An Introduction to the School of Economics of Shanghai University

The School of Economics (SOE) of Shanghai University adheres to the motto of "Self-discipline to benefit the world and the people", with the vision of "Building a China’s first-class and internationally renowned research-oriented school of economics with distinctive characteristics", and the goal of "Cultivating international outstanding talents with both patriotic feelings and professional spirit, and capable of undertaking the task of strengthening the country and enriching the people”.

The School of Economics of Shanghai University has a long history and excellent academic tradition. Its history can be traced back to 1983. In 1986, the School of Business Administration of Shanghai University was renamed "Shanghai University School of Business", which was one of the earliest business schools in China. In the following years there were several merges and renames, in 1999, the School of International Business and Management became the largest college in Shanghai University. In July 2008, in order to meet the needs of talent development, the school of International Business and Management was restructured, and the School of Economics of Shanghai University came into being.

In 2023, the economic disciplines of Shanghai University entered the top 1% in ESI global ranking. According to the QS World University Subject Rankings, Shanghai University's "Economics and Econometrics" ranked 351-400, and 17th among Chinese mainland universities; "Business and Management" ranked 301-350, and 11th among Chinese mainland universities. In the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, the School of Economics ranked 401-500.

The school has the first doctoral program in applied economics among the universities funded by Shanghai municipal government, as well as the only post-doctoral research station for teaching staff in applied economics. The SOE currently has three entities---the Department of Economics, the Department of Finance, and the Industrial Economics Research Center, and a series of research institutes such as the Institute of New Structural Economics, the China Digital Economy Research Institute, the China Service Economy Research Center, the Modern Finance Research Center, the China Government Efficiency Research Center, the Institute of Scientific and Technological Finance, the Institute of Socialist Political Economy with Chinese Characteristics, the Enterprise Sustainable Development (Shanghai) Research Center, the Research Center on Grand-Power Economy, the Elderly Care Finance Research Center, the Research Center on Artificial Intelligence Economics, the "Belt and Road" International Business Research Institute, the Research Center on Regional and Urban Economy and the Rural Revitalization Research Center, etc.

The research team of the School of Economics has a reasonable age structure, diverse educational backgrounds and fairly high internationalization level. Currently the school has more than 100 faculty members, among which 73.5% are full-time lecturers. 15% are professors, 46.3% associate professors. About 80% of the faculties have either overseas degrees or more than one year experience of working in foreign universities as visiting fellows. Ten faculty members have been awarded the talent titles. The school also has invited many outstanding scholars to be part-time professors, such as Professor Yifu Lin, dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University; the 1997 Nobel Prize laureate in Economics Professor Robert C Merton of Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Professor Vladimir L. Kvint of Moscow State University, and a research fellow of the Russian Academy of Sciences; and Professor Akira Kinami of the University of Tokyo. In addition, the school has invited over 60 senior professionals from the financial, trade, business, and government sectors to serve as external mentors, for the purpose of realizing the integration of industry, academia and research.

Education is a long-time project. The school has insisted on the policy of “Teaching and research for economic construction and social development”, emphasizing on cultivating the talents with applied skills to cater for the social needs. The school currently has three national top-level undergraduate majors in economics, finance, and international economics and trade; three first-level discipline master's degree conferral rights in applied economics, theoretical economics, and statistics; four professional master's degree programs in international business, finance, applied statistics, and digital economy; two all-English undergraduate majors in international economics and trade and economics; two all-English professional master's degree programs in finance and international business; and a all-English academic master's degree program in international trade. A large number of undergraduate, master's, and doctoral courses are taught entirely in English to ensure high-quality internationalized teaching. The School is the official partner of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program. The school has won a second prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award, one special prize and four first prizes of the Shanghai Outstanding Teaching Achievement Award. The school has also been rated as one of the first batch of "Curriculum Ideological and Political Education Pilot Colleges" in Shanghai. Currently, about 700 undergraduates, over 800 master's and doctoral students, and more than 400 international students of different degrees from all over the world are studying in the school.

Over the past 5 years, the faculty members have undertaken a number of key and general research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, National Philosophy and Social Sciences Foundation, Humanities and Social Sciences Plans of the Ministry of Education, Shanghai Philosophy and Social Sciences Foundation, and Shanghai Decision-making Consultation Plans. They have also undertaken many research programs consigned by some provincial governments and enterprises. The faculty members published a series of academic books, and more than 500 papers in core academic journals worldwide. They have also obtained a variety of outstanding achievement awards conferred by the Ministry of Education and Shanghai Municipal Government.

The School of Economics actively develops cooperation and exchanges with domestic and foreign universities and research institutions. It has now established cooperative relations with more than 50 foreign universities. The school has carried out the teacher and student exchange and academic exchange plans for many years with the prestigious universities in the United States, Europe, Russia and other countries. Many famous foreign scholars have been invited to the school for scientific research and teaching activities. The school has also given the lecturers financial support to take part in high-level academic conferences at home and abroad, and to teach economic and management courses and conduct joint researches in foreign universities.

 （data up to September 2024）