
Shanghai University offers various levels of higher education to train its students. It has one post-doctoral research center, 9 doctorate disciplines, 37 master's degree disciplines, 66 undergraduate courses toward bachelors degree. Shanghai University currently has more than 17,000 students. It began to admit foreign students from 1976 and has enrolled a great number of overseas students from about forty countries. Since 1988, the University has begun enrolling master and doctoral candidates, who are taught directly in English.
Shanghai University has a growing number of communication and academic exchanges with overseas universities, institutes and enterprises. The university has established intercollegiate relationships with 56 foreign universities. A group of famous international scholars are either honourary or consulting professors, or doctorate student advisors of Shanghai University.
The libraries of Shanghai University contain 3,06 million volumes, including 6,000 varieties of periodicals in Chinese and foreign languages.
While paying great attention to the quality of education, the college also lays stress on academic research. It has 8 research institutions such as Chinese Culture Institute. Besides, it publishes two periodicals called "Society"(published at home and abroad) and "Secretary'.
The college attaches importance to developing international cultural and academic exchanges especially to the Chinese teaching and learning of foreign students. Since 1981, the college has enrolled more than one thousand foreign students from Japan, America, Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Portugal etc. It has been ratified by the National Educational Committee Since 1992 the college has been entitled to enroll foreign students as undergraduates who will learn Chinese Language and Literature and Chinese History, and to give Bachelor of Arts degrees to them after they graduate.
The college can offer foreign students beginners' classes, intermediate-level classes, advanced classes, old people's classes, general advanced students' classes and senior advanced students' classes. Time duration is one month, three months, six months, one year or more than one year. The college also offers short term programs(lasting four weeks or over four weeks) regularly in summer.
Various programs of Chinese teaching and learning in the college have been well received by foreign students.
The college attaches importance to developing international art and academic exchanges and cooperation, It has established relations for exchange and cooperation with institutions of higher art learning in many countries and regions including the Osaka Art University of Japan, the City University of New York of United States, the Paris X Art College of France, the Berlin Art University Germany It has held large exhibitions in the United States, Japan, Denmark, Singapore, and Hong Kong. It has received overseas students from Canada, Singapore, Australia and Japan.
The purpose of the institute is to teach the developed history and features of the Chinese Fine Arts, to enable students to master elemental artistry and methods of appreciation and to improve students' accomplishment.