Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

History

Founded in 1978, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was approved by Central Government top leaders in the form of Executive Order. Different from other graduate schools run by university or college, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences functions directly under the highest academic authority of Chinese social sciences research — the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) — one of the largest state-run research organizations serving as the most important think tank set up to provide policy-making suggestions in social, national and international domains.

Originally, the purpose of GSCASS was to construct a Prospect Research Faculty Incubator — as its founding spirit may suggest — instrumental in providing qualified first-class research backups to aid the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. After 30 years’ development, however, the Graduate School has now established its prestigious achievement in elite education for official and unofficial needs. A high percentage of GSCASS graduates entered the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of Chinese government and research organizations, playing leading roles in academic research, policy-making, and social movement. The establishment of GSCASS made a huge impact on Chinese humanity and social science education at the dawn of the reform and opening Up (also known as the Economic reform in the People's Republic of China).

Presidents

1. Zhou Yang (周扬) 1978-1982
2. Wen Qize (温济泽) 1982-1985
3. Hu Sheng (胡绳) 1985-1990
4. Jiang Liu (江流) 1990-1991
5. Pu Shan (浦山) 1991-1994
6. Fang Keli (方克立) 1994-2000
7. Li Tieying (李铁映) 2000-2002
8. Wu Yin (武寅) 2002-2007
9. Liu Yingqiu (刘迎秋) (president incumbent) 2007-

Academic organizations

GSCASS was born to be prestigious because of the outstanding academic resources the CASS has selected and collected from nationwide. It has so far grown up with the widest coverage in research and education spanning humanity and social science areas and has defined its leading momentum among all graduate schools in China. By now, the GSCASS was authorized to confer Doctoral and Master research degree in 11 disciplines, 167 sub-disciplines of humanity and social science. Original and independent research is a hallmark of GSCASS.

GSCASS is composed of Faculty Committee, Academic Council, Academic Degree Evaluation Committee, six Departments, 38 Schools and over 900 faculty members. Typically, a faculty member has at most one student to advise in three years. This one-to-one system between teacher and student encourages graduate students to be involved in important research programs — usually waged by public. Students are free to embrace more significant experiences combining the theoretical and practical, as well as deeper emotional communication under such an arrangement.

In international communication, the GSCASS has established strong academic exchange programs with prestigious graduate schools around the world. Overseas programs for non-Chinese speaking students began running in 1985. The number of degree students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan kept surging from its first opening in 2000.

Compared with other famous graduate schools run by universities, the scale of GSCASS graduates has been very small. Up to June 2008, the Academic Degree Evaluation Committee of GSCASS had conferred 2,574 doctoral degrees, 4,198 master's degrees and 339 professional master's degrees. In recent years, The GSCASS enrolls about 260 Doctoral candidates and 182 Master candidates annually. Students from the mainland of China qualified for application are required to obtain outstanding scores in National Master Entrance Examination or Doctoral Entrance Examination the school holds annually. So far, all GSCASS Master's degree candidates are fully financial aided. Ph.D. candidates, due to the latest policy, however, were covered by fund support in a fixed percentage to encourage top students to compete extra financial aid by outstanding performance in academic research.

Campus life

The campus was in Wangjing area, northeast of the Beijing city, adjacent to Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing Youth Politics College and China Medical University. Small in scale, it was well integrated and fully equipped, exuding a kind of 1980s’ spirit and confidence which is rare today.

By the end of 2009, the new advanced campus site in the Beijing Liangxiang University Park of Higher Education was to come into service. The former campus site functions as an auxiliary facility till then.

Committee members and senior professors of DPSS, CAS (1955)

1. Ji Xianlin (季羡林), Studies of India, Sanskrit
2. Chen Hansheng (陈翰笙), History of Asia
3. Liu Danian (刘大年), Modern History of China
4. Lu shuxiang (吕叔湘), Chinese Grammar Studies
5. Luo Gengmo (骆耕漠), Economics
6. Qian Junrui (钱俊瑞), Rural Economics
7. Xia Nai (夏鼐), Archeology and Field Excavation
8. Xu Dixin (许涤新), Plutonomy
9. Yu Guangyuan (于光远), Plutonomy and Philosophy
10. Feng Zhi (冯至), Chinese Classical Literature and German Philosophy
11. He Lin (贺麟), Philosophy
12. Yin Da (尹达), Neolithic Archeology
13. Zhang Youyu (张友渔), Law

Party and state leaders

Writers

Interschool cooperation

1. Moody Bible Institute, United States
2. Far Eastern State University, Russia
3. University of Alberta, Canada
4. Keimyung University, Korea
5. University of Illinois, United States
6. University of South Australia, Australia
7. Waseda University, Japan
8. Erasmus University, Netherlands
9. University of Lausanne, Swiss
10. University of California, Los Angeles, United States
11. Aichi University, Japan
12. Daejin University, Korea
13. Morehead State University, United States
14. University of Twente, Netherlands
15. Umeå University, Sweden

Events

1. August 21, 1978: Top leaders of the Central Government of China, Ye Jianying, Deng Xiaoping, Wu Lanfu and Wang Dongxing,etc. signed the bill of The Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences into executive order. The first humanity and social science graduate school of China was thence established.
2. Sept. 21st, 1981- the 1st Commencement of the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was held at the National Museum of Chinese History.
3. July 17, 1982: The 1st Degree Conferring Ceremony of the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was held at the Great Hall of the People).
4. August 15, 1984: Construction of Chaoyang campus (the campus currently in use) broke earth.
5. October 8, 1988: The Ten Year Anniversary of the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was held at the Hall of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
6. 1989: The Political Unrest of 1989 in Beijing made great impact to the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The GSCASS was suspended from enrolling for three years which resulted in a roughly nine-year depression to the school.
7. Sept. 1st, 1998: General Sectary, President Jiang Zemin addressed to the Twenty Year Anniversary of the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, “To Build the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences a Prominent Incubator for Talents of Humanity and Social Sciences.”
8. Sept. 25, 1998: The Twenty Year Anniversary of the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was held at the Great Hall of the People).
9. July 6, 2000: The 1st Commencement for International Students of the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
10. April 26, 2005: The 1st Opening Ceremony for MPA Graduate Students.
11. April 26, 2008: New campus site in Beijing Liangxiang University Park (University) of Higher Education broke earth.
12. Sept. 27, 2008: The Thirty Year Anniversary of the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.