buaa was among china's first 16 key universities in the 1950s, and was among the top 15 for priority development during china's 7th five-year plan period (1986–1990). during the 8th five-year plan it was listed among the top 14 for priority development, and at the start of the 9th five-year plan buaa was among the first batch of 15 universities in project 211 for higher education.