The School of Languages began as the Department of Foreign Languages for Foreign Trade established in 1960 and adopted its present name in 1995. We have long been in line with the development philosophy of serving the local needs of Shanghai and major national strategies to build an academic discipline of foreign languages for international business, which is top-rated in China and globally renowned. To this end, we will continue to explore and improve the model of training excellent business foreign-language talent, hoping to establish our academic reputation in applied foreign language studies and the interdisciplinary field of the humanities, business, and law, strive for academic excellence in the field of foreign business languages with the support of providing high-caliber talent with distinctive features and interdisciplinary background, and offer intelligence support and wisdom for decision-makers based on our national and regional studies.

The School offers 7 undergraduate programs: Business English, English, English (a concentration in English for international business and a Sino-British cooperation program), Japanese (concentration in business Japanese), French (concentration in business French), Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (concentration in business Chinese), and Journalism (concentration in economic news reporting). In 2009, the program of Business English was selected as a “Featured Program” by the Ministry of Education. In 2019, it was approved as one of the top-rated undergraduate programs under the nationwide “Double Ten-thousand Plan” (a project launched by the Ministry of Education to improve higher education quality). In addition, the School has the Department for College English Education to deliver English courses for non-English majors.

We have one top-tier academic discipline of Foreign Language and Literature authorized to offer master’s programs in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, English Language and Literature, Japanese Language and Literature, and French Language and Literature, and one program of Master of Translation and Interpretation (MTI) under which there are three majors of English Interpretation, English Translation, and Japanese Translation. The Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics program established in 1986 is a key one recognized by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. In the fourth round of national discipline assessment in 2016, our top-tier academic discipline of foreign language and literature received Grade B, ranking 20%-30% in China and sharing 33rd place, and ranking sixth among all Shanghai-based universities.

In the 1990s, the School initiated to establish the Committee for International Business English Studies under the China Association of International Trade and served as the chairman institution. The School is the president institution of the Business English Committee under the Shanghai International Studies Association. Our faculty members have participated in the drafting of the national standard for business English programs and initiated the first National Symposium on Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature and Economics. Relying on the platforms of the WTO Asia-Pacific Training Center, the International Organization Talent Training and Innovation Practice Base under the Ministry of Education, the Education and Training Base for Shanghai Excellent Journalism & Communication Talent, and the China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone Talent Training Base, we have made a significant social impact in language translation services, spreading Chinese culture, and setting the standard for Business English.

We are strongly oriented towards cultivating talent with a global vision and strive for excellence in teaching and the cross-cultural communication capacity of our students. We have established and run a joint education program and dual master’s degree program with the University of Central Lancashire. We have maintained a student exchange program with the Koshikan University in Japan. In addition, we have signed a letter of intent with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and the University of Ottawa in Canada to cooperate in teacher training programs.