Established in 1944, the School of English and International Studies (SEIS) at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) stands as one of China’s most prestigious institutions in its field. SEIS was among the first institutions authorized to confer doctoral degrees and is now a standing member of the State Council’s Foreign Language and Literature Discipline Evaluation Group. It hosts a key discipline in English Language and Literature, with both its English and Translation programs recognized as national first-class undergraduate majors and rated A+ at the discipline level. SEIS is also designated as a Beijing Municipal Key Discipline site and houses a national-level outstanding teaching team, a Beijing outstanding education team, and the Beijing Translation Experimental Teaching Demonstration Centre.

SEIS comprises the Department of English and the Department of Translation and Interpreting, supported by 16 specialized research centres. These include the National Research Institute for Foreign Language Materials, Centre for English Literature Studies, Centre for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Centre for Translation Studies, Education Centre for Master of Translation and Interpreting, Translation Experimental Teaching Demonstration Centre, Centre for Socio-Translation Studies, American Studies Centre, British Studies Centre, Australian Studies Centre, Canadian Studies Centre, Irish Studies Centre, Centre for Intercultural Studies, Chinese American Literature Research Centre, Child Language Research Centre, and South Pacific Studies Centre.

SEIS boasts a distinguished faculty of 30 professors (including 22 doctoral supervisors), 30 associate professors, and 34 lecturers. Approximately 40 percent hold PhDs from leading overseas institutions such as the University of Cambridge, the University College London, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Toronto. SEIS offers comprehensive academic programs spanning undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and post-doctoral levels.

Committed to cultivating high-end talents to meet national demands, SEIS has garnered significant accolades, including the Second Prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award for Higher Education (Undergraduate) in 2022. Eight of its English-taught courses have been designated as National First-Class Undergraduate Courses. Faculty-compiled textbooks, Contemporary College English · Intensive Reading and College Critical Thinking English Course · Intensive Reading, won the Second Prize in the inaugural National Excellent Textbooks competition. These achievements reflect SEIS’s innovative approaches to the new liberal arts education model and contribute Chinese insights to global foreign language education development.

Over the past five years, SEIS faculty have published over 200 CSSCI-indexed papers and more than 100 SSCI-indexed papers. They have authored 42 monographs, translated 48 works, published 64 textbooks, and produced 44 research reports. SEIS spearheads major national research projects funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China, including:

· Chronicles and Studies of 21st Century English Literature (PI: Jin Li)

· Rewriting the History of Ancient Translation Based on New Historical Methods (PI: Xia Dengshan)

· The Aesthetic Interpretation of Chinese Classical Civilization in British Modernism (PI: Tao Jiajun)

· Major Research Project on the Study of US Issues in the New Context (PI: Li Qikeng)

SEIS also publishes five academic journals: Translation Horizons, Journal of Literature in English, Chinese Journal of Australian Studies, Intercultural Studies Forum, and Translation and Society.

Guided by the motto “Striving for a mind embracing East and West, searching for the way to serve all humanity” and the principle “Development through depth, quest for excellence”, SEIS emphasizes foundational rigor, interdisciplinary integration, and academic innovation. It offers five undergraduate concentrations:

· English

· English (Joint Program with China University of Political Science and Law for Foreign-Related Legal Talent)

· English (Country and Regional Studies)

· English (Foreign Language Education)

· Translation (Advanced Diplomatic Translation)

Following the new liberal arts education path, undergraduate programs integrate language learning with humanities and social sciences, fostering high-level, interdisciplinary, and internationalized talents. Students are expected to develop comprehensively in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and practical abilities, possessing:

· Solid English language foundations

· Critical cultural literacy

· Outstanding intercultural and critical-thinking capabilities

· Excellent learning abilities

· Innovative practical skills

· Collaboration and leadership competencies

· A strong sense of social responsibility

Graduate programs cover English Literature, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Translation Studies, and Area Studies (e.g., American, British, Australian, Canadian, and Irish Studies), equipping students with systematic theoretical knowledge and advanced research capabilities.

The SEIS graduates have excelled in diplomacy and foreign affairs, international trade, cultural exchange, media, and education, renowned for their linguistic prowess, global perspective, and adaptability. Distinguished alumni include Jin Liqun, Fu Ying, Li Zhaoxing, Zhu Ling, Ma Shengrong, Yang Lan, Xu Gehui, Zhou Yu, Sun Ning, and Yao Mengyao.

We begin with language—but our mission transcends it.