The earliest French specialty since the founding of the People's Republic of China

Established in 1950, the French specialty of BFSU was the first French specialty since the founding of the People's Republic of China. The school has three departments: Linguistics and Translation, French Literature, and French-speaking Countries and Regions Research.

The school serves society and provides language services and support for major events such as the Beijing Olympics, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the China-France High-Level Cultural and People-to-People Exchange Mechanism.

Compound and multilingual talent training model

Talent training goals of the school: Through language and cultural education and impartment of related professional knowledge, to promote the overall development of students, cultivate their cross-cultural communication skills, critical thinking skills and innovative abilities, and turn them into individuals with patriotism, international viewpoints, and a humanistic spirit.

The school takes talent training as the core, and explores new talent training models. The undergraduate programs in French and French International Relations aim to cultivate compound and multilingual talents who have French language competence, are familiar with the conditions and culture of China and French-speaking countries and regions and can adapt to the needs of social and economic development. The school provides a variety of English courses and the opportunity to take the TEM-8 exam for students, so that they can skillfully use English after graduation. Students with good academic performance can attend minor courses and double degree programs. The school also includes outstanding students in the "Strategic Talent Plan” and provides compound talent training courses for them.

The 3-year academic master’s programs have four directions and the 2-year professional master’s programs have two: interpretation and translation.

In addition to language ability training, the school attaches importance to liberal education, which broadens students' academic vision and cultivates their humanistic spirit. The school also strengthens practical education. Through alumni forums and contacts with employers, it offers effective career guidance.

Excellent teachers

In the past 70 years, the school has cultivated many teachers for the French specialty of BFSU and other colleges and universities across the country. The school currently has 28 French teachers, 75% of whom have doctoral degrees.

Fruitful teaching results

The academic performance of the students ranks top in China, and the students have achieved outstanding results in various academic competitions across the country.

Rich academic achievements

The school has played a leading role in national French teaching circles. Since its establishment, it has compiled five sets of textbooks for French teaching at the fundamental stage and various other textbooks, and published many translations, academic monographs and papers.

Apprendre Le Francais was launched by the school in 1980. It was the first French-Chinese bilingual professional magazine issued nationwide, and is now a free online French learning magazine. In addition, in order to strengthen regional country-specific studies, the academic journal Etudes Francophones was officially launched in 2018. In addition, the school publishes the blue book Report on Development of the French Republic every year.

Extensive international exchange

The school has a high international reputation, and exchanges and cooperates with 20 internationally renowned institutions including the Paris Institute of Political Studies, the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations, Paris, the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3, the Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), the University of Geneva, the Free University of Brussels, and the University of Montreal. About 40 undergraduate and postgraduate students study in these institutions every year.

The school has a French-speaking countries and regions research center, a Swiss research center, a Quebec research center, and a Belgian Wallonia French-speaking research center, and has established cooperation and launched various cultural activities with embassies or representative offices of French-speaking countries and regions such as France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the Canadian province of Quebec.

"Séminaire francophone" is the only academic forum in China that uses French as its working language. It invites famous humanities and social science experts, scholars and diplomats from French-speaking countries and regions to give speeches, and exerts an important impact on French academic circles across the country.

Excellent alumni

Over the 70 years since the establishment of the French specialty, the school has graduated more than 4,000 scholars who work in ministries and commissions, international organizations, universities, research institutes, news media, banks, large state-owned enterprises, foreign-invested enterprises, and joint venture enterprises. Many among them have made outstanding achievements.

BFSU is known as the "cradle of diplomats", and the school, as one of the earliest specialties at the university, has trained more than 50 ambassadors, dozens of French translators and interpreters working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and many diplomats.

Tel: 010-88816305   Email: bwfyxb@bfsu.edu.cn