design), Aeronautical Materials and Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering (composed of five majors: Aeronautical Metallic Materials and Heat Treatment, Aeronautical Nonmetallic Materials and Forming Technology, Metal Corrosion and Protection, Aero-Welding, and Aircraft Manufacturing Engineering), Aircraft Automatic Control ( composed of five majors: Aviation Gyro Instrument and Inertial Navigation, Aircraft Instrument and Sensors, Aeronautical Hydraulic Pressure and Air Pressure Accessories, Aeronautical Electric Motors and Electric Apparatus, and Aircraft Automatic Control), Aeronautical Electronics and Computing Technology (composed of four majors: Telecontrol and Telemetry, Electronic Computer, Radar and GPS, and Microwave Technology).

In July 1978, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering was founded. In November, the Department of Manufacturing Engineering was re-established.

In April of 1988, the State Education Committee of China approved the name change from Beijing Institute of Aeronautics to Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Later on the English name was changed into Beihang University).

In 1989, Beihang University was listed among the 14 key universities in the country during China’s 8th Five-Year Plan Period (1991-1995).

In 1997, Beihang was chosen as one of the universities in Project 211.

In 2001, Beihang became one of the universities in Project 985.

In 2010, Beihang was admitted into the Plan for Educating and Training Outstanding Engineers of China.

In 2011, Beihang was chosen as a member of the China’s “Mount Everest Plan”—a pilot project for the cultivation of top students in basic disciplines.

In 2012, Beihang celebrated its 60th anniversary with the admission into Project 2011 of China, a national project launched to improve the innovation capacity of the higher education sector after Project 211 and Project 985.