In Tsinghua’s efforts to build itself into a comprehensive and open world-class research university, the humanities and social sciences plays an indispensable role. For the university, to accelerate the development of its programs in the humanities and social sciences is high on its agenda. Concentrating on the general goals of the university, the School of Humanities is trying very hard to fit its programs to the pace of economic and social progress in the new century. It adheres to the maxim：“Be conversant with the ancient and the modern, and versed in the Chinese and the Western; conjoin the humanities and sciences to innovate and make a difference.” The top priorities it upholds in the research and teaching are a solid foundation, practice and applications, and interdisciplinary blending. The research programs in the School cover many subjects of study, but it maintains the integrity of its programs and will have more tier-1 and tier-2 programs step by step.

The disciplines in the School of Humanities include literature, history, philosophy, and the subjects they cover. Currently, the School has 6 Tier-1 Ph.D. and M.A. Degree programs, 1 M.A. Degree program, 4 Bachelor's Degree programs, 4 Postdoctoral programs, 1 national key program, and 3 key programs of Beijing. There are about 180 people on its faculty and staff, including 81 full professors, 72 associate professors and 18 lecturers. The current enrollment is about 1200 undergraduates, about 200 Master’s degree students, about 210 doctoral students, and about 40 postdoctoral fellows. Additionally, there are more than 1,000 international students who come to study Chinese language and culture at its International Chinese Language and Culture Center every year.

The School has 5 departments, 1 center, and about 20 interdisciplinary research institutions. In recent years, the School has undertaken more than 200 research projects, most of which are National Social Sciences Fund key tender projects, Humanities and Social Sciences key projects funded by the Ministry of Education, projects in the National Science and Technology Pillar Program, and so forth. Through these research projects the School has made important contributions to the development of the economy, society and culture of the nation. In the past five years, the faculty members have published a few hundred books, over 1,000 research papers, with their research projects bringing many awards to the School from the Ministry of Education to the Municipality of Beijing.

The School also actively seeks academic collaboration with institutions at home and abroad, and has set up extensive academic exchange programs with institutions in countries in North America, Europe, and Asia, and with institutions in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, and has hosted more than 100 international academic conferences. To better serve the needs of the broad society, the School has set up a training section with degree and non-degree programs for continuing education. Every year it opens dozens of graduate classes, advanced seminars, and has trained over 1,000 people in training classes on commission of the ministries of the central government, local governments, and state and private companies.

Since the beginning of the new century, there have been many profound changes on the international and national levels, which have brought to the School hard-to-get opportunities for development, while at the same time, grave challenges and higher expectations. A world-class humanities program is intrinsic to a world-class Tsinghua University, and so the new School of Humanities at Tsinghua will try its best to meet the research and education requirements of the university, to be committed to carry on the superior tradition, to grasp the new opportunities for development, to push forward its research, faculty construction, and talent cultivation in order to provide solid support for the economic and social development of our nation, to make contributions worthy of its stature and a positive impact on our times, and to lead the development of human civilization.