The School of Philosophy and Society of Lanzhou University grew out of the Department of Philosophy. In January 1975, the preparatory group for philosophy was set up. In 1978, the Department of Philosophy was formally established and the first undergraduate students of philosophy major were enrolled. In response to the needs of social change and discipline construction, the department of Philosophy was renamed as the Department of Philosophy and Sociology in 1994 and enrolled the first undergraduate students of sociology in 1996.In July 2004, the School of Philosophy and Sociology was established on the basis of the Department of Philosophy and Sociology.

 

The school has always attached importance to discipline construction and development. In 1985, the Master of Chinese Philosophy program was established. In 2001, two master's programs in foreign Philosophy and Sociology were established. In 2003, it established three master's programs in Marxist Philosophy, philosophy of Science and Technology and Demography. In 2010, it was authorized to grant master's degree in philosophy and sociology. Since then, the two first-level disciplines of philosophy and sociology have been selected as provincial key disciplines of Gansu Province. In 2011, it began to recruit professional masters in social work (MSW), and was selected as one of the first training bases for Social work talents of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 2013.From 1983 to now, it founded and hosted the academic journal Science, Economy and Society. At the same time, the school with era pace, response to the reality concern, gathering the power, establish Center for Community Development and Anti-Poverty Studies, Lanzhou University, Center for Religious and Cultural Studies, Lanzhou University, Centre for Ecological Philosophy and Civilization Studies, Lanzhou University, Center for Intercultural Studies, Lanzhou University, Interdisciplinary Research Center for Community Health, Lanzhou University, Centre for Research and Evaluation of Social and Economic Development, Lanzhou University, Scientific research base of China Aging Association, and other professional research institutions, Effectively support and serve the teaching and scientific research work of the school. In the future, the discipline of philosophy will focus on the philosophy of science and technology, ethics and Marxist philosophy while maintaining the traditional dominant discipline orientation of Chinese philosophy and foreign philosophy. The discipline of sociology (including social work) mainly focuses on social problems, actively captures changes in the real world, explores new sociological issues in the new era, condenses research directions with characteristics, and serves national strategies and local society.

 

The school now has a group of teachers with solid professional foundation, excellent academic background, love their jobs, dedication and enjoy teaching. School of the existing staff of 58 people, including 46 full-time faculty members(30 philosophy, 16 sociology), 13 professors (9 philosophy, 4 sociology), 3 researcher professors (2 philosophy, 1 sociology), 24 associate professors (14 philosophy ,12 sociology),6 lecturers (5 philosophy, 1sociology).

 

The development history of more than 40 years embodies the efforts of several generations of scholars. School teachers and students to the value of " Unity of knowledge and action, tranquility and achievement ", carry forward the school motto of "unyielding and unique", to form the school practical, indifferent to fame and wealth, have the courage to bear the fine style of study of before others, for national and social culture and the large number of elite talents from various fields by academic circles universal respect and recognition from society.