https://fls.gxu.edu.cn/

Established in 1928, Guangxi University set up the School of Foreign Languages in 1947, with the first director being the famous diplomat, counselor of the State Council, and Cambridge PhD. Mr. Luo Jiezhi. In 1947, the School of Foreign Languages offered undergraduate English programs and in 1950 it offered undergraduate programs in Russian. In 1953, Guangxi University was closed during a national adjustment of university departments, and the faculty and students of the School of Foreign Languages were transferred to four other universities, including Sun Yat-sen University and Wuhan University. In 1958, Guangxi University reopened, and the School of Foreign Languages started to provide undergraduate programs in English, Russian, and Japanese in 1973. In 1996, the School of Foreign Languages, the Department of University English Teaching, and the Guangxi Foreign Language Training Center merged, forming the School of Foreign Languages. The school established a business English vocational program in 2000 and a Southeast Asian Language Department in 2007, offering undergraduate programs in Thai and Vietnamese. In 1993, the school was authorized to issue master’s degrees in “Translation Theory and Practice,” and in 2010, it was authorized to issue master’s degrees in the first-level discipline of foreign languages and literature. In 2019, the English major was approved as a national first-class major construction site, and the Japanese major was approved as an autonomous regional first-class undergraduate program. In 2020, the Vietnamese major was approved as a national first-class major construction site, and the translation major was approved as an autonomous regional first-class undergraduate program. In 2021, the translation and Thai majors were approved as national first-class major construction sites. In 2021, the school was awarded the first batch of new arts and sciences research and practice projects by the Ministry of Education. As of October 2022, the first-level discipline of foreign languages and literature at Guangxi University ranked 69th in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, placing it in the top 30% of universities nationwide and leading universities in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It ranked second among the 14 “Double First-Class Universities” jointly established by the Ministry of Education and provinces.

Currently, the first-level discipline of foreign languages and literature consists of five research directions: foreign language and applied linguistics, English language and literature, translation studies, Japanese language and literature, and area studies. The school offers four master’s degree programs in translation, including English translation, English interpretation, Japanese translation, and Vietnamese translation. The school also offers undergraduate programs in English, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Translation. From 2019 to 2021, the school had a total of four undergraduate programs approved as national first-class major construction sites and eight courses approved as regional first-class undergraduate courses. The school has one talent highland and one excellent teaching team in the autonomous region level. English major is a national key program, and foreign language and literature is a key discipline in the autonomous region, while the English, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai language and Translation programs are part of the autonomous region’s advantageous programs.

The school boasts a strong faculty team, consisting of 121 teachers, including 19 professors, 36 associate professors, and 32 teachers with doctoral degrees. Additionally, there are 12 teachers currently pursuing doctoral degrees. The school also has several distinguished faculty members, including one Junwu Scholar, three Junwu distinguished professor, three distinguished professors, one autonomous region-level teaching award winner, and one university-level teaching award winner. Most teachers have gained work experience through studying or conducting research abroad, and a number of them have won awards in national teaching competitions and teaching and research achievement evaluations.

In the past five years, the school has undertaken 1 sub-project of major projects of the National Social Science Fund, 7 National Social Science Fund projects, and 15 provincial and ministerial-level projects. In 2020, the school has won 1 second prize and 1 third prize of the 8th Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Achievements Award (Humanities and Social Sciences) of the Ministry of Education, 1 third prize of the 15th Guangxi Outstanding Achievements Award in Social Sciences in 2018, 2 third prizes of the 16th Guangxi Outstanding Achievements Award in Social Sciences in 2020, 1 second prize of the 17th Guangxi Outstanding Achievements Award in Social Sciences in 2022, and 1 third prize of the Guangxi Science and Technology Award in 2021.

The school is responsible for two academic journals: the English academic journal of the Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies published by Routledge, and the Chinese academic journal of the Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Translation Studies published by Wuzhou Communication Press. The school also hosts several research institutions, including the Asia Pacific Institute for Translation and Intercultural Studies (university-level), the Corpus and Technology Research Center for Translation Studies (co-organized with John Benjamins Publishing Company of the Netherlands), and the Asia Pacific Forum for Translation and Intercultural Studies (a permanent mechanism with 18 member countries). The school organizes 2 to 3 large-scale international and domestic academic conferences each year, and provides high-end translation services such as simultaneous interpretation for major international conferences including the China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, contributing to the local economic and social development and are well-received from all sectors of society.

The school has always adhered to the principle of “morality education”, and upholds the school motto of “Diligence, Sincerity, Humility, Learning, Innovation”. With the goal of cultivating leading talents, it vigorously promotes teaching reform, strengthens teaching management, and continuously improves teaching quality, delivering a large number of outstanding foreign language talents with both virtue and talent and international vision to society. The school currently has 1,151 students, including 790 undergraduates and 361 graduate students. Students frequently win awards in various national and regional foreign language competitions, and the pass rate for the National Translation Professional Qualification Examination ranks among the top in similar colleges and universities.

In the new era, the school will continue to prioritize talent development, focus on discipline construction, support platform construction, and promote team work. We will seize opportunities, consolidate strengths, and promote the development of all school affairs in a coordinated manner to contribute to the construction of a “Double First-Class” university and make greater contributions to the economic and social development of the country.

(Data updated as of 3rd March 2023)