Introduction to Institute of History
Institute of History was founded in 2003. Currently, there are eleven faculty members, including 2 professors, 5 associate professors and 4 lecturers. In recent years, Institute of History has actively carried out multi-channel academic exchanges and participated in the development of interdisciplinary platforms. Institute of History has received a number of funds from the National Social Science Fund of China, the Humanities and Social Sciences Fund of the Ministry of Education, the Beijing Social Sciences Fund and the Humanities and Social Sciences Fund of CUPL. Academic achievements of the Institute have drawn attention from across the Chinese academic fields. Institute of History is currently mainly responsible for the training of postgraduates majoring in modern and contemporary Chinese history, social and cultural history as well as history of China-foreign relations. Teachers of the Institute of History also provide different history courses for undergraduate students of CUPL.
Master's Program in Chinese History
The master's program in Chinese history has four sub-programs - Ancient Chinese History, Modern Chinese History, the Study of Historical Documents and Specialized History. Modern Chinese History and the Study of Historical Documents are fundamental programs at the university level. This program is supported by excellent teachers from the Institute of History and the Institute for Chinese Ancient Legal Documents. There are currently 6 professors, 8 associate professors and 4 lecturers working on this program. 17 of them have doctoral degrees. Professor Jin Yan'sReversal of the Red Wheel: A Retrospect of the Mind of Russian Intellectualswon the “Top Ten Best Books" on Sina's China Book List in 2011. Professor Xu Shihong'sComplete Works of Shen Jiabenwon the 6th Outstanding Achievement Award of Scientific Research in Colleges and Universities of China. Professor Li Xuemei won the first prize of the 4thQian Duansheng's Law Research Achievement Award.
Chinese Modern History
Chinese Modern History is a key program at CUPL. In 2005, experts of Beijing Academic Degree Assessment Committee evaluated the program of Chinese Modern History. Institute of History was approved to enroll postgraduate students into this program, starting from the autumn of 2007. The faculties working on this program, including 2 professors, 3 associate professors and 2 lecturers, have rich experience in both teaching and academic research. There are four research directions in this program: modern politics and law, modern social history, modern ideological history and modern ocean coastal history of China. Students graduated from this program found themselves well-received by employers. Some of them continued to study for a PhD degree, while others took up positions in government organizations, scientific research institutes, press and publishing institutions and so on.
Specialized History
Specialized History is a postgraduate program led by the academic leader and supported by famous teachers and experts of the subject both in and outside the university. There are 1 professor, 3 associate professors and 2 lecturers working on this program, who have abundant high-level research achievements and rich teaching experience in related fields. In addition, programs related to Specialized History at CUPL, such as the ones in sociology, law, politics and international relations, enjoy high academic status in China, which is beneficial to the sharing of resources among different disciplines. At present, there are five research directions in this program: regional social history, legal social history, women's history, social and cultural history, and history of China-foreign relations.
Ancient Chinese History
Ancient Chinese history is an important part of traditional history, and this program aims at exploring the truth of ancient Chinese history, the historical characteristics of each historical stage and the law of historical development in China. This program requires not only a profound knowledge in literature, but also certain knowledge in ancient Chinese characters. Faculties working on this program have rich research experience on the history of Qin and Han Dynasties, Ming and Qing Dynasties and legal history. They have hosted and completed a number of projects funded by the National Philosophy and Social Sciences Fund, the Ministry of Justice (Legal Construction and Theoretical Research Projects), and the Ministry of Education (211 Projects). Faculties have rich experience in teaching and personnel training in this field. There are two research directions for this major: the History of Qin and Han Dynasties, and the History of Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The Study of Historical Documents
The Study of Historical Documents is a key program at CUPL. The program is supported by the Institute of Ancient Chinese Legal Documents, which has a history of 30 years. Its research achievements are distinct. This program focuses on arousing students' interest and cultivating their research ability in ancient literature by a comparative study of a variety of documents, historical materials and historic sites as well as documents and cultural relics. This program has its own Reference Room and independently published academic journals. The main research directions include unearthed legal documents and traditional handed down legal documents.
