Recently, the Degree Office of the State Council responded to the National Ethnic Affairs Commission supporting SCMU and 14 other universities to independently develop interdisciplinary studies of community for the Chinese Nation. This approval establishes the second batch of pilot programs following Minzu University of China’s pioneering initiative, creating a “1+15” framework that achieves comprehensive coverage across regions, institutional types, and research directions.
On April 22, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Education convened a symposium in Beijing on the development of Community for the Chinese Nation Studies. SCMU’s Party Secretary Xu Yeqin, Standing Committee Member and Vice President Ma Yutang, and Dean of the Institute of Community for the Chinese Nation Studies Li Conghao attended the meeting and presented their work report.
As one of the earliest universities to systematically advance Community for the Chinese Nation Studies, SCMU has consistently integrated academic development with national strategy. In September 2020, the university established the nation’s first physical Institute for Community for the Chinese Nation Research. In November 2022, the institute was additionally designated as an academic school. In April 2023, it received approval as a Research Base for Consolidating a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation from four central government departments. The institute now operates through a comprehensive three-dimensional model that combines research, teaching, and practical application through its dual research platforms—the National Ethnic Affairs Commission’s Community for the Chinese Nation Research Base and Hubei Province’s Research Base for Consolidating a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation. This integrated approach has fostered a collaborative environment for cross-disciplinary research. In 2024, the School of Community for the Chinese Nation Studies was recognized as a “National Model Collective for Ethnic Unity and Progress” and an “Advanced Collective in the National Education System”.
In its development approach, SCMU has persisted in exploring paths for interdisciplinary advancement. In 2023, the university established the program as a self-designed discipline outside the standard ethnology subdiscipline catalog, receiving approval from the State Council’s Degree Office. In 2024, the first cohort of 25 doctoral and master’s students (18 doctoral and 7 master’s) was admitted. The university issued “Implementation Measures for Community for the Chinese Nation Studies Discipline Construction”, implementing “first-level management of a second-level discipline” by allocating resources according to first-level discipline standards. An interdisciplinary faculty team consisting of 17 doctoral supervisors and 7 master’s supervisors has been assembled, and 12 specialized textbooks have been compiled, forming a complete educational system.
Based on SCMU’s disciplinary structure and strengths, and considering service to the main objective of consolidating a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and regional development, the university’s interdisciplinary Community for the Chinese Nation Studies program will establish four directions from the perspective of humanities-science integration: Theories and Methods of Community for the Chinese Nation Studies, History and Culture of Baiyue Ethnic Groups, Shared Spiritual Homeland of the Chinese Nation in the Yangtze River Basin, and Community for the Chinese Nation Construction in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The program will comprehensively advance interdisciplinary construction through theoretical research, curriculum development, textbook compilation, faculty training, and student education.
