1. History

Renmin University of China (RUC) is one of the earliest universities in China to establish psychology disciplines. As early as the 1950s, it cultivated the first batch of graduate students in psychology for the People's Republic of China, with renowned psychologists such as Fei Peng teaching here then. In 1985, the Social Psychology Teaching and Research Section was established, becoming one of the earliest institutions in China to conduct teaching and research on social psychology. In 1987, it began to recruit graduate students toward social psychology. In 1993, the Institute of Social Psychology was established, and in 1995, it began to recruit doctoral students in the direction of social psychology. In 2005, the Psychology Institute of RUC was established, and at the same time, specialized master's and doctoral programs in social psychology (applied psychology) were set up. In fact, since the 1980s, the discipline centered on social psychology has gradually been established. In 2009, RUC established the Department of Psychology based on its existing disciplines and began to recruit undergraduate students in applied psychology. On November 17, 2023, the Department of Psychology of RUC was independently established as a teaching, research, and think-tank institution under the management of RUC, providing new and exciting opportunities for more rapid growth.

2. Academic Settings

Currently, the Department of Psychology boasts a national first-class undergraduate program in applied psychology, a master's degree authorization for first-level psychology disciplines (academic master's degree), a master's degree authorization for applied psychology (professional master's degree), and doctoral degree authorizations for two second-level disciplines: social psychology and psycholinguistics, as well as corresponding master's degree authorizations. The Department of Psychology has an excellent team with 24 full-time faculty members (10 full professors, 11 associate professors, and three assistant professors) and six staff members. The Department of Psychology currently has 10 laboratories. A more comprehensive and advanced "Social Psychology Science and Engineering Laboratory" is in preparation.

3. Scientific Research

Per the university's strategic design, the current goal of the Department of Psychology is to build "the People's Psychology", emphasizing that psychology should not only study human universals but also study and serve the Chinese governments and 1.4 billion Chinese people, striving to forge a new path of the psychology discipline development in line with RUC's unique advantages. Based on the above goals, the Department of Psychology conducts scientific research and psychology education for national development and social needs. To promote discipline development, the Department of Psychology focuses on conducting organized research with "Social Psychology Science and Engineering" as the main direction based on the faculty’s independent scientific research. Through social, economic, and cultural psychology large-scale surveys, as well as social psychology and neuroscience experiments, our department conducts basic scientific research. We also conduct applied scientific research focusing on societal governance psychology and government-enterprise management psychology, as well as conduct unique engineering research on social psychological and mental health services. The Department of Psychology strives to construct China's independent knowledge system in psychology to serve people's comprehensive development and the process of Chinese modernization.

The Department of Psychology has accumulated substantial academic achievements in psychological research. It has hosted or is currently hosting numerous national and provincial-level psychology projects, including five significant projects of the National Social Science Fund, two key projects of the National Social Science Fund, one cultivation project of the significant research plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 15 general projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China or the National Social Science Fund, and 12 provincial and ministerial projects such as those funded by the Ministry of Education's Humanities and Social Sciences Program.

Faculty research at the Department of Psychology primarily covers social psychology, cultural psychology, economic and management psychology, mental health, psycholinguistics, and emotional psychology, etc. Our faculty publishes around 100 academic papers per year in mainstream journals.

4. Education

The Department of Psychology cultivates psychology talents at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels who are capable of undertaking national Missions, possess professional Abilities and Knowledge and good Ethics, gain Insights into human nature and human psychological and behavioral laws, and finally become academic or applied psychology Talents needed by the country and the People. The education goal framework of the Department of Psychology is the "MIT" (Make-I-Talent) model. This model includes six core concepts: (1) Mission: pillars of rejuvenation, pioneers for a strong nation. (2) Ability: research ability, practical ability. (3) Knowledge: theoretical knowledge, methodological knowledge. (4) Ethics: cultivate inner virtue and exhibit outer morality. (5) Insight: understand human nature and human minds. (6) Talent: academic talent, applied talent. These six aspects are organically combined to form a comprehensive talent cultivation system.

5. Achievements

RUC's psychology program and major construction have achieved outstanding results. In the fifth round of national discipline assessments, RUC's psychology discipline was rated as "B+" ranking. In 2021, RUC's psychology program entered the top 1% of global psychology and psychiatry in the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) rankings. In the 2023 Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, RUC's psychology program ranked fourth among Chinese mainland universities. In the 2024 Shanghai Ranking's China's Best Majors Rankings, RUC's applied psychology program was rated as an "A+" program, ranking fifth nationwide.