The disciplines of International Politics and International Relations at Central China Normal University were firstly founded in June 1949, when the university was still named as Chung Yuan University. At the early stage, the major of International Politics was established at the Department of Political Science. A series of core modules such as “Comparative Politics”, “History of International Relations” and others were taught by Professor Tao Jun and other outstanding scholars. An important book, “Thirty-two Years of International World: 1914-1945”, was compiled by the Department at that time. It soon became the originated textbook on History of International Relations and was adopted comprehensively by many Chinese universities. After longer than 40 years of continuous development, the first batch of Ph.D. students were enrolled in 2002, and a new Department of International Affairs was set up in September 2004.
As a renowned and leading institute in International Studies in China, the Department of International Affairs has distinct areas of research and teaching excellence in the fields of International Political Theory, International Security and Cooperation, Research Methodology in International Politics as well as Southeast Asian Studies. The Department now has 12 full-time faculty members including five professors (Ph.D. supervisors), five associate professors (Master supervisors) and two assistant professors. Many of them have experience of visiting abroad and some of them have overseas educational background. We pride ourselves on our philosophy of collegiality, collaboration and co-production and active participation in international communications and cultural exchange.
Our wide-ranging offer of BA, MA and PhD education attracts students from all over the world. The Department of International Affairs has currently more than 100 registered international students from more than 50 countries. International students can join our Chinese class for undergraduate study; they can complete their Master and Ph.D. study and acquire the degree via our English or Chinese classes, which include theme lectures, seminar discussion, thesis defense and academic supervision. Study can be tailored to meet the needs and career aspirations of our students.
The teaching language for undergraduate students is mandarin Chinese. The Department offers both English and Chinese programmes of two majors, namely International Politics and International Relations, at postgraduate level (Master and PhD) and provide supervision in a variety of directions optional to students. The directions of the two majors mainly contain: International Politics, with the directions of Theory of International Politics, Area Studies and Regional Politics, Comparative Studies of International Politics; and International Relations, with the directions of International Relations and Politics, China’s Foreign Relations, Relations among the Major Powers.
For Master and Ph.D. students, the programmes offer some core modules such as “Theory of International Relations”, “China’s Economy and Politics”, “Relations between Major Powers Diplomacy”, “International Law and International Organization”, “Forefront of International Relations”, “Sino- American Relations”; “China’s International Strategy and Foreign Relations”, “China's National Conditions and Social Survey”, “Case Work and Teaching Practices” and others. The teaching and supervising team is keen to provide great support and help our students to lay a solid foundation for their further education and future career.
Warmly welcome to the Department of International Affairs!
