24式太极拳是面向西北农林科技大学本科生所开设的一年级体育必修课，为全校本科生开设的体育选修课。24式太极拳即简化太极拳。简化太极拳是中华人民共和国成立后推行的简易太极拳套路。1956年在杨式太极拳的基础上，删去繁难和重复的动作，选取24式，编成“简化太极拳”。它的主要特点是轻松柔和、连贯均匀、圆活自然、协调完整。太极拳适合任何年龄、性别、体型的人练习。
本课程的理论部分主要是介绍太极拳的起源、发展、特点和对身体锻炼的作用；实践部分主要包括：太极拳的基本功练习、基本动作练习和整套动作的学习等。
目前，24式太极拳主要针对一年级学生开设，培养学生进行体育锻炼的方法和习惯，为学生终身体育锻炼意识奠定基础。
The Course Description of the 24-style Taijiquan Course
The 24-style Taijiquan is a compulsory physical course for the freshmen of Northwest A&F University and it is also a selective physical course for all the undergraduates. The 24-style Taijiquan is in fact the Simplified Taijiquan which is a simple set of taijiquan spreading after the foundation of PRC. In 1956, the Simplified Taijiquan was worked out on the basis of Yang Style Taijiquan by removing its difficult and repetitive acts and choosing its 24 styles. 24-style Taijiquan is mainly characteristic of relaxation and gentleness, coherence and consistence, flexibility and easiness, and coordination and harmony. Doing Taijiquan is suitable to people of any age, gender or build.
The theories of this course are mainly concerned with taijiquan’s origin, development, features and its influence on physical exercise. The hands-on practices mainly include the learning of basic skills, the practices of basic skills, the learning of the whole set of acts, etc.
At present, the 24-style Taijiquan Course is mainly open to the freshmen. It aims to impart students with the methods and habits of physical exercise and to lay a foundation for students to set up a sense of life-long exercise.