School Facts

Fudan University’s School of Philosophy is one of the earliest in the nation to be established after People’s Republic of China was founded, with a history of more than 60 years. The pioneering contributors include well-known professors Quyuan Hu, Zenglong Quan, Beiming Yan, Quichang Wang and Guiru Chen, who laid the foundation for the academic development of the School of Philosophy. Due to the unwavering efforts carried out by several generations of scholars, the School of Philosophy at Fudan University has become fertile ground for philosophical research and talent development, characterized by a complete range of disciplines, supportive and professional settings, distinctive research areas and strong faculty. The fine tradition includes "connecting the East and the West, concentrating on academics, fostering ideas, leading the way, continuing the legacy and serving our society." School of Philosophy aims to ‘build the first-rate disciplines, training first-class talents, producing top-quality research and making world-class contributions’ in the new era.

Academic Strengths

The School of Philosophy at Fudan University is a research base recognized in the nation for talent development, for teaching and research in Liberal Arts field. The Philosophy Studies is a special first-rate discipline nationally, while Marxist Philosophy, Western Philosophy and Chinese Philosophy are rated as second disciplines. In the fourth round of discipline evaluation conducted nationwide, School of Philosophy was ranked as an "A+ discipline" along with Peking University; later in 2017, it was rated as a "first-class discipline" by the Ministry of Education; in 2018, the school was included in the top disciplines by Shanghai municipality. In 2021 QS World University Rankings, Fudan’s Philosophy Studies is ranked 31st in the world and its Religion Studies is ranked 41st in the world. In addition, the School has one key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences selected by the Ministry of Education. The School of Philosophy is equipped with a complete set of secondary disciplines under the primary discipline of philosophy.  In recent years the School has established the first-in-the-nation Department of Philosophy of Science and Department of Logic, and also the first Department of Philosophy of Art, creating a solid developmental trend combining all five major disciplinary clusters: Philosophy, Religious Studies, Classical Chinese Thoughts, Philosophy of Sciences and Logic, and Philosophy of Art.

Talent Development

Fudan’s School of Philosophy is committed to develop and to train outstanding academic talents who will possess excellent philosophical skills, develop broad international vision, and acquire the ability of theoretical thinking. In addition, the School nurtures multi-talented liberal arts scholars who with excellent philosophical skills, fine academic, theoretical background and superior practical capability. Since establishment, undergraduate education has been the top priority of the department.  After more than 60 years of exploration, the School has gradually form a holistic environment with unique Fudan character.

To facilitate talent development, Fudan’s School of Philosophy offers a complete academic curriculum, comprehensive teaching and learning, the school emphasizes students' international perspective as well as hands-on ability. Currently there are five core areas being offered: philosophy, religious study, classical Chinese philosophy studies, philosophy of science and logic, and philosophy of art. The School of Philosophy is committed to building a strong foundation, focusing on the classics, broadening the fields, and constantly innovating. The School has formed a rich and tiered curriculum. All faculty members offer courses to undergraduates and implement a full tutoring system, with each professor assigned six to seven students. The School attaches great importance to enhance academic, international perspective and has established the first-in-the-nation undergraduate dual-degree program in philosophy with the University of Birmingham in the UK. The School has also forged long-term student and faculty exchange programs with 11 top international universities, including Roland University in Budapest in Hungary, Ghent University in Belgium, the University of Vienna in Austria, Ca' Foscari University of Venice and Free University of Berlin in Germany. Every year, the School invites international renowned philosophy scholars to visit Fudan and to teach four to five intensive English-speaking courses and give more than 60 English-speaking lectures, providing the students with rich resources and platforms to open their international perspectives and to participate in international academic exchange program.

In 1994, Fudan’s Philosophy department became a designated base for training talents, highlighting its teaching and research in liberal arts. In 2019, Fudan Philosophy was appointed by the Ministry of Education as a key site for undergraduate education. Fudan’s Philosophy received three national teaching achievement awards in 2005, 2009 and 2014. There are several courses and academic projects winning national and Shanghai awards of excellence.

Fudan’s Philosophy department has a strong faculty team, including 68 research and teaching fellows, 2 Senior Distinguished Professors of Arts, 6 Distinguished Changjiang Professors and 3 Junior Changjiang Scholars endowed by the Ministry of Education, 1 recipient of Talents of Philosophy as part of the national talent plan, 1 recipient of Talents of Philosophy in Shanghai, 2 Shanghai Eastern Scholars, and 7 Distinguished Professors appointed by Fudan. The School of Philosophy has a team of accomplished faculty, including Fangtong Liu, Xiaoming Wu and Shipeng Zou who are members of the Academic Evaluation Committee of the State Council.  Professor Xiaoming Wu received the Baogang Outstanding Teacher Award in 2013, and won the Teaching Master award as part of the National Ten Thousand People Plan in 2017, and also was awarded the National Model Teacher title in 2019.  Professor Xiangchen Sun received the Baogang Outstanding Teacher Award in 2018.  In addition, the School has two Shanghai Famous Teacher award recipients, six Shanghai Yucai Award winners, eight Baogang Excellent Teacher Award recipients, and fifteen university-level Famous Teachers and Outstanding Teachers.

Career Development

Fudan’s philosophy students have superior philosophical education with solid breadth, depth and outstanding learning ability, they are extremely competitive in higher academic pursuits and career market. About one-third of the undergraduate students choose to advance their studies in Chinese universities such as Peking University, Fudan University, Renmin University and Tsinghua University; about one-third choose to advance in top international universities, such as Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Columbia University, Edinburgh University, New York University and others; about one-third enter government agencies and various enterprises including Alibaba, Baidu, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Ernst & Young Consulting, Unilever, Fosun Group and other internationally renowned companies.