Shanghai International Studies University


The Shanghai International Studies University is a Chinese university specialising in languages, literary studies, comparative culture and diplomatic studies. It is one of the top eight foreign studies universities in China, and is a Chinese Ministry of Education Double First Class Discipline University, with Double First Class status in certain disciplines.
SISU is known for being one of the earliest institutions where China’s higher education in foreign languages took shape. SISU was among the first batch of schools admitted to the Project 211. Like its rival Beijing Foreign Studies University, SISU is known for its strict admission selection. The Ministry of Education has designated SISU's English Literature a National Key Subject along with the English Literature of Peking University.

History

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the East China office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the government of the Shanghai Municipality decided to establish an institute for higher education in Russian studies to cultivate qualified diplomats and translators for international affairs. With the support of Mayor Chen Yi, the Shanghai Russian School was officially established in December 1949. Jiang Chunfang, one of the most famous Russian translators in China and the first chief editor of the Encyclopedia of China, was appointed the school's first president.
In 1950, the department of English was established and the college was incorporated as the foreign language school affiliated to the East China People's Revolution University. The department of oriental language and literature was founded in April, 1951 and languages as Burmese, Vietnamese, Indonesian had respectively been introduced to teaching.
Later in 1952, a nationwide restructuring of institutes of higher education began in China, and the department of oriental language and literature was incorporated into Peking University. The college was renamed as Shanghai Russian College that specialise in teaching Russian language. The university was used to be widely known as Shanghai Foreign Language Institute since its expansion in 1956 and became a national key university approved by the State Council in 1963 with the department of Russian, English, French, German, Japanese, Arabic and Spanish.
Approved by the Ministry of Education in 1994, it was officially renamed as Shanghai International Studies University. In the same year, it was listed as one of the first colleges and universities jointly supervised by the national Ministry of Education and the Municipality of Shanghai. In 1996, SISU passed the evaluation process of Project 211 directed by the Ministry of Education, and became one of the nation's “100 key universities for the 21st Century.”

Academics

Schools and Departments

Ranking

Shanghai International studies university is ranked the 76th in the QS BRICS 2016, the 142nd in the QS Asian University Rankings, and its linguistics is ranked 151-200 in the QS ranking by subject.

Graduate Education

There are 33 Master's Programs: Adult Education, Ancient Chinese Literature, Arabic Language and Literature, Asian-African Languages and Literatures, Chinese and Foreign Political Institution, Chinese Linguistics and Philology, Communication, Comparative Literature and World Literature, Corporate Management, Curriculum and Teaching Methodology, Diplomacy, Education in Ideology and Politics, Educational Technology, English Language and Literature, European Languages and Literatures, Finance, French Language and Literature, Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, German Language and Literature, International Politics, International Relations, International Trade, Japanese Language and Literature, Journalism, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature, Russian Language and Literature, Spanish Language and Literature, Technology Economy and Management, Translation Studies; Translation and Interpreting, Business Administration, Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages.
There are 12 Doctoral Programs: English Language and Literature, Russian Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, German Language and Literature, Japanese Language and Literature, Arabic Language and Literature, Asian and African Languages and Literatures, Translation Studies, International Relations, Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, International Politics, Diplomacy.
The Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation of SISU is awarded the highest ranking by AIIC, the International Association of Conference Interpreters, as the only Asian university among the 15 top professional conference interpreting schools in the world.

Global Presence

The University has entered into partnerships with 286 universities and institutions in 55 countries and regions.

Campus

SISU has two campuses, one in Hongkou District and one in Songjiang District.

Hongkou Campus

The Hongkou campus is located in the center of Shanghai, covering 16.9 hectares.

Songjiang Campus

The Songjiang campus is in Shanghai's Songjiang New District, covering an area of 53.3 hectares.

Notable people

Notable alumni