The Chinese Language and Literature major of the College of Literature is a first-level subject doctorate-granting institution. There are six majors currently accepting doctoral students, which are Literary Arts, Ancient Chinese Literature, Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature, Chinese Language and Philology, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, and Comparative and World Literature. The term of study is three years, and those who graduate will receive a doctorate of literature degree.

The College offers six first-level master’s majors under the subject of Chinese Language and Literature, including Literary Arts, Ancient Chinese Literature, Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature, Chinese Language and Philology, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, and Comparative and World Literature. The term of study is three years, and those who graduate will receive a master of literature degree.

Literary Arts Major

The Literary Arts subject was established in 1949, and enjoyed a high reputation in China and abroad as early as the 1950’s, when it began to accept and teach graduate students. In 1981, it was included among China’s first batch of master's degree granting institutions, and in 1986 it was approved as a doctoral degree granting institution, making it one of the three major Literary Arts doctoral programs at the time. In 1994, it was named as a provincial key subject. In 1998, the major within this first-level subject was granted the right to confer first-level doctorate degrees, and a doctoral residency program was established. In 2000, Shandong University's Literary Arts Research Center, which was established with personnel from this subject as the primary component, successfully applied to become a Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences Key Research Base. In 2004, the first phase of the project passed the inspection and acceptance of the Ministry of Education. In 2001, this subject was approved as a key national subject by the Ministry of Education and became one of three Literary Arts key national subjects in China. There are 7 doctoral tutors in the subject’s doctoral program, with research specialties in literary theory, aesthetics theory, Western aesthetics, and literary aesthetics; 11 master tutors with specialties including literary theory, aesthetic theory, and history of Chinese literary criticism.

Ancient Chinese Literature Major

The Ancient Chinese Literature major is a traditional strength of our College. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, notable academics such as Feng Yuanjun, Lu Kanru, Gao Heng, and Xiao Difei provided a solid academic foundation for the subject. Later, a succession of well-known scholars at home and abroad successively taught here, and in 1996, it was named a key subject in Shandong Province. When the State Council restored the degree system in 1981, the subject was the first to receive the right to confer master's degrees and doctoral degrees. Current doctoral research specialties include: Pre-Qin and Han Literature, Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties Literature, Tang and Song Literature, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Literature, Modern Literature, and Popular Literature. There are currently 9 doctoral supervisors. Research specialties for postgraduates include: Pre-Qin and Han Literature, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties Literature, Tang and Song Literature, Yuan, Ming and Qing Literature, Modern Literature, History of Chinese Poetry, and History of Chinese Novels. There are currently 15 master tutors.

Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature Major

We have a tradition of excellence in the subject of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature. Wen Yiduo, Yang Zhensheng, Shen Congwen, Lao She, Hong Shen, Zhao Taiquan, Wang Tongzhao, Gao Lan, Sun Changxi, and other famous modern writers and scholars have taught here, providing a solid foundation and cultivating an outstanding tradition. This subject was one of the first to be approved to grant master’s degrees in 1981. It was approved to grant doctorates in 1997, and named a Shandong Province key subject in in 1996. The subject of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature currently offers four doctoral training specialties, including General 20th Century Chinese Literature, Modern Chinese Literature, Contemporary Chinese Literature, and Modern Contemporary Chinese Literature and Overseas Chinese Literature, and has 7 doctoral supervisors. Training specialties for postgraduates include General 20th Century Chinese Literature, Modern Chinese Literature, Contemporary Chinese Literature, and Lu Xun Studies, with 16 postgraduate tutors.

Chinese Language and Philology Major

Chinese Philology is an outstanding subject with significant national influence. This subject was among the first batch to be approved to grant master's degrees in 1981, and was approved to grant doctorate degrees in 1993. In 1994, it was established as a key subject in Shandong Province. The major has 8 doctoral tutors and 13 master tutors. The Chinese Language and Philology subject consists of four research specialties: Chinese Language History, Chinese Lexicology, Chinese Dialects, and Literary Calligraphy Culture. These four specialties pass on the results and methods of traditional linguistics research, use modern linguistics theories to investigate and discuss various linguistic phenomena from the diachronic and synchronic perspectives and summarize their laws, and have published and issued a series of important research results which have been highly impactful in the academic world.

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Major

Linguistics and Applied Linguistics is one of the College’s new subjects. In 1996, after the Chinese Language and Literature major was approved to confer first-level doctorate degrees, the original doctoral tutors of the Chinese Language and Philology (Information Engineering) specialty were transferred to the applied linguistics major, and the Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Major began to accept master's and doctoral students in 2000. At present, the three main research specialties in this major are Language Theory, Chinese Information Processing, and Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. The program has made significant contributions in fields such as Chinese word frequency statistics and thesaurus construction, word correlation, and Chinese CAI network multimedia course development.

Comparative and World Literature Major

The Comparative and World Literature major is a new subject developed by the College based on foreign literature research. In 1996, after the Chinese Language and Literature major was approved to confer first-level doctorate degrees, the Comparative and World Literature master’s degree program was established. There are 2 doctoral tutors and 4 master tutors in the major program, and the institute has extensive contacts with its domestic and foreign counterparts, often organizes academic activities, and invites famous scholars to speak. The Secretariat of the Shandong Society of Comparative Literature is located at our institute.

University Language Research Center

The University Language Research Center currently has 4 associate professors and 5 lecturers. The Center is primarily responsible for teaching the basic public literature courses in the science and engineering majors and some of the College of Literature’s basic courses. These courses include "Literary Writing and Appreciation", "Film and Television Literature", "Applied Writing", "Lyric and Poetry Appreciation", "Secretarial Studies", "Administrative Management", "General Psychology" and "Pedagogy". The courses currently offered include: "Traditional Chinese Literature Training", "Basic Writing", "Basic Literary Knowledge", "University Writing", and "Modern Chinese and Technical Writing".

Shandong University Institute of Aesthetics

The Shandong University Institute of Aesthetics of was founded in 1987 and is administratively affiliated with the College of Literature. The Institute is mainly engaged in the research of aesthetics theory, literary aesthetics, Chinese aesthetics, and Chinese and Western comparative aesthetics, and instructs doctoral, master and advanced postgraduate students. The Institute’s director, Professor Zhou Laixiang, is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association for Aesthetics. He has published more than 20 academic papers. His research is at the forefront of similar majors in China and is highly influential abroad.