Growing out of the Department of Foreign Languages established in 1985, the School of Foreign Studies (SFS) was founded in June 2003. After 17 years of construction and development, the SFS has become an enterprising and vigorous school with unique features and a solid foundation. Taking the advantages of USTB’s wide range of disciplines and subjects as well as a willingness to reform and innovate, the SFS strives to seize the day and create a progressive environment with a distinct and enduring identity with the goal to transform the SFS into a well-known institute excelling in both teaching and research.

The SFS boasts advanced facilities, including 1 institute, 2 offices, 3 research centers, and 2 teaching centers. It also established an identifiable and sound organizational structure with 5 departments, and 3 undergraduate programs in English, Japanese and German. The SFS was authorized to grant master’s degree in the discipline of Foreign Language and Literature in 2006, and doctoral degree in the discipline of Foreign Language and Literature in 2011. In 2016, the success of doctoral program in the discipline of Foreign Language and Literature is proved by the evaluation and appraisal of the Office of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council. The SFS sets 2 subdisciplines doctoral programs in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics and English Language and Literature, 3 subdisciplines MA programs in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, English Language and Literature, and Japanese Language and Literature, and 2 MTI programs.

The SFS has 93 full-time teachers, with 45.1% of them holding doctoral degrees, 12 serving as professors, 35 as associate professors, and 4 as doctoral supervisors with 24 as master’s supervisors. Among them, 1 teacher was selected in the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (sponsored by the Ministry of Education), 3 received “Beijing Higher Education Prominent Teacher” Awards, 4 were selected in the Beijing Higher Education Young Elite Teacher Project, 3 won the first prize of “Young Teachers’ Basic Teaching Skills Competition of Beijing Colleges and Universities (Literature and History)”, 2 were honored with “USTB Prominent Teacher” Awards, and 6 won “ USTB Backbone Young Teacher” Awards. The SFS employs 14 foreign teachers of English, Japanese and German every year, and has numerous experts and scholars of great influence at home and abroad as honorary professors, visiting professors and adjunct professors.

To meet the social demands for qualified foreign language professionals, we focus on nurturing talents by “emphasizing on basics, practice, and international view”. To prepare future global talents for all-round development, we lay considerable emphasis on advancing knowledge through practice, acquiring the necessary research skills and contributing to society through the cultivation of the student’s distinctive characteristics. In order to equip them to play their own roles on the national and international stage, we encourage students to embrace cultural diversity. Our aim is to cultivate students with their English language competence and comprehensive abilities, a broad range of knowledge, a world-embracing vision, sensitivity to and tolerance of cultural diversity, and cutting-edge competitiveness for their future educational and occupational development by adhering to the teaching reform of Content Based Instruction (CBI), establishing partnerships with universities abroad, maintaining close connections with international organizations.

The SFS has always come out in front in pass rate of TEM-4 and TEM-8 of undergraduates among China’s universities and has ranked first in the rate of oversea further studies in USTB. The employment rate of the SFS maintained at around 96%. The school won “USTB’s Award for High Rate of Undergraduates’ Further Studies” for three times. In the past five years, over 18% of graduates were recommended to China’s top universities for postgraduate studies every year, and over 36% of the students were admitted by world’s top universities in the US, UK, Japan, Germany, and other countries. The achievements of the SFS in talent training are widely recognized by prestigious universities at home and abroad. Students of the SFS have excelled in various professional foreign language competitions across China, such as “FLTRP Cup” National English Debating Competition, China Daily “21st Century Coco-Cola Cup” National English Speaking Competition, “English Speech Contest for Beijing College Students”, “China Cup” Japanese Speech competition, National Japanese Writing Contest, “People’s China Cup” Japanese International Translation Contest, National Japanese Composition and Speech Contest, “Translation Competition for German-Language Art Songs/ Poems” held by Shanghai Translators Association, and National Debate Competition for German-Language Students.

On the basis of various Centers respectively for Systemic Functional Linguistics, for Language Sciences and for World Literature and Culture, the SFS has been devoted to a wide range of academic programs. Making full use of a wide range of disciplines and subjects, our research areas cover theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics, systemic functional linguistics, language sciences, intercultural communication, world literature, translation and interpretation. The intention here is, therefore, to build the School of Foreign Studies into a high-quality and international academic training base known for its cultivation of foreign language talent and continuing innovation. In the past five years, the primary discipline of Foreign Language and Literature and the MTI program of the SFS passed the evaluation of the Office of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council; and the master’s program in the primary discipline of Foreign Language and Literature passed the qualification evaluation. In the 4th CUSR 2016, USTB ranked 33rd (top 30% to 20%) and was graded B in the discipline of Foreign Language and Literature out of 163 participating institutions.

The remarkable progress made in the subject of Foreign Language and Literature is accompanied by more research achievements of teachers in a variety of fields. From 2015 to 2020, we have undertaken 79 projects respectively at the provincial, the ministerial and the state level. There are 15 projects funded by the NSFC and NSSFC, 12 by the State Council and its ministries and commissions, 1 by the Central Military Commission, 10 by local governments, 32 by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and other funding sources at the provincial and the ministerial level, and 9 commissioned by enterprises and public institutions, with a total of CNY 7.25 million financial aid for scientific research. We have published 43 monographs and translations, 33 textbooks, and 253 articles with 30 of them in SSCI and A&HCI journals and other top journals and 111 of them in CSSCI journals and Chinese Core Journals.

The SFS has established an international exchange platform on which honorary professors, visiting professors and scholars from abroad are invited to deliver lectures, participate in conferences and collaborate with domestic researchers in numerous programs. We have earned widespread acclaim from the partnership with overseas institutions of higher education and research institutes, including Yale University, the University of Toronto, Universität Osnabrück, the NSF International, City University of Hong Kong, Universität Mainz and Universität Bonn. From 2015 to 2020, the SFS has organized 6 high-level academic conferences, which were under the themes of “Language Embodiment: Language Science in the Era of Artificial Intelligence”, “Summit Forum for Frontiers of Language Sciences: Embodiment Linguistics” and “Forum on Frontier Discourses in Foreign Literature and Culture”, attended by both Chinese and overseas scholars. Also, as we mark the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, academic activities such as the “Shakespeare Week” and the “British Drama Week” have been welcomed by both teachers and students.

We have initiated the well-known academic program—The Path of Worldwide Humanities--that aims at inviting accomplished teachers in disciplines of foreign language learning to visit the SFS and give lectures. We have so far received over 210 scholars and experts from prestigious universities like Harvard University, Universität Mainz and University of Sydney. Owing to their academic lectures, and instruction, albeit on a short-term basis, the academic horizons of the SFS teachers and students have been broadened, humanities-inspired intellectual atmosphere in the university reinforced and the enthusiasm of the young faculty group for teaching and research further enhanced. Over the last 5 years from 2015 to 2020, we have customized Joint Graduate Degree Programs with De Montfort University, Hosei University and Josai International University. Based on the cooperative mechanism, 40 graduate students have been sent abroad as visiting students and 15 doctoral students for short-term study and international academic conferences. Doctoral students have published 96 articles during their pursuit of a doctoral degree. 

On the basis of three university-level research centers, the SFS has worked hard to ensure successful operation of the discipline of Foreign Language and Literature, making full use of a wide range of disciplines and subjects. Our research areas cover language sciences, theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics, world literature, intercultural communication, translation and interpretation.

Language Science

Brain-inspired intelligence technology and cognitive linguistics

Computational linguistics

Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

Systemic Functional Linguistics

Sociolinguistics

Logic linguistics

Formal linguistics

Semantics

Foreign language learning theory and practice

Psycholinguistics

Foreign Literature and Culture

Chinese and foreign theatre and drama Studies

Foreign literature and theory

World literature and culture

Research on cross-media culture

Translation Studies

Interdisciplinary corpus-based translation

Translation of Chinese classics and other literary works

Translation and sinology

Professional translation services

Focusing on the integration of foreign language, humanities, science and technology, the SFS is endeavored to construct a new education system for liberal arts of foreign languages in STEM universities, and to train inter-disciplinary talents with proficient language skills, world-embracing visions, and profound knowledge in both language and professional fields, under the foreign language and humanities-oriented principle with inter-disciplinary characteristic.

Program in English Language and Literature

Objective: to produce well-rounded English professionals with solid knowledge foundation in the field, smooth cross-cultural communication skills, international perspectives, innovation ability and the ability to adapt to a variety of occupational contexts.

Characteristics and Advantages

Linguistic and Science: to cultivate innovative foreign language talents with English practical ability, interdisciplinary thinking and integrated knowledge of literal arts and sciences based on the teaching mode of “foreign language + language science/ scientific and technical translation”.

Literature and Humanities: to cultivate humanity-oriented foreign language talents with critical thinking, cultural confidence, and cross-cultural decision-making ability based on the teaching mode of “foreign language + humanities and social sciences”.

Program in Japanese Language and Literature

Objective: to produce well-rounded Japanese professionals with solid knowledge foundation in the field, smooth cross-cultural communication skills, international perspectives, innovation ability and the ability to adapt to a variety of occupational contexts.

Characteristics and Advantages:

Training talents under “Japanese + English” and “Japanese +” mode.

This program ranks top 20 of 381 universities offering Japanese majors (cited from: http://www.nseac.com/, 2019-2020 ).

70% of Chinese faculty members have received doctorates, and foreign members lead in the quantity and quality among counterparts.

Program in German Language and Literature

Objective: to produce well-rounded German professionals with a high level of language competence, expertise in Chinese-German and German-Chinese translation and interpretation, comprehensive understanding of relevant trade and economy knowledge, etc.

Characteristics and Advantages:

This program features economy and trade, aiming to cultivate German talents through interdisciplinary methods to meet the diversified demands 70% of the faculty members have received doctorates. All teachers have been to excellent German universities and participated in academic research there. There are 3 long-term German members and 1-2 German experts or teachers during short summer semesters.

The SFS boasts advanced facilities, including 5 centers and 23 laboratories. They are self-access language learning centers, the multimedia center for foreign language teaching, along with its own library of foreign language books and periodicals, as well as the center for learning in practice, the multifunctional center for academic research, simultaneous interpretation laboratories, the audio-visual laboratories, and its own digital language laboratories. The SFS has been equipped with near-infrared eye-tracking devices and electroencephalographs and other hardware equipment including 3D positioning software. We have established a language cognition and learning laboratory where research is conducted. After years of construction and development, the SFS has built a large-scale, multi-dimensional foreign language experimental teaching conditions and facilities, including 3,171 square meters of buildings, 1,235 sets of experimental equipment valued at more than 12.7 million CNY, and 10TB of electronic resources for foreign language teaching and learning, so as to provide a professional platform of foreign language teaching, research and learning for students and teachers in USTB.

Adhering to our core values: “Independent thinking, Social and Intellectual Responsibility, Diversity and Inclusivity”, we will work hard together to build a “harmonious and pristine college” dedicated to advanced teaching and research.