Overview

The School of Politics and International Relations of East China Normal University accepts applications from prospective students interested in pursuing a 2-year research-oriented Master or 4-year Ph.D. studies. The program is based on ECNU’s Zhongbei campus in Shanghai. The program focus is Chinese politics, and draws from the School’s expertise in the areas of political philosophy, political history, political theory and systems, political communication and public relations, political education and participation, international relations, and research methods. Mandarin language learning support will be provided, and degree-seekers will be required to pass the HSK Level 3 Examination (≥180) in order to graduate.  

All courses will be taught in English, and Master’s students in the program will be required to successfully defend a thesis written in English. Doctoral candidates may submit their dissertations in English or Chinese. The School  boasts a robust and diverse faculty, many of whom have trained abroad or earned their doctorates or completed substantial post-doctoral or visiting scholar positions abroad. All are regular faculty at ECNU and will therefore be available to form strong mentor-ships as they teach, advise, direct student research, and help graduates embark on post-graduate opportunities.

Application Requirements

Master Program applicants should possess Bachelor’s degree in Politic Science or other related majors. An official copy of TOEFL or IELTS scores is also needed for the application. For more information regarding specific application procedures, please see: http://lxs.ecnu.edu.cn/msg.php?id=44

Degree Requirements

In order to obtain the MA degree in Political Theory and International Relations, each student needs to receive all required credits, pass the Mid-term Assessment and the thesis pre-defense and the thesis defense.

Each student of the program needs at least 33 credits in total, among which one needs15 credits from the list of required courses offered by this program. Each student also needs at least 12 credits from the elective courses offered by this program. Students also need 6 credits from language and general courses required for all students, as stipulated by the Graduate Division of ECNU.

International students don’t have to take Chinese Political Theory courses, the English language courses, and the public compulsory courses for Chinese students, but are required to take courses Introduction to Chinese Civilization and Chinese Language as part of the general compulsory courses for international students. For international students in non-Chinese language- taught programs, they should reach at least Level 3 of the International Standards of Chinese Proficiency by the end of the third semester.

Students in the Master Program who want to apply for graduation in the fourth semester have to receive enough credits required for each category of courses and pass the Mid-Term Assessment by the end of the third semester. Otherwise they can’t continue with the online system for their thesis review, thesis defense, or degree application.

Commonly, the PhD program requires 4 years of study beyond the master’s degree. It can be completed in no less than 3, and faces a time limit of 6 years. Although students are required to complete only 18 credits with grades of 80 or higher, they are strongly encouraged to take more to enrich their studies and address any deficiencies.

Credits Requirements for Master’s Program

* The arrangements are subject to modification.

Credits Requirements for PhD Program

*The arrangements are subject to modification.

Contact Information 

Global Education Center, ECNU

Add: Room 253 Physics Building, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai, China

Tel: (86-21) 6223 2013 / 62238353

Fax: +86-21-6223 8352

Email: lxs@ecnu.edu.cn

(Updated in Nov., 2022)