Shanghai International Studies University (SHISU) is a public university in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is affiliated with the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. The university is part of

Project 211 Project 211 ( zh, c=, links=no, s=211工程) was a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the government of China for "preparing approximately 100 universities for the 21st century", initiated in November 1995. There were 115 ...

and the

Double First-Class Construction The World First-Class Universities and First-Class Academic Disciplines Construction (), together known as Double First-Class Construction (), is a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the Chinese central government, initiated ...

. The university was established in December 1949.

History

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee East China Bureau () 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 The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, be ...

'', 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 Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** 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 Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

. The college was renamed as Shanghai Russian College that specialise in teaching

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

. 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 Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, English (re-established),

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. In 1964, Vicki Garvin became the first African American college instructor to teach in China when she began work at SFLI. 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 former Project 211 directed by the Ministry of Education, and then, SISU was included in the Double First Class University Plan designed by the Chinese central government.

Academics

Schools and Departments

Rankings

Shanghai International studies university was ranked #651-700 globally in 2016 by the QS world university rankings, the 76th in the QS BRICS 2016 and the 142nd in the QS Asian University Rankings. As of 2023, its linguistics is ranked 101–150 in the QS ranking by subject. As of 2021, Shanghai International Studies University ranked no. 3 nationwide among universities specialized in language teaching and research in the widely recognized

Best Chinese Universities Ranking The Best Chinese Universities Ranking (BCUR) is a domestic ranking table of Chinese institutions of higher education. It is compiled by Shanghai Ruanke, the same agency that is behind the Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Acad ...

Graduate Education

There are 33

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

's Programs:(30 research 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; (3 taught programs) Translation and Interpreting (MTI), Business Administration (MBA), Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL). 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 (GIIT) of SISU is awarded the highest ranking by AIIC, the

International Association of Conference Interpreters The International Association of Conference Interpreters - AIIC (AIIC – Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence) was founded in 1953. It represents over 3,000 members present in over 100 countries. Overview AIIC is the only ...

, 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.(en)

Campus

SISU has two campuses, one in

Hongkou District Hongkou (; formerly spelled Hongkew) is a district of Shanghai, forming part of the northern urban core. It has a land area of and a population of 757,498 as of 2020. The district borders Yangpu to the east, Pudong to the southeast, Huangpu ...

and one in

Songjiang District Songjiang is a suburban district (formerly a county) of Shanghai. It has a land area of and a population of 1,909,713 (2020). Owing to a long history, Songjiang is known as the cultural root of Shanghai. Songjiang Town, the urban center of the ...

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

* Wei Zhe - Former CEO of Alibaba *

Wang Yeping Wang Yeping (, born 12 February 1928) is a Chinese politician who is the widow of Jiang Zemin, former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (''de facto'' leader) and President of the People's Republic of China, and is a native of Yang ...

- Former First Lady of China (wife of

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Mil ...

) *

Zhang Jianmin Zhang Jianmin (born 16 March 1960) is a Chinese engineer who is a professor and dean of the School of Civil Engineering and Water Conservancy, Tsinghua University, and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Biography Zhang was bor ...

- Consul General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco * Zhou Shuchun - Editor-in-chief of China Daily *

Li Jinjun Li Jinjun (; born May 1956) is a Chinese diplomat who has served as Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar, the Philippines, and North Korea. Life and career Li was born and raised in Jiangyin, Jiangsu. He entered Shanghai International Studies Univers ...

- Chinese Ambassador to the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, former Vice Minister of

International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party The International Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, also known as the International Liaison Department (ILD), is an agency under the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in charge of establishing and ...

Li Linsi Li Linsi ( zh, c=厉麟似, p=Lì Línsì; 1896 – 1970); birth name Li Jiaxiang (), was a modern Chinese educator, diplomat and scholar, who has been recognized as one of the key figures in modern Chinese cultural and diplomatic history. Hai ...

- Former diplomatic consultant to Chiang Kai-shek *

Zhang Hanhui Zhang Hanhui (; born October 1963) is a Chinese politician and diplomat, currently serving as the Chinese Ambassador to Russia. Previously he served as deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan. Biography Zhang w ...

- Ambassador of China to Russia and formerly Kazakhstan *

Joan Chen Joan Chen (simplified Chinese; 陈冲; born April 26, 1961) is an American actress and film director. She made her film debut in the Chinese film ''Youth'' (1977) before starring in the film (1979). She came to the attention of American audien ...

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

actress, film director,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, and film producer

References

External links

Shanghai International Studies University

Shanghai International Studies University (English Homepage)

Shanghai International Studies University School of Chinese Studies and Exchange
* {{Coord, 31.277157, N, 121.482911, E, display=title Project 211 Universities and colleges in Shanghai Language education in China Hongkou District 1949 establishments in China Universities and colleges established in 1949