Sichuan International Studies Univerisity

Sichuan  International Studies University (SISU) is a full time regular  undergraduate university run by the State. Located in Shapingba  District, Chongqing, the fourth largest city in China, it aims to  cultivate high quality foreign language professionals and professionals  in foreign-related fields. It is the most important research center of  foreign languages and cultures, foreign trade and business, and  international relations in Southwest China.

History

The development of SISU has been highlighted with 6 important dates:

April, 1950:  founding of the “PLA’s Russian Training Corps of Southwest University  of Military and Political Sciences” with the support of Deng Xiaoping,  Liu Bocheng, He Hong and other founding fathers of the People’s Republic of China.

January, 1951: renamed as the “Russian Training Brigade of No.2 Senior Infantry School of the PLA.”

November 1952: renamed as the “Russian Department of Southwest People’s Revolutionary University.”

March 1953: renamed as “Southwest Russian College.”

May 1959:  renamed as “Sichuan Institute of Foreign Languages”.

May 1990: renamed as “Sichuan International Studies University”. 

Location & Environment

One  of SISU’s most acclaimed features is its beautiful campus at the foot  of Gele Mountain by the Jialing River. Its avenues and streets are lined  with evergreen trees, so that its campus imperceptibly blends in with  tree-covered  rolling hills above it. Its facilities have been designed to complement  the natural beauty of its serene environment, and it is in many  respects an ecological miniature of the mountainous city where it is  situated.

Disciplines and Programs

Making  full use of its advantages in foreign language education, SISU develops  related disciplines, such as literature, economics, management, law,  pedagogy, philosophy and the liberal arts. It offers undergraduate  degrees in 36 programs, master’s degrees in 26  different degree programs, 1 professional degree, and doctor’s degrees  in foreign language education. At present the university has 23 academic  departments and subordinate colleges, 2 independent colleges, 2 affiliated high schools and one international school.  It offers 11 foreign language courses while teaching about 25 other  4-year programs. It is engaged in education on different levels and in  different forms, embracing post-graduate education, undergraduate  education, international student education, continuing education and  intensified language training courses. It has 5 ‘A-class key  disciplines’ at the provincial level, 4 ‘Priority Programs’ at the state  level and 8 ‘Priority Programs’ of Chongqing Municipality.

Faculty Members

SISU  boasts a strong faculty of devoted, qualified and experienced teachers  with a high academic level. Some of the teachers have been recognized as  ‘model teachers’ and ‘model educators’ of the state level or national  “May 1 Prize” winners.  Some have been granted the title of “experts  with outstanding contributions” at the provincial/ministerial level;  some are famous teachers of the provincial level; and some have been  granted the title of “Chongqing’s model workers” or “excellent teachers  of Chongqing” and other titles of honor.

In  addition, some teachers have formed the ‘best education teams’ at the  provincial level. Their concerted efforts for academic and professional  excellence have made SISU one of China’s top universities of foreign  language education with wide-ranging cultural and academic activities.

Prospective Students and Graduates

SISU’s  mission is to cultivate high quality foreign language professionals  with a broad international perspective, strong communication skills and  the ability for creative and critical thinking. It enrolls prospective  students from most of the provinces or cities in China. Graduates from  SISU are highly sought after by institutions of higher learning and  employers in diversified fields for their language competence and  communication abilities. In addition to this, SISU has never ceased to  strive for academic excellence and pedagogic reform. Currently, it has  10 ‘model units for pedagogic reform’ at the provincial level, including  5 ‘experimental centers for the development of a new mode of  intellectual cultivation’, 3 ‘experimental teaching demonstration  centers’, 1 postgraduate education innovation center, and 1  professional-degree educational reform center.

Academic Research

Apart  from teaching, SISU also demonstrates excellence in academic research.  In addition to its more than 20 institutions for academic research, SISU  has 3 ‘key academic research centers’ for humanity and social studies  at the provincial level: the Center for Linguistic, Literary and  Cultural Studies, the Center for Comparative Literature and Comparative  Cultural Studies, and the Research Center for International Business and  Economy.   

It  has 1 international research center sponsored by the Ministry of  Education i.e. the Center for German Studies. It also has 2 ‘key  laboratories of the provincial/ministerial level’: the Key Laboratory of  Cognitive Neuroscience and Foreign Language Learning and the Key  Laboratory for Multi-lingual Corpus Linguistics.

Foreign Language and Literature,  a journal published by the University, is a national core journal in  Chinese, it is one of China’s top 100 journals in social sciences, and  it is an ‘A-class priority journal’ supported by Chongqing Municipality. 

International Cooperation

Inter-college  exchanges have been established between SISU and about 80 universities  around the world. Extensive cooperation and exchanges have been going on  between SISU and other Chinese or foreign colleges in the training of  teachers and the education of teachers and the education of  undergraduates and postgraduates. The University is, de facto, the only  Chinese university officially recognized by Agence Universitaire de la  Francophonie (AUF). In cooperation with education institutions of other  countries, SISU has set up some foreign language centers on its campus,  such as Alliance française de Chongqing, the Goethe Language Center, the  Russian Language Center, the Cervantes Institute, and the South Korean  Center, and it has established Confucius Institutes at Lome University  of Togo and Nizhniy Novgorod Language University of Russia. Cooperating  with the University of Newcastle, Australia, SISU is now offering an  ‘International dual-degree’ joint program in Business English.

Materials and Resources

SISU  has classrooms with multimedia facilities and sound labs for foreign  language teaching, translation and oral interpretation - the best in  southwest China. Advanced teaching facilities have helped to ensure that  the highest quality teaching, academic research and management occurs  at SISU. The university library boasts a collection of more than 1.6  million books which includes foreign language and literature works  published in foreign countries, reference books and dictionaries on  language studies. In addition, the library subscribes to about 3,000  periodicals in both Chinese and foreign languages.

Extra curricula Activities and Social Services

As  a member of University Alliance of Chongqing (UAC), SISU offers foreign  language courses for students from the other UAC universities trying to  upgrade the international level of Chongqing Municipality, and  contributing to regional economic and social development. The University  lays great emphasis on the students’ participation in extra curricula  activities, social services and internships.

Volunteers  from SISU were frequently seen at Beijing Olympic Games 2008, Shanghai  World Expo 2010, 2012 Asian Games held in Guangzhou, Chongqing Garden  Expo and other grand foreign events. Their performance and services were  greatly appreciated by those whom they helped - such as foreign guests,  entrepreneurs, and journalists.

Since  its establishment, SISU has graduated more than 100,000 talented  professionals in foreign-related fields and many of them have become  leaders and backbone members of their respective units. They work hard  in various areas, fully utilizing their knowledge in specific areas and  contributing to regional and national economic development, foreign  exchanges, as well as playing a crucial role in developing the  friendship between the Chinese people and the people in other countries  and regions.

Inventing Our Future

SISU  has been carrying on its educational philosophy of developing into “a  university governed by law, established on the basis of high quality,  growing its unique features and  becoming a powerful source of talented  professional people.”

Inspiring  this philosophy has been the school motto of “Unity, Diligence,  Rigorous Attitude and Realistic Approach” together with the SISU spirit  of being “Faithful in discharging duties, realistic in approach, whilst  embracing diversity and being open to the outside”.

SISU is striving for excellence in teaching and academic research, and it  desires to continue to contribute to local economic and social  development by giving prominence to its unique features of  “international orientation, cultural and academic diversity and  multi-purpose education”.

For more detailed information about SISU's programs, please click http://www.campuschina.org/universities_art/index.html?key=87B228FA0B292EA5