To establish the University’s important status in academic research by undertaking more major or key projects with national and provincial level and further improvement of comprehensive scientific research ability in disciplines of liberal arts, ECNU has decided to set up pre-research funds for social and humanity sciences.

The pre-research funds mainly assist preliminary study of major theoretic subjects with foresight, overall and strategy importance, earlier stage research of emerging and interdisciplinary subjects, as well as the earlier stage research of basic research subjects with academic values. In principle, the pre-research projects can be accepted during a specific time once a year. The pre-research projects can’t be completed before the undertaking of National Social and Scientific Fund, State Council’s Research Subjects on China's Development Strategy, Ministry of Education’s Major Research Projects on Humanities and Social Sciences, or Shanghai Major Projects of Philosophy and Social Science within the first three years since its establishment.