The School of Sociology and Ethnology was established with the support of several institutes of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS): the Institute of Sociology, the Institute of Chinese Modernization, the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, and the Institute of Ethnic Literature. It has integrated related disciplines from four teaching units of the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (UCASS): the School of Sociology, the Department of Social Development, the Department of Ethnology, and the Department of Ethnic Literature.
The School traces its academic origins to the Department of Ethnology (founded in 1978) and the Department of Sociology (founded in 1982) at the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (GSCASS). It began enrolling undergraduate students in Sociology in 2018. The School of Sociology was established in 2020, and was renamed the School of Sociology and Ethnology in 2022. In 2024, it started enrolling undergraduate students in Social Work. The inaugural Dean was Professor Chen Guangjin, former Director of the Institute of Sociology of CASS. The current Dean is Professor Zhang Yi, Member of CASS and President of the Chinese Sociological Association.
The School offers seven doctoral and academic master's degree programs in Sociology, Folklore, Social Policy, Social Governance, Marxist Theory of Ethnicity and Policy, Chinese Ethnology, and Anthropology and World Ethnology - as well as a professional Master of Social Work program. It also offers two undergraduate programs: Sociology and Social Work, with the Sociology program designated as a national first-class undergraduate program by the Ministry of Education. The School hosts postdoctoral research stations in both Sociology and Ethnology. As of the end of 2025, the School has 497 students, including 140 doctoral students, 186 master's students, and 171 undergraduates.
The School has a well-established governance structure that includes three management committees: the Teaching Steering Committee, the Academic Committee, and the Degree Appraisal Committee. It has four teaching departments: the Department of Sociology, the Department of Social Work and Social Policy, the Department of Social Development, and the Department of Ethnology and Anthropology. In addition, there are five administrative offices, which cover general administration, teaching and research, student affairs, internships and practice, and external exchange and cooperation. These units work together to support the School's research-education integration model.
The School has strong faculty resources. It currently has 126 faculty members, including 6 Members of CASS. Among them, there are 14 full-time teachers, 18 adjunct instructors, and 94 graduate supervisors. A number of faculty members enjoy the State Council Special Allowance. Some have received honors including the National Outstanding Achievement Award in Educational Science Research and the National Innovation Competition Award. In addition, several faculty members have been recognized with national talent titles, including Leading Talents in Philosophy and Social Sciences under the National Ten-Thousand Talents Program, Cultural Masters and "Four Batches of Top Experts", National Hundred, Thousand and Ten-Thousand Talent Project selectees, Young Top-notch Talents under the National Ten-Thousand Talents Program, and National Young and Middle-aged Experts with Outstanding Contributions. In addition, many faculty members hold important academic concurrent positions: experts of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and the National Philosophy and Social Sciences Fund Evaluation Group; members of the Ministry of Education’s Sociology Teaching Advisory Board for Institutions of Higher Education and the National Steering Committee for Graduate Education in Social Work; editor-in-chief or deputy editor-in-chief of top domestic and international academic journals; and presidents, vice presidents and executive directors of national first-tier academic societies. Collectively, they exert important influence on academic research, talent cultivation and social services.
Sociology and Ethnology at the School have a long-established development history and have developed a comprehensive disciplinary system that allow them to enjoy an overall leading position nationwide and hold notable influence in international academic circles. The disciplines have solid foundations, rich academic accumulation and powerful platform backing. The disciplines run a spectrum of academic journals, including Sociological Studies, Youth Studies, Social Development Studies, China Volunteer Service Research, Ethno-National Studies, World Ethno-Nationality Studies, The Journal of Chinese Sociology, International Journal of Social Quality, and International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology. Faculty members associated with the two disciplines undertake a wide range of research projects, including those funded by the National Social Science Fund of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, major national publishing initiatives, research tasks entrusted by national ministries and commissions, large-scale social survey projects launched by CASS, and research commissioned by enterprises and social organizations. Some faculty members also administer national-level academic societies including the Chinese Sociological Association, the Society for Social Change Research, the Chinese Society for Social Psychology, and the Chinese Ethnological Society. They manage multiple research centers at the academy level and have set up a number of non-incorporated research centers at the institute level. Furthermore, the School maintains long-term academic exchange and cooperative ties with universities and research institutions worldwide. The School has opened social research sites and professional practicum training bases for students in Beijing, Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other provincial-level administrative regions. Through global academic engagement, faculty members showcase China’s stories, share China’s practical experience and shape China’s international academic discourse, earning worldwide recognition for their comprehensive academic strength.
Leveraging its strengths in integrating research and education, the School translates high-quality research resources into high-caliber teaching resources and educational competitive edges. It boasts distinctive institutional features such as the academic tutorial system, integrated undergraduate-postgraduate training, and in-depth international cooperation and exchanges. Adhering to the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, the School continuously innovates its talent cultivation models and strives to build a world-class teaching and research system for sociology and ethnology that features Chinese characteristics and a global vision. It further improves the talent training framework underpinned by the integrated development of research and education, aiming to nurture innovative and research-oriented talents in philosophy and social sciences. Graduates will be equipped with a strong sense of national mission and profound humanistic literacy, and committed to serving national strategies and advancing Chinese modernization.
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