Shanghai International Studies University Scholarship

About the university

Shanghai International Studies University (SISU), commonly referred to as "Shangwai" or "SISU," is the first institution of higher education in foreign languages established after the founding of the People's Republic of China. It is a national public full-time regular institution of higher learning, a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education and jointly built with Shanghai Municipality. Its registered address is No. 550, West Dalian Road, Shanghai. SISU is a signatory university to the United Nations Memorandum of Understanding and a partner of the Directorate-General for Interpretation of the European Commission. It is also a member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (CIUTI) and offers all six official language pairs of the United Nations, receiving the highest global rating from the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC). Distinguished scholars such as Jiang Chunfang, Li Linsi, Xia Zhongyi, Fang Zhong, and Xu Zhongnian have taught at SISU. SISU traces its origins to the Shanghai Russian School attached to the East China People's Revolutionary University, founded in December 1949. In 1950, it was renamed the Foreign Language Specialized School attached to the East China People's Revolutionary University; in 1952, it became the Shanghai Russian Specialized School; in 1956, it was renamed Shanghai Foreign Language Institute; in 1963, it was listed as a national key university; and in 1994, it was renamed Shanghai International Studies University. In 1996, it was designated as a key university under China's "211 Project," and in 2017, it was selected for China's "Double First-Class" initiative. As of September 2024, SISU has two campuses, Hongkou and Songjiang, covering an area of 74.7 hectares. The university has 23 teaching faculties (departments), one national "Double First-Class" discipline, 56 undergraduate programs, 42 secondary discipline master's degree authorization points, 10 professional master's degree authorization points, 4 first-level discipline doctoral degree authorization points, 22 secondary discipline doctoral degree authorization points, 2 professional doctoral degree authorization points, 3 postdoctoral research stations, 1,601 faculty and staff members, and a total of 13,741 students of various types. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, to learn from and draw on the experience of Soviet socialist construction and to meet the urgent need for a large number of Russian-language talents, Comrade Chen Yi, then Mayor of Shanghai, advocated the establishment of a school to cultivate Russian-language talents based on the Fourth Department of the East China People's Revolutionary University. With the approval of the East China Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Shanghai Municipal Committee, the "Shanghai Russian School attached to the East China People's Revolutionary University" was officially established in December 1949, becoming the first higher education institution in foreign languages founded after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Shanghai Municipal Committee appointed Comrade Jiang Chunfang, then president of the Shidai Publishing House, as the first president. The initial campus was located on Baoshan Road (formerly the Second College of Jinan University). The Shanghai Russian School was a foreign language university focusing on the study of Russian and Russian-Soviet literature, training students mainly as Russian interpreters, translators, and teachers. Following Comrade Chen Yi's instructions and to meet the needs of China's foreign affairs and foreign trade, the school added an English class in 1950 and was renamed the "Foreign Language Specialized School attached to the East China People's Revolutionary University," with the campus relocated to East Tiyuhui Road (formerly the First College of Jinan University). In April 1951, the school established the Department of Southeast Asian Languages, adding programs in Burmese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian. In March 1952, over 150 students from the Foreign Language Specialized School attached to the Political Department of the East China Military Region were merged into the school. By August 1952, the school offered five languages: Russian, English, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian. Starting from the second half of 1952, national higher education institutions implemented unified enrollment and began departmental adjustments. According to the instructions of the Ministry of Education, all faculty and students of the Department of Southeast Asian Languages were transferred to Peking University, leaving only the Russian program. In September of the same year, the school was renamed "Shanghai Russian Specialized School," and in November, it was again renamed "Shanghai Russian College," with a fixed three-year academic system. During this period, the school's teaching transitioned from training-style to formalized teaching, establishing and improving teaching organizations, abolishing the comprehensive Russian teaching and research office, and setting up 10 teaching and research groups for practical courses, translation, literary history, linguistics, etc. Unified syllabi were developed, and a student registration management system was established. By June 1956, the number of faculty members reached 241 (90 Soviet teachers and 151 Chinese teachers), and a total of 3,998 students had been enrolled in seven cohorts, with 2,087 graduating, supplying a number of Russian-language talents to various sectors of China. In 1956, the school was renamed "Shanghai Foreign Language Institute," adding programs in English, French, and German, with the academic system changed to four years. In 1958, the institute accepted commissions from the Shanghai Municipal Committee's Finance and Trade Department and the Shanghai Foreign Trade Bureau to establish the Department of Foreign Trade and Foreign Languages, offering six languages including English, German, and French. On September 12, 1963, with central approval, Shanghai Foreign Language Institute was listed as a national key university under the direct leadership of the Ministry of Education. On October 31, 1964, at the 148th plenary session of the State Council, signed by Premier Zhou Enlai, Comrade Wang Jiyu was appointed as the president of Shanghai Foreign Language Institute, becoming the first president appointed by the State Council. During this period, the institute also added a preparatory department for students going abroad and jointly established an affiliated foreign language school and an affiliated foreign language primary school with the Shanghai Municipal Education Bureau. After the start of the "Cultural Revolution," SISU began the so-called "suspension of classes to make revolution" in June 1966, rendering party and administrative work impossible and halting teaching and research. In 1970, the institute launched pilot classes. In 1972, it officially resumed enrollment. In 1973, it added a program in Albanian. This marked the beginning of the reconstruction of teaching order and the recovery of teaching work. In October 1976, with the fall of the "Gang of Four," the decade-long turmoil ended, and SISU's teaching work began to develop anew. In 1979, the institute restored the four-year academic system, began recruiting graduate students for degrees, reinstated the preparatory department for students going abroad, and established the Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, various research institutions, a library and information center, and a foreign language examination center. In the same year, it jointly founded the Shanghai Foreign Language Institute Branch (later the International Business College of the former Shanghai University) with the Xuhui District Government.