In September 1961, in order to strengthen the friendship with other countries in Asia and countries in Africa, under the instructions of China's then premier Zhou Enlai, Beijing Foreign Studies University set up the department of Asian and African languages. This department included the teaching of Kiswahili and Hausa, and carried out research, as well as talent training. In April 2007, the department was renamed as the School of Asian and African Studies. In the same year, it was approved by the Ministry of Education and Beijing city to build special majors.

In September 2019, BFSU expanded the School of Asian and African Studies and established the School of African Studies to promote the research on African non-common languages. The School of African Studies now has 20 bachelor’s degree programs in African languages, the most African languages in any Chinese university. Of the 20 bachelor’s degree programs, 18 are only available at this site across the country. In addition, the school has a teaching and research section for African regions and a center for African studies. It has signed memos with 16 universities in South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania and Ethiopia, and set up exchanges and cooperation relations with the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London and the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations, Paris.

The school is dedicated to training specialized talents in African non-common languages at bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate levels. Undergraduate students can learn English or other professions’ courses when learning a non-common language. The school has two sub-disciplines, Asian-African language and literature, and Asian and African Regional Studies, and it enrolls master’s degree candidates for a period of three years. The school has two doctoral supervisors for enrolling PhDs in the fields of French-speaking Nations and Regions Studies, and Oriental Nationalist Literature Studies.

For the past 60 years, the school has made many achievements in the compilation of textbooks, dictionaries, literary translation and regional studies. There are 14 Chinese teachers and four long-term foreign experts at the school, including two professors and one chair professor, as well as eight doctoral degree holders.

Over the past 60 years, the school has trained a number of non-common language graduates for the country. They are working in government departments, state-owned enterprises, the central media organizations and at universities, playing an important role in fostering the friendly relationship between China and African countries.

Tel: 010-88818512   Email: bwfzxy@bfsu.edu.cn