Mar.3rd, 2006, SIS
At the beginning of 2006, good news about the discipline construction of SIS comes in succession. Days ago SIS got the official
approval to awarding Ph D degree in the second-level discipline of English Language and Literature. Now its application for
the right to award MA degree in the first-level discipline of Foreign Language and Literature is approved, too.
When the new ZJU was established, SIS boasted 1 first-level discipline and 6 second-level disciplines in total. And 3 of the 6
second-level disciplines, English Language and Literature, Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Japanese Language
and Literature, had the master degree programs. In 2003, another two second-level disciplines, Russian Language and Literature,
German Language and Literature were added to the list.
In recent years, discipline construction of SIS is making headway. The second-level discipline of English Language and Literature
was designated Provincial Key Discipline in 2003 and 2004 consecutively. The second-level discipline of Foreign Linguistics and
Applied Linguistics was designated Provincial Key Supporting Discipline in 2003. In the assessment by the Ministry of Education
to first-level disciplines in 2004, the first-level discipline of Foreign Language and Literature in SIS was ranked No. 9, the first time
in the top ten; and as for the assessment concerning scientific researches alone, SIS ranked No.5. With the success in receiving
official authority in awarding MA degree in the first-level discipline of Foreign Language and Literature, SIS MA degree programs
now cover 6 second-level disciplines, which brings favorable opportunities for the innovation in cultivating postgraduates in different
orientations as well.
During the 10th Five-Year Plan, SIS attached greater importance to staff construction. It carried out the “100-Master and 30-Doctor
Project”, which aimed at encouraging the teachers to study for the MA degree and Ph D degree and led to the higher qualifications
in education of the staff. For five years, scientific researches in SIS have advanced rapidly. Teachers in SIS have altogether
undertaken 183 projects in humanities and social sciences, 2 of which are national funding projects in philosophy and social
science, 15 are provincial projects or ministry projects. The funds for scientific researches reach more than 4,050,000 yuan.
About 530 academic theses have been published, 2 of which are SSCI theses, 1 EI thesis, and about 100 are published in
authoritative and first-class journals. SIS publishes 23 sorts of academic monographs, 30 sorts of academic translations
and 186 sorts of teaching materials (teaching references). Altogether it has received 38 different awards, including 1 national
teaching achievement award, 9 provincial or ministry achievement awards. In 2005, the funds SIS set aside for scientific
researches amounted to over 1,700,000 yuan; and the research funds per capita was tenfold, from 800 yuan in 2000 to 8,800
yuan in 2005.
At present, SIS is thriving. Elitist cultivation and discipline construction show great potential in their reform and development, which create a favorable platform for the leaping construction and development in the period of 11th Five-Year Plan.
SIS is faced with a great task in its discipline construction and there is still a long way to go. At the turning point of its success in
receiving official authority in awarding doctoral degree in English Language and Literature and master degree in the first-level
discipline of Foreign Language and Literature, SIS is determined to seize every opportunity and strive for leaping development in
the period of 11th Five-Year Plan.
