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School of Psychology

2020-04-13

The School of Psychology of Inner Mongolia Normal University was founded in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region in September 2018. It is the first school of psychology established in the minority regions of China, according to IMNU officials.

History

In the early 1950s, older generation psychologists such as Zhang Muyun, Guan Shuwen, Sha Yuying and Li Pingxi carried out psychology teaching and research work.

In 1960, the IMNU opened a preschool education major, offering courses in child psychology and educational psychology.

In 1981, major courses such as General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Social Psychology and History of Psychology were opened in the IMNU.

Since then, Psychology, as a key developing subject of the IMNU, has progressed rapidly in its evolution at the undergraduate level.

After five years of teaching at the undergraduate level, the IMNU obtained the qualification to grant a master's degree in Developmental Psychology in 1985 and it formally started to enroll postgraduates in Psychology in 1986.

In 2001, the IMNU established an undergraduate major in Psychology for national enrollment.

In 2003, it obtained the qualification to grant a master's degree in Applied Psychology.

In 2004, Psychology was identified as a key discipline in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

In 2006, the IMNU obtained the qualification to grant a master's degree in Basic Psychology.

In 2007, the IMNU’s Psychological Education Research Center was recognized among the first batch of humanities and social science research key bases in Inner Mongolia -- and the psychology laboratory was identified as the autonomous region’s key laboratory.

In 2011, the IMNU obtained the right to grant a doctorate at the first level of the Psychology discipline and officially recruited PhD students in Psychology in 2012.

The National Psychological Professional Committee of the Chinese Psychological Association, the National Psychological Professional Committee of the Chinese Social Psychological Association, the Inner Mongolian Psychological Association and the Inner Mongolia Social Psychological Association are all affiliated with the IMNU due to its strong standing in the teaching and research of Psychology.

In September 2018, the school departments of the IMNU were restructured and the School of Psychology was formally established.

School structure

Currently, the school has three teaching and research institutions: the Department of Psychology, the Psychology Degree and Discipline Construction Center and the Psychology Experiment and Practice Innovation Center.

It also has three teaching and scientific research platforms at the autonomous region level: the Key Laboratory of Psychology, the Key Research Base of Psychological Education and the Psychology Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center.

Moreover, it has set up a comprehensive office, an administrative teaching office, a postgraduate administrative office, a student and employment office and a psychology reference room.

Staff

The school has 26 faculty members, of whom minority faculty members number 14.

About 70 percent of its full-time teachers have obtained PhD degrees or are PhD students.

Of these staff members, seven are professors, nine are associate professors, nine doctoral supervisors and 16 are master’s supervisors.

At present, the school has 223 full-time undergraduate students, 92 postgraduate students; 39 doctoral students (including six international doctoral students) and six international master’s students.

Through the joint efforts and careful development of successive generations,  a complete talent training system that integrates undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational education, as well as bilingual teaching in Mongolian and Chinese, has formed.

Education resources

The school has advanced and complete psychology laboratories, and psychological testing and data analysis software such as SAS, SPSS, AMOS, Mplus and LisreR Nvivo.

It has the largest psychological professional database in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. It also has a full range of psychology academic journals and books, meeting the teaching and research needs of teachers and students.

Education achievements

With a goal of building a first-class discipline, the school is committed to cultivating high-level psychology professionals and carrying out innovative scientific research.

It has established its own characteristics and knowhow in the fields of the cognitive and social development of children in minor ethnic groups, cross-cultural psychology, language and cultural cognitive processing.

In recent years, the college has undertaken more than 20 projects at national and ministry levels; as well as more than 10 projects at the autonomous region level.

Teachers and students at the school have also published more than 300 papers in international and domestic authoritative psychology journals and published more than 30 textbooks and monographs.

Cooperation and exchanges

The school extensively conducts academic exchanges and cooperation, both at home and abroad.

In recent years, it has established good cooperative relations with universities and research institutions in Mongolia, Russia, the United States, Japan and other countries. It has invited well-known experts and scholars from home and abroad to come to the school for academic exchanges.

It also enrolls students from other countries to study for master's degrees and doctorates.