The School of International Studies was founded in June 2004 and merged with the English Department of the former South China University of Tropical Agriculture in 2007. We currently offer three undergraduate programs: English, Japanese, and Russian. The English and Japanese programs hold national recognition as state-level top undergraduate programs. The course Advanced English is also nationally recognized as a state-level top undergraduate course, while College English is provincially recognized.
We offer the master’s program in Foreign Languages and Literature with four directions: English, Japanese, Russian, andLinguistics & Applied Linguistics. Additionally, there is a professional master’s program in translation with specializations in English Interpreting, English Translation, and Japanese Translation.
We have 157 staff members, including 137 full-time faculty members, of whom 58 are professors or associate professors, 33 hold doctoral degrees, one is a national special expert, and five are “Top Ten Teachers” winners at Hainan University. We also have 1,496 students, including 1,346 undergraduates and 150 postgraduates, and teach foreign languages to around 15,000 students at the university, including nearly 12,000 first- and second-year undergraduate students and more than 3,000 postgraduate students.
We adhere to the motto of “integrating Chinese and foreign cultures, seeking new knowledge, and cultivating morality” and actively promote both teaching and research. In teaching, we have established a “Public Diplomacy +” course series, which includes courses such as public diplomacy, cross-cultural communication, traditional Chinese culture, and Hainan regional culture. The goal is to cultivate foreign language talents with a solid foundation in language skills, cross-cultural communication abilities, and multicultural literacy. In research, our faculty focuses on cross-cultural communication, China’s image building, overseas studies and media reports on Hainan, and other related topics. We aim to contribute to the international communication of Hainan Free Trade Port and tell its good stories worldwide.
We have a key research center in Hainan Province, the Overseas Studies and Media Reports on Hainan, and holds an academic salon called Nanming Tanxi year-round to foster a research atmosphere and promote academic exchanges. Over the past five years, our faculty members have obtained 15 national research projects, 45 provincial research projects, and three international cooperation projects, published over 100 articles in CSSCI, SSCI, and A&HCI journals, and authored over 60 books. We have won seven provincial prizes for outstanding achievements in the social sciences. Our postgraduate program in Foreign Languages and Literature is well-reputed nationally.
We have established academic exchange relationships with more than 80 well-known universities in over 20 countries and regions, including University of California, Berkeley, Newcastle University in the UK, Charles Darwin University in Australia, Tohoku University in Japan, People’s Friendship University of Russia, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and Lyon III University in France. Over the past three years, nearly 200 students have studied abroad at these prestigious universities.
Talent cultivation is our central goal. We organize field activities focusing on public diplomacy, and students have conducted investigations in many countries, including the UK, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, winning over 50 national awards. We also hold other foreign language-related activities, such as drama competitions, dubbing competitions, Japanese cultural festivals, American cultural weeks, and language skill competitions.
We actively build partnerships with more than 10 domestic and foreign organizations to provide students with opportunities for social services, such as the Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province, Hainan TV Station, Chimen Education Group, and the Translators Association of China. Our students often provide voluntary language services at international conferences and events such as the Boao Forum for Asia and the Tour of Hainan Cycling Race.
Our students have won numerous first prizes in national speech, writing, reading, translation, and negotiation contests. Over the past three years, over 120 students have won national awards and over 70 have won provincial awards. Employment rates for undergraduates have been 95%, 96%, and 85%, respectively. Graduate school enrollment rates have been 24%, 23%, and 25%. Many students have been admitted to graduate programs at well-known universities in China and abroad, such as Peking University, Shanghai Foreign Language University, Tokyo University, and Moscow University.
In the next five years, we aim to obtain and build a first-level discipline doctoral program, strengthen our teaching and research foundation, and become a leading international studies school with distinctive characteristics in China.
