Introduction to School of Economics, AUFE

Department of Economics was founded as in 1994 and merged as part of School of Economics and Finance until 2008, when it developed into School of Economics, Anhui University of Finance and Economics (SEAUFE).

Currently, SEAUFE currently set up 3 academic departments, including Department of Economics, Department of National Economics and Management, and Department of Digital Economics. It runs 3 bachelor’s degree programs, including Economics, National Economics and Management, and Digital Economics, and awards Master’s degrees in 2 first-degree disciplines, including Theoretical Economics and Applied Economics, and 5 second-degree disciplines, including Political Economics, Regional Economics, National Economics, Western Economics and History of Economic Thoughts.

SEAUFE has 3 virtual research institutes, including Institute of County Economy, Institute of Corporate Economy and Institute of Regional and Urban Economy. SEAUFE’s Experimental teaching center owns 2 labs, Economic Analysis lab and Experimental Economics Lab. SEAUFE also houses Anhui Provincial Society of Urban Economics and the secretariat of Bengbu Municipal Society of Economics.

SEAUFE has given special attention to the faculty development and made great efforts to enlarge the faculty tank and add more diversity to the academic structure by cultivating, introducing and employing talents from all sides. In 2022, the school has 66 teachers. The teaching faculty include 18 professors (27.27%), 22 associate professors (33.33%) and 26 lecturers 39.40%). 57 teachers have received their Ph. D degrees, accounting for 86.36% of the faculty and 6 have received their Masters’ degrees, accounting for 10.17%. Besides, the school has 7 adjunct professors from universities such as Fudan University, Renmin University of China, Nanjing University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and 6 college student practice tutors from government agencies, sector department and large- and medium-size enterprise. The school also has 1 expert of review panel for National Social Science Fund of China, 1 expert with State Department special allowanc, 2 provincial youth and middle-aged academic leading teachers, 6 provincial teaching-celebrity teachers and 3 provincial young talent teachers.

SEAUFE has been convicted in its subject and discipline development. The school has 3 provincial teaching teams in Economics, Corporate Economics and Economics Experiments. The economics program is graded as the Program with Distinctive Features at both the provincial and national level. It is among the list of the Pilot Programs for Compressive Professional Reform at the provincial level, and in 2019, joined in the list of the National First-Rank Undergraduate Program Construction. The National Economics and Management program joined in the list of the Anhui Provincial Undergraduate Program Construction. The Regional Economics program is among AUFE key subjects and B-class academic zones. The school has 1 first-rank course at the national level, 2 resources-sharing courses and 1 demonstration course at the provincial level, 8 demonstration courses and 2 resources-sharing and quality open course at school level, as well as 10 odd provincial planning teaching materials. On the principle of resources-sharing, complementing, mutual benefits and win-win cooperation, the school has established college students practice and employment bases with more than 40 large- and medium-scale enterprises in and out of Anhui Province.

SEAUFE has been consistently pushing forward with its scientific research. It has issued various incentive policies and created such a good atmosphere that scientific research not only complements program teaching but also leads the disciplinary development. Over these years, its teaching faculty has undertaken more than 100 research projects at all levels, including 1 National Social Science Foundation of China (NSSC) major project, 2 NSSC key projects, 11 NSSC general projects, 2 National Natural Science Foundation of China general projects, 4 Ministry of Education projects, 1 National Education Science Planning project, 5 National Statistical Science Planning projects, 20 odd Anhui provincial projects in Social Science, Natural Science and Soft Science, 2 Anhui provincial leaders-designated projects, 1 social work practice research project (2013-2014) sponsored by China Association of Social Workers, Ministry of Civil Affairs, and 5 projects sponsored by Anhui Provincial Association of Social Sciences. They have also undertaken and completed some 100 teaching researches at both the provincial and school level, published more than 50 scholarly monographs and 15 teaching materials. Over the past 3 years, teachers in SEAUFE have published more than 400 journal essays, including 108 key-journal essays, and been awarded social science prizes and teaching achievements prizes for more than 10 times respectively. Besides, SEAUFE is also the council member of many renowned academic societies such as Chinese Association for Regional Economics, China Society of Urban Economy, China Society of Macroeconomic Management Education, Annual Conference of Chinese Foreign Economics, Chinese Association for CAPITAL Studies, National Association for Economic Geography, Anhui Urban Economics Institute and Anhui Urban Economics Institute.

Currently, SEAUFE has more than 1,650 undergraduates and near 100 postgraduates. Each year, about 20% of the graduating students get enrolled in post-graduate programs, and the annual employment rate is above 95%. Up to the day, SEAUFE has cultivated more than 3,500 under- and post- graduates, the majority of whom work in economic, financial and investment sector as well as in teaching and scientific research institutes.

Recently, SEAUFE has consistently strengthened its social service function and achieved significant results. On the one hand, the school has, taken the advantage of its research strengths in county and urban economy, proactively cooperated with the local governments and issued annually Report on the Competitiveness of Anhui County Economy, Report on Urban Development in Anhui Province, and Report on Investment Development in Anhui Province, as references for the local governments. On the other hand, the school has also compiled many government-entrusted national economy and social development plans as well as drawing up special industry development plans, and many proposed research reports have received the consent and adoption from government agencies.