Sichuan International Studies University (Chuan Wai or SISU for short), one of the first four state run foreign language colleges in China, sits in Shapingba District, Chongqing Municipality. It is a full-time university approved by the Ministry of Education and run by Chongqing Municipal People's Government.      

 Carrying on the founding spirit of "unity, diligence, rigorous attitude and realistic approach" and abiding by the motto of "global vision, academic excellence", the university distinguishes itself with an international perspective, a focus on foreign language education, and a commitment to diversifying disciplines. The university has strategized pursuing qualitative development that prioritizes academic excellence, stresses international exchange and balanced development of all disciplines.        

 The university has now evolved into a multi-disciplinary higher institution. In addition to the core discipline of foreign languages and literature, the university also offers doctoral, master, bachelor degrees and diploma programs in Chinese language and literature, journalism and communication, education, economics, management, law and other disciplines. The university also offers a post-doctoral research program in foreign languages and literature. The university academic journals Foreign Languagesand Literature and English Studies are well recognized among the academia. The university is a key provider of foreign language and international communication professionals and a leader in international studies, economic and foreign trade research in the southwest region of China.      

 

 Historical Milestones        

 

 

Sichuan International Studies University(SISU) was founded in 1950 under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping, Liu Bocheng, He Long and other famous revolutionary forerunners. The university has undergone the following milestones of development:      

 1950: The PLA’s Russian Training Corps of Southwest University of Military and Political Sciences      

 1951: The Russian Training Brigade of No. 2 Senior Infantry School of the PLA      

 1952: The Russian Department of Southwest People’s Revolutionary University      

 1953: The Southwest Russian College      

 1959: Sichuan Foreign Language Institute        

 2013: Sichuan International Studies University      

 In the year of 2013, SISU was approved by the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council as a doctoral degree conferring higher institution.      

 

 The Campus        

 

Situated at the foot of Gele Mountain, overlooking the Jialing River, the campus of SISU is endowed with a picturesque scenery. It is recognized by the Chongqing Municipal Government as a “idyllic campus”. Indeed, verdant trees, lush bushes, and a lily studded pond have gained the campus the reputation of “an ecological sanctuary” in the mountainous city of Chongqing.    

 Academic        

 

The university offers full-time undergraduate, and graduate programs. It has 22 teaching units, 1 affiliated middle school and 1 affiliated elementary school. There are 49 undergraduate majors, of which 24 are foreign language majors (22 foreign languages). It recruits undergraduates from 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country. There are currently more than 16,000 full-time students.    

 The core discipline of the university is foreign language and literature, but other disciplines such as Chinese language and literature, economics, management, law, education, philosophy, art and other disciplines are also gaining a balanced development. The university is authorized to confer doctoral degrees in one discipline which encompasses 13 sub-disciplines; it is also authorized to offer master degrees in 5 disciplines which encompass 49 sub-disciplines, and 10 taught master degrees in 10 sub-disciplines covering 49 professional majors. The discipline of foreign language and literature is authorized to run a post-doctoral research program. The school currently has 4 national-level signature discipline development bases, 8 provincial-level signature discipline development bases, 11 national-level first-class discipline bases, and 18 provincial-level first-class discipline development projects. The university also boasts one national-level comprehensive reform pilot major and 2 provincial-level comprehensive reform pilot majors. In addition, 12 majors and 3 disciplines of the university have been included in Chongqing Higher Education “Three Signatures” (Signature Courses, Signature Majors, Signature Disciplines) Development Initiative sponsored by Chongqing Municipal Education Commission.      

 

Faculty      

 

 Adhering to the strategy of "strengthening the university with better faculty", the university works to implement plans for faculty development. Among the 1,372 faculty members, 863 are full-time teachers, of them 50% are professors or associate professors; among the full-time teachers, 38% have a doctoral degree. Six SISU professors are recognized as national-level talents: experts enjoying special allowances from the State Council, national outstanding educators, and national model teachers. The university also boasts 14 members of the Foreign Language Guiding Committee of the Ministry of Education, 2 provincial or ministerial-level experts with outstanding contributions, and 20 provincial-level academic leading experts and backup candidates. Twenty-two SISU teachers have won the title of Bayu Scholars or Talents of Chongqing. Seventeen SISU teachers have been awarded the title of "Renowned Master Teacher", "Teaching and Educating Models", "Top Ten Teachers", "Excellent Teachers", "Excellent Educators", "Teachers with Advanced Morality" respectively. There are also 4 teachers who have been recognized as a member of the second batch of the Five Batches of Chongqing Publicity Talents and the second-tier talents of 322 Key Talents Project. Thirty-nine SISU teachers have been selected as candidates for the University Excellent Teachers Support Program, University Middle Aged and Young Backbone Teachers Funding Program and Young Backbone Teachers in Colleges and Universities Funding Program. Eight SISU teachers are now presidents or vice presidents of national first-level or second-level academic societies.      

   Scientific Research  

 

The university runs 3 provincial key humanities and social science research bases, 3 national and regional research bases registered with the Ministry of Education, and 2 Chongqing 2011 Collaborative Innovation Centers. The school journal Foreign Languages and Literature is a national core journal on foreign languages study, and the journal English Studies is a source journal for the CSSCI index. The school also runs several research institutes: Regional and National Research Institute, Chongqing Research Institute of Contemporary China, BRICS Countries Research Institute, Chongqing Institute of International Strategy Research, Institute for the Research of Contemporary International Discourse Systems, Chongqing International Education Development Research Center, and Chongqing Educational Law Research Center. These research platforms have produced a batch of valuable and prominent research results. The university is also the second-level presiding unit for some national first-level societies such as China Foreign Language Interface Research Society, Chinese Language Education Research Society, Chinese and Western Language Philosophy Research Society, and China Cognitive Communication Study Society.    

 

International Exchange      

 

SISU has established international cooperation and exchange programs with more than 100 universities and institutions in over 30 countries or regions. It has a Sino-Australian partnership degree program in Business English and a Sino-French degree program inLogistics Management, which are approved by the Ministry of Education. It has set up 3 Confucius Institutes jointly with the Russian University of Nizhni Novgorod, the Togolese University of Lomé, and the Central Education Service Center in Eastern Ohio, USA. Additionally, the university has set up one Confucius Class in Siyuan Chinese Language School in Ecuador. In recent years, the university has offered degree programs for undergraduates and graduates and teacher training, scientific research projects for international students. The university recruits about 400 international students each year on average, and more than 70 long-term and short-term foreign teachers. It also dispatches about 100 teachers to teach and 600 students to study abroad each year. The school is a member of the Global Alliance of Foreign Studies Universities (GAFSU), a formal member of the Association of Francophone Universities (AUF). In cooperation with foreign partners, the university runs several language training and cultural exchange platforms, including the Goethe Language Center, the Cervantes Language Center, the Italian Center, the Russian Center, and the Belarusian Center.      

  Teaching Facilities        

 

The university covers an area of 71 hectares and has complete teaching facilities, including the most complete foreign language teaching multimedia classrooms in Southwest China, a pronunciation laboratory, a simultaneous interpretation laboratory, a translation laboratory, a business simulation laboratory, a comprehensive communication skills laboratory, and an interlanguage corpus laboratory, and the Chongqing Foreign Affairs Experimental Center. The university library has a total of more than 3.64 million books, including 220,409 original books in foreign languages. There are more than 3,400 Chinese and foreign printed periodicals and 41,354 electronic periodicals. In recent years, the university library has purchased 93 databases in Chinese and foreign languages, including the Chinese Journals Database (CNKI), Chaoxing Discovery System, GALE Reference Book, PQDT Dissertation, etc.; it has built its own German language database and a database of CD-ROMs attached to printed books. The university library has set up one librarian system for printed publications and one for electronic collections.    

 Serving Society        

 

The university has been dedicated to serving the social and economic needs of Chongqing and China by providing languages and research expertise needed for building the municipality into a highland of opening up and supplying talents needed for the internationalization and diversifying of industries. As a member of the University Alliance of the Chengdu Chongqing Twin City Economic Circle, SISU volunteered in providing reception, translation, liaison, coordination, and other services for the Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai World Expo, the Guangzhou Asian Games, the Chongqing Smart Expo, the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and many other international events, which have been appreciated by both Chinese and foreign clients. In the past 72 years after the establishment of the university, SISU alumni, who have left their footprints all over the world, have made substantial contributions to China’s economic, social, cultural and diplomatic development. SISU’s contribution to promoting the friendly exchanges and cooperation between the people of Chongqing and the people of the world is particularly noteworthy.

Vision of Development      

 

Adapting to the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Sichuan International Studies University sets "cultivating the character of the students” and “implementing the double first-class initiative” as its priority. Emphasis will be given to faculty development, optimization of the configuration of disciplines, deepening education reform, strengthening scientific research, and promoting international exchanges. Efforts will also be made to encourage innovation while preserving the traditional culture and to better serve society. SISU will forge ahead to stand out as a high-level applied research university with distinctive strengths!