The Philosophy Department at Nanjing University (NJU) is one of the largest and best in China, offering BA, MA, and PhD programs. Our areas of strength include Marxist Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy, Foreign Philosophy, Philosophy of Science and Technology, Logic, Ethics, Religious Studies, Eastern Philosophy and Religious Studies. Our department was ranked top 5 by the Ministry of Education of China in 2012.
History
Our Department has a long and prestigious tradition. It was founded in 1920 when NJU was known as National Central University because Nanjing was the Capital of China. Since then many distinguished Chinese philosophers had taught here, including Boming Liu, Yongtong Tang, BaihuaZong, Thomé H. Fang, Junyi Tang, ZongsanMou, Shiquan Chen, Qingyuan Ni, Haiguang Yin, Wei Xiong, Chung-Hwan Chen, Litian Miao, Shu Pan, Shuping Sun, Bokui Sun, and so on. The philosophy department was known for its outstanding research on Chinese Philosophy, Buddhism, Ancient Greek Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, and Marxism. It was also known for its engagement in social and political issues. Prof. LinyuanLiu’sessay “Materialistic Dialectics and Empirical Research” was publicly praised by Mao Zedong. Prof. Fuming Hu was the main author of the essay “Practice Is the Sole Criterion of Truth,” which has been one of the most famous philosophy papers in China.
Programs
Our Department offers a B.A. program in philosophy and M.A. and Ph.D. programs in eight divisions of philosophy: Marxism, Chinese Philosophy, Foreign Philosophy, Logic, Ethics, Philosophy of Science & Technology, Religious Studies, Eastern Philosophy and Religion. The Marxism program at NJU iswidely regarded as one of the bestones in China. It has been one of the National Key Programsrecognized by the Ministry of Education of China.
Our Ph.D. programs have been very successful.The research done by our Ph.D. students is outstanding. 3 of our recent Ph.D. graduatesreceived the National Best Dissertation Prize, and 7 received Jiangsu Province Best Ph.D. Dissertation Prize.Further, the placement of our PhD program is impressive. Many of our graduates got tenured or tenure-track jobs at top research universities including Peking University and Tsinghua University.
Our B.A. program is also excellent. We have a group of excellent teachers recognized by the Ministry of Education of China as a“National Excellent Teaching Group.” Two of our faculty members received National Quality Courses Funding for their teaching excellence.In addition, all of our graduates got employed or went to graduate schools.
Finally, the Philosophy Department also has visiting scholars and students programs. Foreign students are welcome to apply to both degree programs and visiting programs. We offer a few English courses such as Classical Chinese Philosophy. Please contact Ms. Wu at zhexue@nju.edu.cn for more information.
Research
The research of our faculty has been widely acclaimed in China. Prof. Xiuping Hong and Prof. Zhengdong Tang were elected as “Changjiang Scholar,” the highest academic award issued to an individual in higher education by the Ministry of Education of China.Prof. Daiping Hu was recently elected as the“ChangjiangYoung Scholar.” Various honors were awarded to our faculty for their distinguished researchby the State Council，the Ministry of Education, the Government of Jiangsu Province. Most of our faculty member got research funding from the central government. And several of them received the highly prestigious and competitive National Social Sciences Funding for Significant Projects.
Our faculty edit several well-regarded journals: Register of Critical Theory of Society, Zen Studies, Religion Studies.
Our department is home to many prestigious interdisciplinary research centers and institutes, including the Center for Studies of Marxist Social Theory, the Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute of Jewish Studies, the Center for Studies of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Chinese Traditional Culture, and so on.
Our department has an independent library of 300, 000 books (including the new Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe and Heidegger Gesamtausgabe), 600 Chinese journals, and 50 journals in other languages such as The Philosophical Review, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, and so on.
Our department is committed to promoting global academic exchange. We have established a long term cooperative relationship with more than 10 philosophy departments or research institutes in various countries. Most of our professors and Ph.D. students have spent at least one year as a visiting scholar or student at the philosophy department of an accredited university in a foreign country. Many of our professors were invited to give talks or teach courses in English. We also invite dozens of internationally recognized philosophers or scholars to give talks or short-term lectures at NJU every year.