The School of History dates back to the national history specialty of Sanjiang Normal School, which was founded in 1902. The history department was formed in 1952 as a combination of the Department of History and the Department of Border Politics of the former National Central University and the Department of History of Jinling University. In December 2014, the Department of History was changed into the School of History of Nanjing University, which consists of the Department of Chinese History, the Department of World History, the Department of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, the Institute of International Relations, and the Institute of Chinese Border Politics.

    After the industrious work by generations of scholars, the school has already developed a relatively complete teaching system. Currently, it offers three bachelor-of-arts programs: History, Archaeology, and Historical Relic Identification. It offers seven doctoral programs: Modern Chinese History, Ancient Chinese History, World History, History of Particular Subjects, History of International Relations, Borderland Studies, and Archaeology. It offers seven master’s programs: Archaeology and Museology, History of Particular Subjects, Ancient Chinese History, Modern Chinese History, World History, History of International Relations, and Ethnology.

    In 1995, the school was selected by the State Ministry of Education as one of its humanities personnel cultivation and research bases.

    In 1996, the State Ministry of Personnel approved the school’s establishment of its post-doctoral research circulation station. The school became one of the first in the country to be included in the national Project 2011.

    In 1998, the school passed the appraisal by the State Council’s Academic Degrees Commission and was thus permitted to enroll doctoral students to its first level discipline of history.

    The Department of Chinese History and the Department of World History were selected by the Ministry of Education for the Strengthening Basic Disciplines Program and the Double Ten Thousand Plan, and are national bases for cultivating talents in basic disciplines.

    At the school, while World History is a national key discipline, Modern Chinese History and Archaeology are key discipline of Jiangsu Province, with its faculty awarded the title of “excellent faculty” in Jiangsu. Its Center for the history of Republican China is a Ministry-of-Education key research base of the humanities and social sciences. The newly founded Institute of International Relations is now also enrolling graduate students.

    The school has a strong faculty of 89 members, of whom 73 are full-time teachers and 16 are administrators. The faculty includes 34 professors (30 doctoral supervisors), 24 associate professors, 2 lecturers, 11 doctoral graduates with pending academic titles.

    Among the faculty, 1 receives doctorate from Duke University, 1 from University of Pennsylvania, 1 from Kyoto University, 1 from Tokyo University, 2 from Kyushu University, 1 from Yonsei University, 1 is a postdoctoral researcher at Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan. 

    Of the young teachers on the faculty, 90 percent have the experience of international academic exchange in countries such as USA, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, Korea, Austria, Italy and so on. 

    Besides, the school has 2 Changjiang Distinguished Professors of the Ministry of Education, 1 supported by The national youth talent support program, 3 Honorary Senior Professors of Nanjing University, 3 Distinguished Professors of Nanjing University, 19 recipients of the State Council Subsidies, 8 selected as the New Century Talents by the State Ministry of Education, 6 awardees of Project 333 of Jiangsu province, and 7 awardees of Project Blue of Jiangsu province.

    In recent years, professors of the school made enormous achievements in their respective research fields. A Collection of Historical Materials on Nanjing Massacre, edited by Professor Zhang Xianwen, won the first prize of the Fifth Appraisal of Humanities and Social Science Achievements by the Ministry of Education. Between Tradition and Reform: Origins of British Cultural Mode, co-authored by Professors Qian Chengdan and Chen Xiaolyu, won the first prize of the First Appraisal of Humanities and Social Science Achievements by the Ministry of Education. The Complete Ancient Greek Tragedies and Comedies (1-8), by Professor Zhang Zhuming, won the government prize of the Second Publications Appraisal. “Historical Notes on Yuan History,” by Professor Liu Yingsheng, and “Historical Evolution of Jiangnan Regional Culture,” by Professor Fan Jinmin, both received the titles of major projects of national social science research.

    The school has a total enrolment of 724 students majoring in history, archaeology and cultural relic identification, including 162 doctoral students, 305 master’s students, and 257 undergraduates. Among them, cultural relic identification is relatively new, the first undergraduates with this major graduated in 2012.

    The School of History has good prospects for development. It now has three first-level disciplines: Chinese History, World History and Archaeology. 

    The school has always focused on cultivating high-caliber and versatile personnel. In addition to the general history of China and the general history of the world, the undergraduates also take a large number of cultural education courses and applied courses. Courses such as history of Western civilization, Chinese cultural history, research on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan issues, Chinese economic history, and official document writing are popular among the students. Teachers and students majoring in archaeology have always participated in fieldwork and cultural relics excavation and sorting. In graduate level education, the school attaches great importance to strengthening academic exchange and cooperation at home and abroad and has established stable exchange and cooperation programs with such world-renowned universities and research institutions as Oxford University, Cambridge University, The University of London, University of Edinburgh, University of Paris, Harvard University, Stanford University, and Princeton University. Over several hundreds of overseas professors and visiting scholars have given lectures and conducted exchange here, studying for doctorate, master's, or post-doctoral research. The school has held many large-scale international seminars on the history of the Republic of China, British history, Chinese social history, contemporary Taiwan studies, and European issues.

    Graduates of the School of History have a wide range of employment opportunities. The alumni can be found at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of State Security, news agencies, colleges and universities, research institutes and military units. They are hardworking, conscientious and practical, highly praised by their employers. Many of them are truly outstanding.

    The School of History of Nanjing University extends its wholehearted welcome to scholars from universities and research institutions at home and abroad who come for visit, exchange and cooperation!