The College of Humanities and Urban-Rural Development currently has five undergraduate specialties in Law, Social Work, Rural Regional Development (Planning), Exhibition Economy and Management (Planning and Design), and Tourism Management. There are also two Master’s degree programs in the specialties of Rural Development and Social Work. A total of 1,438 students, including 1,260 undergraduate students, 99 full-time postgraduate students, and 79 part-time postgraduate students are now studying in the college. So far, it has 66 faculty members of which three are extra staff. There are 54 full-time teachers, two of them are external teachers and one is an extra staff. Notably, 36 of them have senior professional titles, and 35 own doctoral degrees. There are also five counselors, two laboratory technicians, three office clerks, and one organizer.
The college always prioritizes the quality of undergraduate teaching. Adhering to the principle of cultivating through moral education, it takes a student-centered approach to cultivate participants of and successors to the socialist cause with all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor. In response to social demands, the undergraduate teaching of the college highlights the positioning of composite application-oriented education and the focus on agriculture, and stresses the cultivation of students’ abilities, aiming to meet the talent needs of the capital and the whole country in the fields of rural revitalization, integrated urban-rural development, grassroots governance, modernization of governance capacity, etc. At BUA, students can learn solid professional knowledge, acquire sound professional cognition and thinking, cultivate international vision, innovative and entrepreneurial abilities, and a strong sense of social responsibility, and participate in a wide range of student clubs, social practices, social services, and international exchange activities. After graduation, they perform well in postgraduate exam, in overseas studying, and in starting businesses, with promising employment prospects.
I. Introduction to Specialties
The specialty of Law started to recruit students in 2001, aiming at cultivating legal talents with solid basic knowledge, proficient professional skills, and expertise in the field of agricultural law.
The specialty of Social Work started to recruit students in 2003, aiming at cultivating talents with solid values, ideas, knowledge, and skills in relation to social work, especially those who can engage in professional social work services and management in urban-rural communities, social organizations, welfare institutions, enterprises, etc.
The specialty of Tourism Management started to recruit students in 2005, aiming at cultivating talents who are capable of engaging in operations, management, planning, consulting, training, education, and other work in the tourism industry, especially the management and operations of tourism enterprises and the management of rural tourism and leisure in international metropolises.
The specialty of Rural Regional Development started to recruit students in 2009, aiming at cultivating talents who master the basic theories and skills of regional economy, social development, and urban-rural planning and are capable of engaging in the planning and management of integrated urban-rural development and urban agriculture.
The specialty of Exhibition Economy and Management started to recruit students in 2012, aiming at cultivating talents with solid professional knowledge and skills who can engage in industrial research, exhibition planning, exhibition design, and other work in administrative departments, enterprises, and public institutions in the exhibition field.
II Features in Talent Cultivation
(I) Multi-disciplinary integration
There is deep interdisciplinary integration among the three specialties of Rural Regional Development, Exhibition Economy and Management, and Tourism Management. The three specialties place particular emphasis on planning and design, meanwhile they show the characteristic of interdisciplinary integration between management science and engineering science.
The specialties of Law and Social Work, on the other hand, present the characteristic of interdisciplinary integration of the two.
The college offers optional courses that cross five disciplines and has also established a unified practical teaching system that supports interdisciplinary integration.
(II) Emphasis on cultivating students’ practical abilities
1. “3+1” teaching model
2. An educational mode that enhances students’ learning motivation through participating in social practices
Close attention is paid to organically integrate the “first classroom” and the “second classroom”. By organizing students to participate in social research, social services, disciplinary competitions, and other activities, the college not only improves students’ practical abilities and comprehensive qualities, but also stimulates their learning interest and potential, guides their self-management and active learning, and boosts their classroom learning motivation as well as autonomous learning ability and efficiency.
Every year, our students win a dozen of awards in disciplinary competitions and also publish a large number of papers. Many student activities of the college have been reported by China Central Television (CCTV) and Beijing Television (BTV), and the research reports written by the students have even received instructions from municipal leaders.
III Teaching Conditions
With excellent abilities in teaching, scientific researching, and social servicing, the teachers of the college have received over ten provincial and ministerial-level teaching awards. In the past three years, they have led more than 30 scientific research projects at or above the provincial or ministerial level, with a research funding of over 10 million yuan.
Each year, the college invests over 1 million yuan in teaching. So far, the college has also set its mock courts, multimedia classrooms, and virtual simulation laboratories, covering an area of over 1,000 m2, equipped with modern professional teaching software and databases.
The college attaches great importance to the construction of learning and practice platforms, and has set up a series of on-campus institutions like the Rural Governance Research Center, the Rural Social Work Development and Service Center, the Law Network for “Agriculture, Rural Areas, and Farmers” (snflw.bua.edu.cn), the Law Clinic for “Agriculture, Rural Areas, and Farmers” (snflw.bua.edu.cn), as well as the Social Work Office of BUA. It is a governing unit of the Institute of Legal Education of the China Law Society, a governing unit of the China Association for Social Work Education, a secretariat unit of the Institute of Rural Rule of Law of the Beijing Law Society, a vice-chairman unit of the Professional Committee on Disability and Rehabilitation Social Work of the China Association for Social Work Education, an executive director unit of the Professional Committee on Rural Social Work of the China Association for Social Work Education, etc. There are more than 40 off-campus practice bases in judicial organs, large law firms, social work firms, grassroots organizations, industry leading enterprises, etc. Moreover, it also constructed regular exchange mechanisms with foreign universities such as Sapporo Gakuin University, Shimane University, and the University of Shimane.
