The School of Law is one of the 26 directly subordinate teachingdepartments of Yangtze University. The School undertakes the teaching and disciplinary development for two undergraduate programs: Law and Social Work, as well as two master’s degree programs: Juris Master (JM) and Master of Social Work (MSW).It also offersa law minor program and dual degree programs to all students university-wide. The School is a contributing unit to the university’s Master of Marxist Legal Theory and Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs, and participates in the development of the planned doctoral program in Agricultural Economics and Management.
The Law program began in 1994, making it one of the earliest provincial universities to offer legal education. The program holds a competitive advantage among similar institutions. It launched its undergraduate program in 2002, was approved for the Juris Master degree in 2015 (the first provincial university granted this right), was selected for the Jingchu Excellence Collaborative Legal Talent Cultivation Project in 2018, and was designated a Provincial First-Class Program in 2020. Over nearly 30 years, the School has cultivated nearly 3,000 law graduates, the majority of whom serve in the judicial system,with at least three Yangtze University alumni employed in each of Jingzhou’s(where the university is located) people’s courts and procuratorates.
The Social Work undergraduate program started in 2005, and the Master of Social Work degree-granting rights were approved in 2018. The program focuses on judicial social work and assistance social work, emphasizing collaborative talent cultivation and serving the local community, with particular strengths in areas like minor protection, community corrections, services for rural left-behind children, and disaster relief. The School’s initiatives in“Rural Left-Behind Children Care Services” and rescue work during the“Oriental Star Cruise Ship Capsizing” received commendations from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Provincial Party Committee respectively. The School has participated in drafting nearly 10 documents, including both national standards and provincial standards, for the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs.
The faculty is characterized by a structure led by eminent scholars, augmented by practical experts, and dominated by dual-qualified teachers. Prominent anthropologist Professor Colin Filer from the Australian National University, and Chu Tian Scholar Professor Tian Qian from Southwest University, are directly appointed by our university as discipline leaders, working here for approximately one month annually. Practical experts and adjunct master’s supervisors, such as Professor Zhang Qin (President of the Jingzhou Law Society), Professor Xia Yuanliang (Executive Vice President of Jingzhou Intermediate People’s Court), and Vice Chief Prosecutor He Shanquan (Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group, Jingzhou People’s Procuratorate), directly participate in regular teaching and disciplinary development. Among the 26 full-time faculty members, 6 are included in provincial andministerial-level talent databases (including 4 in the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission & Ministry of Education’s“Double Thousand Plan”, and 2 in the Ministry of Justice’s Leading Talent Pool for Foreign-related Lawyers). The faculty includes 18 professors and associate professors, 14 PhD holders, 12 master’s supervisors, 5 scholars with overseas visiting experience, 10 part-time lawyers, 10 certified social workers, and 10 arbitrators.
The School has established effective provincial, municipal, and university-level on-campus practical training platforms. The provincial-level industry-academia-research platform, the Hubei Intellectual Property Training Base (Jingzhou), is housed within the School. The campus also hosts two municipal-level platforms: the Jingzhou Women’s Federation Women and Children Rights Protection Consulting Station (established 2018) and the Jingzhou Foreign-related Public Legal Service Center (established 2020). Additionally, the Yangtze University Legal Service Center is located within the School. The School has established stable teaching practice and graduate employment bases at over 20 judicial and social work practice units both within and outside the province, including Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Jingzhou. Off-campus practice bases include the Jingzhou Assistance Management Station, approved as a Provincial Postgraduate Workstation by the Provincial Degree Office and Department of Education in 2015, and university-level postgraduate workstations such as the Jingzhou Intermediate People’s Court, Beijing Yingke Law Firm, and Hubei Chongdao Law Firm. This ensures the long-term and institutionalized implementation of university-government-enterprise collaborative talent cultivation.
Faculty members have achieved substantial academic results. In the past five years, they have presided over approximately 50 national Social Science Fund projects and provincial andministerial-level teaching orresearch projects, published nearly 100 papers in important journals such as Foreign Social Sciences and Sociology, authored 8 monographs, and had multiple articles reprinted by Xinhua Digest and Renmin University Reprints. They have also won numerous government awards, including the National Outstanding Law Teaching Materials Award, the Ministry of Civil Affairs Outstanding Achievement Award, and the Hubei Development Research Award. The School leads domestically in research on vulnerable group protection, having secured 3 National Social Science Fund projects, 2 Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences projects, and 3 other national-level projects.
The School actively and effectively participates in social services. It serves as a key contributor to national and local legislation, handling part of the secretariat duties for the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ “Standardization Committee for Urban Temporary Assistance.” It is a legislative liaison point for the Jingzhou Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee and the Jingzhou Municipal Bureau of Justice, participating in drafting all local regulations in Jingzhou since 2016. The School is currently leading the drafting of the Jingzhou Central Urban Area Parking Regulations and the Jingzhou Electric Vehicle Management Regulations. The School is a primary provider of continuing education for local public officials, serving as a training base for cadres from institutions like the Jiangbei Prison, Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, Municipal Procuratorate, and Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, having trained over 3,000 participants. It directly participates in local public legal services, organizing faculty and students for street-level legal popularization campaigns during key dates such as Constitution Day (Dec. 4), Consumer Rights Day (Mar. 15), and National Security Education Day (Apr. 15).
Students exhibit a strong academic ethos. The one-time pass rate for the College English Test Band 4 is approximately 80%, consistently ranking among the top three university-wide. The pass rate for the Legal Professional Qualification Examination consistently exceeds 40%, and the postgraduate entrance examination success rate remains stable at around 20%.
