Eastern China Normal University’s Philosophy Department and Graduate Programs, Shanghai, China

 

The Department of Philosophy at East China Normal University is a key center of the study and education of philosophy in mainland China. The distinguished faculty is comprised of 18 full professors, 17 associate professors, and a number of assistant professors. The department runs 4 Ph.D. programs (Chinese philosophy, Western philosophy, Marxist philosophy and Logic) and 9 Master programs (Marxist philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Western philosophy, logic, ethics, philosophy of science and technology, history of natural science, religious studies, and philosophy of management). The department also has a Ministry of Education recognized undergraduate program for philosophy majors. Since 1995, the department’s Ph.D. and Master programs accept students from around the globe, including the U.S.A., Switzerland, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

 

Administration Requirements

An international student, who has a bachelor degree in philosophy or other related major, is allowed to apply for the master degree. An international student, who has a master degree in philosophy or other related major, is allowed to apply for the Ph. D. degree.

 

Programs in Detail

The 2-year MA program consists of 2 common courses (Chinese Language, Chinese Culture or Chinese Civilization; 7 credits), 3 required major courses (9 credits), 5 elective courses (10 credits) and a MA dissertation of 10,000-20,000 words in length. The students are required to choose 3 major elective courses in Chinese philosophy and 2 other courses given by anthropology, politics or other MA programs. The 4-year Ph.D. program requires 15 credits of course work and a Ph.D. dissertation of 40,000-50,000 words in length.   
This program enlists highly qualified teachers whose focus is on the nature of philosophical problems and trains students how to utilize traditional Chinese resources to resolve contemporary philosophical problems. Through selected readings in the history of Chinese philosophy, this program’s courses help students cultivate a specialized knowledge of Chinese philosophy and explore its significance for the overall advancement of contemporary philosophy.

The required major courses are: Professional Chinese for Chinese Philosophy, Selected Readings in Confucianism and Selected Readings in Daoism. Three elective major courses can be chosen from the following: Neo-Taoism in the Wei Jin Period, Neo-Confucianism in the Song Period, Selected Topics in Chinese Buddhism, Selected Topics in Modern Chinese Philosophy, Metaphysics and Chinese Philosophy Tradition, Epistemology and Chinese Philosophy Tradition, Moral Philosophy and Chinese Philosophy Tradition, Linguistic Philosophy and Chinese Philosophy Tradition. The courses are offered either in Fall or Spring.

 

—Paul J. D’Ambrosio, Eastern China Normal University, Shanghai, China