The School of Social Development and Public Policy of Beijing Normal University is a leading national center for training researchers and creators of public policy. Inspired by the conditions of our times, our school was established in response to the great need for social research and public policy in contemporary China. In this era of globalization, issues such as global warming, financial crisis, and intensified cultural conflicts have presented new challenges to the public interest around the world. Meanwhile, as China is going through rapid economic growth and dramatic social changes, we face unprecedented difficulties in framing policy appropriate for building a harmonious society. These issues present a challenge to which we must form a response. We believe that China must play a decisive role in global affairs and that we shoulder the responsibility to provide first-rate research, training and advice for public and social policy in China and in the world.

With these beliefs, our school and its predecessor, The Institute of Social Development and Public Policy, have experienced ten years of development with our focus equally on research, education and practice. It is now an empirical research-based, interdisciplinary institution, integrating faculty members from a variety of academic backgrounds such as economics, political science, sociology, management, education, psychology, anthropology, geography, statistics, medicine, and public health. It has constructed a new knowledge base for public policy innovation in China. We seek to train our students to be the real backbone of the country, with a solid knowledge of and extensive experience in policy research, backed by a strong sense of social responsibility and a good work ethic, to serve the greater mission of forming and analyzing public policy for the Chinese nation and society.

The BNU School of Social Development and Public Policy is a youthful and internationally-oriented organization; it is full of energy, talent, vision and creativity. It is producing cutting-edge scholarship and facilitating academic exchange and collaboration globally. Our school is now ranked as one of China's first-rate organizations and aims to be among the world's best in the future, and it is also proving to be a powerful magnet gathering scholars together to produce and disseminate knowledge, to educate and enlighten students, to share research projects and passions, to think about the future of our nation and that of mankind, and to inspire innovation.

Our goal is to provide solutions for the problems threatening the livelihood of the people through intervention-oriented policy research. We seek to act as a think-tank for the understanding and solving of various public issues, and to participate fully in the policy-making and research process in China. We hope to make our school a kind of incubator of the next generation of China's public policy-makers, analysts and researchers and to explore the future of governance in China.
Thank you for your interest! We look forward to welcoming you to join us!