Founded in 2003, the School of Humanities at Xi’an Shiyou University upholds the spirit of “Cultivating People through Culture” and practices the school motto of “Learning tobe Virtuous People”. It is dedicated to cultivating high-quality talents with the “Four Practical Qualities and Innovative Spirit”, providing solid support for the inheritance and dissemination of Chinese culture, national cultural strategies, and social and economic development.
Historical Evolution and Disciplinary Accumulation
The School of Humanities was formed by the merger of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Chinese in 2003. At present, it offers three professional master’s degree programs in International Chinese Education, Design, and Journalism & Communication; three departments including Chinese, Design, and Journalism; and four undergraduate majors including Chinese Language and Literature, Visual Communication Design, Environmental Design, and Journalism. The Visual Communication Design and Environmental Design majors were approved as Provincial First-class Majors in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
In 2002, the school specially appointed Mr. Chen Zhongshi, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, Honorary Chairman of the Shaanxi Writers Association, and Mao Dun Literature Prize laureate, as Honorary Dean and Double-Employed Professor. In 2016, Professor Wang Xinjian’s novel Shengmin won the Annual Long Novel Award of Shaanxi Writers Association. In 2021, the school hosted the Second National Seminar on Humanities and Social Sciences Discipline Construction in Petroleum Universities. In 2023, Mr. Yi Zhou, a National Cultural Master and member of the “Four Groups of Talents” program selected by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, was appointed as an Adjunct Professor and Writer-in-Residence.
Faculty and Research Strength
There are 74 faculty members in the school, including 7 professors and 19 associate professors (sub-senior titles); 32 faculty members hold doctoral degrees, 4 are doctoral candidates, and 20 have overseas (cross-border) study experience. Besides, faculty honors include: one individual selected for the Shaanxi Provincial Higher Education “Young Elite Talent Support Program”, one “Shaanxi Provincial Young Science and Technology Star”, one individual among Xi’an’s “Top 100 Outstanding Young Literary and Artistic Talents”, one individual in the university’s “Young Backbone Teachers Cultivation Program”, and one university-level Distinguished Teacher.
It has secured 7 national fund projects and 53 provincial-level projects; published 34 academic monographs and 177 academic papers, including 84 authoritative and core papers; and won 23 provincial-level awards. It has approved 3 provincial education and teaching reform research projects and 3 provincial teaching achievement awards. It holds 2 Shaanxi Provincial Curriculum Ideological and Political Demonstration Courses and teaching teams and won 1 second prize in the provincial higher education Outstanding Teaching Materials Award.
Talent Cultivation and Social Services
There are currently 7 research centers, including the Chen Zhongshi Literature Research Center and the Shaanxi Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Center. Additionally, there are 2 provincial-level experimental zones: the Humanities Quality Innovation Cultivation Experimental Zone for Science and Engineering Students, and the Talent Cultivation Model Innovation Experimental Zone for College Students’Public Art Education. The College also houses 1 Shaanxi Provincial Base for Chinese Classic Recitation, Writing and Lecturing, 1 Shaanxi Provincial Social Science Popularization Base, and 1 Shaanxi Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Base. With an investment of over 4 million yuan, the Communication Technology and Design Laboratory has been established. The College has co-established 23 internship bases with institutions such as Shaanxi Daily and Shaanxi Radio and Television Station. For 17 consecutive years, it has hosted the“Spring Voice”Speech Competition and the“Autumn Rhyme”Recitation Competition. In collaboration with Huyi District, Yongshou County, Baishui County, Danfeng County, etc., the College has vigorously carried out rural revitalization activities.
Currently, the College has more than 1,200 undergraduate students, over 300 postgraduate students, including more than 50 international students. The employment rate remains at a high level, with graduates mainly engaged in corporate administration, publicity departments, educational institutions, new media organizations, and design companies.
International Cooperation
The College focuses on participating in Chinese language teacher projects at the Kakayev International Oil and Gas University in Turkmenistan and the Kyrgyz National University. It is also involved in the Xi’an Shiyou University Uzbekistan Branch Project and the Chinese Language Workshop Project of the China-Uzbekistan Pipeline Company. Actively organizing teachers and students to participate in the International Chinese Language Teacher Volunteer Program, the College has dispatched a total of 4 teachers and over 160 students.
Chen Zhongshi, a renowned contemporary Chinese writer, inscribed the name for the College of Humanities.
Group photo of all faculty and staff of the College of Humanities
Host the 2nd National Symposium on the Discipline Construction of Humanities and Social
Sciences in Petroleum Universities
Professor Zhou Mingyong’s project was selected as an innovative case of national universities’ design - enabling rural revitalization
The International Chinese Language Day Event of the College of Humanities
Mr. Yi Zhou, a National Cultural Celebrity and “Four Batch Talent” of the Central Publicity Department, was appointed as an adjunct professor and resident writer of our university
Seminar on Professor Wang Xinjian's (pen - name Wang Xinjian) Novel Shengmin
