Contact
Zhang Meiyin
Email: zhangmeiyin@fudan.edu.cn
Tel: +86-21-65643051
Liao Zhesi
Email: liaozhesi@fudan.edu.cn
Tel: +86-21-55665470
The School of Social Development and Public Policy (SSDPP) of Fudan University prioritizes on education and research of sociology, one of the first-level discipline category announced by the state, and distribute resources over psychology, public management, demographic resources, environmental economics and other interdisciplinary subjects. The SSDPP comprises 4 departments and 2 research institutes: the Department of Sociology, the Department of Social Work, the Department of Psychology, the Department of Social Management and Social Policy, the Institute of Population Research and the Institute of Anthropological and Ethnological Studies. Post-doctoral fellowships in sociological studies are provided at the SSDPP. Also, the sociology discipline category at Fudan University is selected into Project 985, Project 211 and the “Double First-Class University Plan” by the state from which Fudan’s sociology programs have been receiving strong support for their comprehensive development. In the 4th Round of Discipline Evaluation conducted by the Ministry of Education which assessed the performance of first-level disciplines in universities across the country, Fudan was rated A class in sociology. According to the Essential Science Indicators (ESI), some of our research in sub-fields of sociology have entered the first league in the world. According to the 2015-2018 QS World University Rankings, Fudan University has retained its status as the top 51-100 in the world, top 10 in Asia and top 3 in Mainland China for sociology.
History
The SSDPP of Fudan University was founded in November 2004, after the merger of the Department of Sociology and the Institute of Population Research.
The Department of Sociology of Fudan University was founded in 1925. Since its early years, the department has been teaching and conducting research in areas including sociology theory, social psychology, population research, social work, social policy and social security amongst others. The department was joined by a group of influential scholars back then such as Sun Benwen, Ying Chengyi, Yan Xinzhe and Lei Jieqiong. The department reopened in1988 following the end of the Cultural Revolution.
The Institute of Population Research, previously the Population Research Office of the Department of Economics established in 1979, was officially unveiled in 1984. Scholars including Wu Feidan and Gui Shizuo worked there.
In 2004, we set up the Department of Social Work and Department of Social Management and Social Policy, reopened the Department of Psychology and merged them with the Department of Sociology and the Institute of Population Research. In 2014, we upgraded the Teaching and Research Office of Anthropology of the Department of Sociology set up in 2006 to the Institute of Anthropological and Ethnological Studies.
The SSDPP is honored to have Peng Xizhe, Liang Hong and Liu Xin as the deans and Shen Lanfang, Yan Feng, Gu Donghui and Yin Chen as the School’s party secretaries over the years.
Mission and Vision
The SSDPP upholds the principle of “academic excellence, knowledge and truth, integrity, and caring for people” (in Chinese:“崇尚学术，求索真知；明德新民，止于至善”).
The School puts academic excellence at the core of its operation, committed to creating a favorable environment for truth, academics and talents and forming sociological schools of thoughts with Chinese characteristics from a global perspective. We pursue truth with human sympathy, explore theories and practices with a cross-cultural approach, and conduct research for people’s well-being. We aim at becoming one of the leading research institutes in China, Asia and the world.
We regard cultivating students in all aspects as our first duty and have become one of the most attractive places to students both from home and abroad.
We also work as a policy advisory institution that serves the broader society.
Education
The School has the complete right to confer doctorate and master’s degrees in the first-level discipline category of sociology and master's degrees in first-level discipline category of psychology. In the sociology discipline category, we offer doctoral and master programs in sociology, anthropology, demography, social psychology, social work, gerontology, etc. There are also doctoral and master programs in population resources and environmental economics, doctoral programs in social management and social policy, and master programs in social security. Our undergraduate candidates can choose one of the three majors: sociology, social work and psychology; they can opt for a second major which is public service management (social management direction).
The School offers Master of Applied Psychology (MAP), Master of Social Work (MSW) programs, the fully English-taught Master of Chinese Studies program, and Master of Social Policy (MSP) programs co-run by Fudan University and Washington University in St. Louis.
Faculty
Currently, we have 76 full-time teaching and research staff including 31 professors as well as 10 administrative staff. More than half of the teaching members hold a PhD degree from overseas universities.
We have 3 experts with special government allowance from the State Council, 1 chair professor, 5 Ministry of Education Cross-Century/New-CenturyTalents, 1 “Four First-Batch” talent and Cultural Master of the Publicity Department, CCCPC. We also have 2 “Linjun Talents” at the Shanghai Municipal level, 3 “Shuguang(meaning dawn) Scholars”, 4 “Social Sciences New Figures”, 1 “Bajian Youth Talent” at the Shanghai Municipal level and over 20 “Pujiang Talents”.
A number of our teaching faculty are also leaders of Chinese Sociological Association, China Population Association, China Social Work Association, China Association of Education in Socialwork, Shanghai Sociological Association, Shanghai Social Worker Association, Shanghai Psychological Society, Shanghai Social Psychology Association, etc.; some are designated as consultants for state ministries or the Shanghai Municipal Government.
Research
The School has 6 subject/researchareas which are interrelated but each have distinctive features.
(1) Social Transformation and Sociological Theories
This subject area at Fudan focuses on empirical studies oriented by theoretical innovation and system analysis, making trailblazing contributions to and earning a good reputation in thestudies of sociological theory, social stratification and mobility, community studies, culture and religion, new media and society.
(2) Population and Social Development
This subject area at Fudan focuses on social policy research concerning the relationships between population and overall national strength enhancement, population and health, and demographic adjustment and population mobility, taking a leading position in fields related to Chinese population studies, such as population policy, aging population, population migration, urbanization studies and sustainable development.
(3) Anthropology and Field Practice
This subject area at Fudan focuses on ethnography based on field experience, spreading significant influence across in medical humanities and health practice, linguistic anthropology, ethnic and cultural identity, near-border ethnicity studies and folk religious studies.
(4) Social Psychology and Social Cognition
This subject area at Fudan focuses on experiment-based approach to the studies of social psychology and social cognition, making great achievements in the studies of social justice and social mentality in a society in transition.
(5) Social Policy and Social Governance
We have provided important decision-making consultation in terms of the medical care system, gender mainstreaming, household registration system reforms and social risk management.
(6) Social Work and Social Security
This subject area at Fudan focuses on studies on the evaluation of medical and elderly social workers and welfare institutions, laying a solid foundation for further studies on social work and social security and providing guidance for social work practice and social welfare.
In the “Double First-Class”Project, sociology, as a state-confirmed first-level discipline has been included by Fudan University in itsplan to build first-class disciplines in the world. Under the guidance of the overall planning of the university, the SSDPP will follow the basic idea of “1 discipline, 6 directions, 2 key areas and 2 supporting platforms”, and promote the comprehensive development of all of our disciplines through a multi-faceted approach. The various subjects of the SSDPP work together in one force, directing the majority of our streng that the development of sociology, the first-level discipline and giving full play to psychology, public administration, population resources and environmental economics discipline advantage. The two key areas of studies, “social transformation and sociological theory” and “population and social development”, are endowed with support from major subjects and interdisciplinary advantages. In this effort, we established the Center of Social Transformation and Governance Studies and the Center of Population and Development Policy Studies to offer more opportunities for various subjects to achieve their potential in collaborative way.
The SSDPP has made influential achievements in sociology theory, social stratification and mobility, community studies, culture and religion, education and health, new media and society, population and urbanization, aging and fertility policy, social attitude and social cognition, social welfare and policy, medical work and family social work.In the sociology category, the number of theses published on SSCI/CSSCI journals, the number of highly cited papers by ESI and the number of publications have remained among the top in the country for the past decade.Our teaching faculty and students have won dozens of international and domestic awards and honorary titlesand presided over more than 100 domestically and internationally funded projects for their contributions to this field. The periodical publications edited by our teaching facultyincludeJournal of Sociology, FudanDevelopment and Policy Review, FudanAnthropology Review, and FudanSocial Work Review.
Students
The School aims to cultivate quality talents of related majors and inspire them to be ambitious and rational, think independently and see from a global perspective. Our graduates are committed to academic innovation and independent research. They develop the ability to analyze and solve practical problems with relevant theories and methods and become leading figures with good reputation in academic, political and business circles at home and abroad.
The School has developed a comprehensive talent training system that matches those of first-class universities in the world. At present, we have more than 400 undergraduate students, 140 postgraduates students pursuing science degrees, 340 postgraduate students pursuing professional degrees and 120 students in doctoral programs. We have cultivated more than 3,000 undergraduates, more than 1,000 master’s and doctoral students. Our alumni spread all over the world as they are favored by employers for their strong innovative minds, solid academic foundation, global vision, outstanding work performance, team spirit and other admirable qualities.
International Cooperation
We are dedicated to international exchanges, setting up programs for faculty exchange, student exchange and cooperative research projects with 20 world-renowned universities including Harvard University, Yale University, University of California Berkeley, the London School of Economics, Washington University in St. Louis, Boston University, Queen’s University in Canada, and the National University of Singapore.
Industrial Transfer
The SSDPP is currently supported by more than 10 state ministries and commissions, and the Shanghai Municipal Government for the running of Fudan’s research centers, platforms and bases. We have an advanced social investigation laboratory, social work laboratory, psychology laboratory, social policy simulation laboratory and several other investigation and social practice bases. These platforms, centers and bases, focusing on social transformation and social governance, have made outstanding contributions to academic development, policy making, social risk management and personnel training. The project of the Shanghai Community Research (SCS) and the Fudan Yangtze River Delta Social Transformation Survey (FYRST) has provided important statistical support for academic studies and social services. Over the years, we have submitted a large number of reports conducive to decision making to the state and local governments, enterprises and institutions and relevant departments, which manifests the importance of our advisory role.
