The School of Humanities consists of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Department of History, Department of Philosophy, Center for International Chinese Education, and Center for Art Education and The National Cultural Quality Education Base for Students. The provincial research centers, such as the Research Center for Global Anti-Fascist Studies, the Research Center for Chinese Creation Mythology, and the university-level research centers and institutes such as Institute of Arts and Humanities, Institute of War Trials and World Peace, Institute of Mythological Studies, Institute of Advanced Studies in European Culture, Shanghai Jiao Tong University-KU Leuven “European Culture Research Center” and the Center for the Tokyo Trial Studies are also affiliated to the School of Humanities. Moreover, the School of Humanities comprises four elementary disciplines, including literature, Chinese history, philosophy, and art.

The School of Humanities has two undergraduate programs, that is Chinese Language and Literature (Sino-foreign Cultural Exchange) and Chinese Language (designed for international students), and four undergraduate minors, namely Chinese Language and Literature, History, Musicology and Philosophy. It also offers three first-level postgraduate programs which are Chinese Language and Literature, Chinese History and Philosophy, one English-taught postgraduate program of Modern Chinese Studies, and one professional master program of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages. Additionally, it has a first-level PhD program of Chinese Language and Literature, and a postdoctoral research station of Chinese Language and Literature.