The first French major since the founding of the People’s Republic of China
In 1950, Beijing Foreign Studies University established the first French major following the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Today, the Faculty of French and Francophone Studies comprises three departments: Linguistics and Translation, French and Francophone Literature, and Research on French-speaking Countries and Regions.
The faculty serves society by offering language services and providing volunteers for major events including the Beijing Summer and Winter Olympic Games, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the China-France High-Level Cultural and People-to-People Exchange Mechanism.
Multilingual and interdisciplinary talent training
The faculty’s talent training goals: To foster students’ holistic development through language and cultural education, coupled with the imparting of relevant professional knowledge. The aim is to cultivate their cross-cultural communication skills, critical thinking and innovative abilities, shaping them into individuals with patriotism, global perspectives, and proficiency.
The faculty prioritizes talent cultivation and continuously explores innovative training models. The undergraduate programs in French and French International Relations aim to develop multilingual and interdisciplinary professionals with strong French language skills, a deep understanding of the culture and conditions of China and French-speaking countries, and the competency to meet the demands of social and economic development. To enhance students’ language proficiency, the faculty offers a variety of English courses and the opportunity to take the TEM-8 exam. Students will also enroll in minor courses offered by other schools of BFSU. Additionally, outstanding students can be included in the “Talent Platform for Excellence”, which provides specialized interdisciplinary training courses oriented toward international careers.
The three-year academic master’s programs include four specializations, while the two-year professional master’s programs offer two orientations: French Conference Interpretation and French Interpretation and Translation.
In addition to language training, the faculty places great emphasis on liberal education, which broadens students’ academic horizons and nurtures their humanistic spirit. Practical education is also prioritized. The faculty organizes alumni forums and engages with employers to provide effective career guidance.
Excellent teachers
Over the past 75 years, the faculty has trained numerous educators for the French majors of BFSU and other universities across the country. Currently, the faculty has 28 French teachers, 75 percent of whom hold doctoral degrees.
Fruitful teaching results
The students consistently rank among the top in China for their academic performance and have achieved remarkable results in various national academic competitions.
Rich academic achievements
The faculty has taken a leading role in national French teaching circles. Since its establishment, it has compiled five sets of fundamental French language teaching textbooks, along with various other courses’ textbooks, and has published numerous translations, academic monographs, and research papers.
The faculty launched Apprendre Le Français in 1980, the first French-Chinese bilingual professional magazine distributed nationwide. It has since 2018 evolved into a free online French learning resource with its own WeChat Official Account. To strengthen regional country-specific studies, the academic journal Études Francophones was officially published in 2018. Additionally, since the same year, the faculty publishes the annual blue book: Report on Development of the French Republic.
Extensive international exchange
The faculty enjoys a strong international reputation and maintains exchanges and collaborations with more than 20 internationally renowned institutions, including the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO), the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3, etc. Each year, around 20 to 30 undergraduate and postgraduate students study at these institutions. Some of them receive financial support from the China Scholarship Council.
The faculty hosts several specialized research centers, including the French Studies Center, the French-speaking Countries and Regions Research Center, and the Sino-French People-to-People Exchange Research Center, all of which are registered with the Chinese Ministry of Education.
The BFSU Séminaire francophone is the only academic forum in China conducted entirely in French. It invites distinguished experts, scholars in the humanities and social science, and diplomats from French-speaking countries and regions to deliver speeches, exerting significant influence on French academic circles nationwide.
Excellent alumni
Over the past 75 years since the establishment of the French major, the faculty has educated more than 4,000 graduates who have gone on to work in ministries and commissions, international organizations, universities, research institutes, traditional and new media, banks, large State-owned enterprises, foreign-invested companies, and joint ventures. Many among them have achieved remarkable success.
BFSU, known as the “cradle of diplomats”, is home to one of the earliest French programs. The Faculty of French and Francophone Studies has trained more than 50 Chinese ambassadors to countries around the world, hundreds of diplomats, as well as numerous French translators and interpreters serving in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
If you have a global dream, join Beijing Foreign Studies University! If you have a French dream, join us at the Faculty of French and Francophone Studies!
Tel: +86-010-88816305 Email: [email protected]
