The College of International Studies, Southwest University is a key center for foreign language education & research in West China and one of the prestigious institutions specializing in foreign studies in China. The School was established in April 2006 upon the merger upon the former School of Foreign Languages, Southwest China Normal University and the former School of Foreign Languages, Southwest Agricultural University. Foreign language education & research at the School has a long history, dating back to 1906 when East Sichuan Teachers College (i.e., Chuandong Shifan Xuetang), the initial predecessor of the University, was founded. Many distinguished scholars and renowned professors have ever worked at SFL, such as Wu Mi, Fang Jing, Zou Jiang, Sun Fali, Zhang Zhengdong, Xiong Zhenglun, Zhao Weifan, Li Decai, Lu Shaowu, Jiang Jiajun, Chen Zhi'an and Liu Jiarong. The School has currently developed into one of the largest schools of the University, boasting a teaching staff of more than 200, with 20 full professors, 68 associate professors, seven doctoral supervisors and some foreign experts.

SFL keeps a full-time enrollment of about 2,000 undergraduates, 350 MA and 20 PhD candidates, and a regular enrollment of more than 2,000 other types of students. The School offers undergraduate majors in English, Japanese and Russian, MA programs in English language & literature studies, and linguistics & applied linguistics, and PhD program in English language & literature studies. Notably, undergraduate English major at the School leads the nation in terms of English education, English translation and business English. The School also offers university-wide courses in English, Japanese, French, German, Russian and Korean. In addition, it offers courses for self-taught students, continuing education and network programs, master of translation and interpreting and master of education programs, Chinese studies for international students, and other types of foreign language training program. A number of courses offered by the School are rated as national-level, provincial-level or university-level top-quality course. Moreover, the School is a leading national-level training center for primary and middle school English teachers as designated by the Ministry of Education. The School boasts advanced teaching and learning facilities, characterized by its Digital Video-Media Foreign Language Learning Center, the largest digital resource center for foreign language learning in the nation.

The School attaches great importance to academic research and it enjoys an influential academic position in the fields of English language & literature studies, linguistics and applied linguistics. With the continuous growth of its academic staff, the School has established seven research institutes: Institute of Foreign Language Education, Institute of Cognitive and Functional Linguistics, Institute of Foreign Languages and Culture, Institute of Foreign Literature, Shakespeare Institute, Institute of Translation and Lexicographical Studies, and Institute of Japanese Studies. The School has a library with over 40,000 academic books in foreign languages and various periodicals and journals. Presently, the faculty has undertaken eight research projects funded by the National Funds of Social Sciences and plenty of research projects funded by the Ministry of Education, the Municipality or the University. The School has been frequently hosting national academic conferences, and the faculty has been making significant academic achievements, with a great deal of publication. The School has built a very favorable environment for the development and promotion of academic staff, funding the faculty's participation in international and national academic conferences, funding the faculty's publication of academic works, funding the faculty's pursuit of doctorate, sending the faculty abroad for academic training or exchange, giving incentives to academic research, recruiting excellent scholars, etc. Many faculty members have become nationally-leading figures in their respective academic fields.

The School actively keeps contact with the community and maintains exchanges with sister schools and overseas institutions. It provides free teaching for Sunday English Class in Beibei District, Chongqing for over 25 years and free teaching for some other community schools. The School has established links with academic institutions in many countries or regions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Thailand, Germany and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. At present, over 60% of the faculty and hundreds of students have benefited from such exchange programs. Each year, dozens of distinguished scholars and experts from home and abroad are invited to the School for lectures or other academic activities.

The School is now striving to be a key national base for the education of high-level professionals in foreign languages and for the scientific research on foreign languages. It aims to develop English language & literature studies into a national-level key discipline, establish a post-doctoral research station for this discipline, and offer Category-I-discipline MA and PhD programs in foreign language & literature studies.

Degree Programs:

At present, SFL offers bachelor programs, MA programs, PhD programs, self-taught undergraduate programs, continuing education programs, and network programs. The School offers undergraduate programs mainly in two languages (English and Japanese), which covers overfivespecialties, namely, English Education, English language and literature, business English, translation, and Japanese education.

Approved by the Ministry of Education, SFL launched its MA program in English language and literature in 1979. At present, it is authorized to confer master's degree in five graduate programs, including English language and literature, foreign linguistics and applied linguistics, master of translation and interpreting (MTI), equivalently qualified master, and master of education. SFL's MA programs cover nine specialties, namely, English linguistics, translation theory and practice, lexicographical studies, American studies, English and American literature, linguistic theory and application, English curriculum theory, psycholinguistics and Japanese teaching methodology. In 2005, SFL was authorized to deliver PhD degrees in English language and literature, which offers eight specialties: cognitive linguistics, pragmatics, functional linguistics, Shakespeare studies, English and American romantic poetry studies, renaissance English literature, English and American modernistic literature, and English teaching methodology.

Presently, there are students studying at SFL, including undergraduates and graduate students.

Bachelor's Degree Program

MA and PhD Programs