Introduction to the School of Foreign Studies

History. Established in 2003, the School of Foreign Studies traces its origins to the Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Section of the Department of Basic Courses at South China Agricultural College. It subsequently developed through the Department of English and the Department of English within the School of Humanities. A junior college program in English for Economics and Trade was introduced in 1989, followed by an undergraduate major in English in 1998. In 2014, undergraduate majors in Business English and Japanese were added, and the School was authorized to award the professional Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) degree. Today, the School has several departments and centers, including the Department of English, the Department of Japanese, the Department of General Foreign Language Education, the MTI Education Center, the Graduate Foreign Language Teaching Center, and the Foreign Language Teaching Laboratory Center. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the School implements the Party’s education policy and upholds the university motto of “Integrity, Erudition, Practicality, Innovation” as it continues to develop.

Faculty. The School has 145 staff members, including 128 full-time faculty members. Seven are professors and 53 are associate professors. Forty-one faculty members hold doctoral degrees, and 80 have studied or conducted research outside mainland China. The School also employs three teachers from other countries. Its faculty brings together an international outlook, strong teaching and research capabilities, and a balanced range of academic ranks.

Student Education. The School offers two undergraduate majors, English and Japanese, as well as two micro-major programs, Spanish and International Business and Intellectual Property. It is also authorized to award the MTI professional degree. The School currently has 1,326 undergraduates and 60 postgraduate students. With the cultivation of character and academic ability at the center of its work, the School responds to China’s international engagement by advancing teaching reform and developing its “Foreign Languages Plus” model of interdisciplinary education. It has established joint education arrangements with Josai University, Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies, and City University of Macau. These arrangements help students develop cross-cultural communication skills, the ability to communicate agriculture-related knowledge to international audiences, and professional language service skills.

Teaching Achievements. Over the past five years, faculty members have won one national, two provincial, and five university-level Teaching Achievement Awards. The School has secured five provincial teaching reform and research projects, five provincial teaching quality projects, 17 teaching reform projects at the provincial government department level, and 87 university-level teaching reform and quality improvement projects. Three of its courses have been recognized as provincial first-class courses. It has also received provincial recognition for one model course, one model class session, and one outstanding case in integrating ideological and political education into teaching. One undergraduate major has been selected for a university-level first-class major development program, and 46 related projects have received university-level recognition. Faculty members have published more than 100 papers on teaching reform and served as lead editors of 14 undergraduate textbooks. One faculty member has received the university’s Distinguished Teacher award, five have been named among its Top Ten Teachers, and seven have received its Teaching Excellence Award for Young Faculty. Faculty teams have also won 15 national and eight provincial awards in teaching competitions, including the FLTRP Star Teacher Contest, the National English Teaching Competition for Agricultural and Forestry Universities, the SFLEP National Foreign Language Teaching Contest, and competitions on integrating ideological and political education into teaching.

Research Achievements. Over the past five years, the School’s research has focused on foreign languages and literatures, translation and international communication in agriculture-related fields, and area and country studies. Faculty members have secured two projects from the National Social Science Fund of China, five humanities and social sciences projects funded by the Ministry of Education, and 34 further research projects, including projects supported by Guangdong provincial and Guangzhou municipal social science programs. They have also secured two government department- or bureau-level projects and two commissioned projects. Approved research funding totals RMB 1.8 million.

Faculty members have published 231 academic papers. Of these, 59 appeared in leading domestic and international journals indexed by SSCI, SCI, EI, CSSCI, or other major indexes, with a faculty member listed as first author or first corresponding author. These journals include System, Language Teaching, Language Teaching Research, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Modern Foreign Languages, Foreign Language Education, Shanghai Journal of Translators, and Foreign Languages in China. Of the 59 papers, 11 are classified at the T2 level and 14 at the A level. Faculty members have also published 29 academic monographs and textbooks, including nine translated works. One faculty member won third prize at Guangdong Province’s 10th awards for outstanding achievements in philosophy and social sciences.

Teaching and Research Facilities. The School has a modern teaching laboratory center covering 1,318 square meters. Its 13 laboratories and specialized rooms provide 858 seats: five digital language laboratories, two simultaneous interpreting laboratories, two Business English training laboratories, and one each for Japanese, cross-border e-commerce, computer-assisted translation, and lecture recording. The facilities and learning resources support language training, translation practice, and cross-cultural learning.

International Cooperation and Exchange. The School has signed joint education agreements or established institutional links with universities in Australia, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Macao, and other places. It organizes academic exchanges and teaching seminars, supports key faculty members in advanced study, degree programs, and research collaboration outside mainland China, and invites visiting scholars to give lectures each year. Students can also take part in joint education and short-term exchange programs during academic breaks. Through these activities, the School encourages faculty and students to engage with other cultures and strengthen their cross-cultural communication and international outreach skills.

Looking ahead, the School will continue to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, implement the Party’s education policy, and fulfill its fundamental task of fostering virtue through education. It upholds the university motto of “Integrity, Erudition, Practicality, Innovation” and the School motto of “Cultivate Virtue, Value Learning, and Unite Knowledge with Action.” The School is committed to educating versatile foreign language professionals with a cross-cultural outlook and both an understanding of and a commitment to agriculture. It will continue to pursue quality-driven development and advance foreign language education in the new era.

　　(Data as of September 2026)