Founded in 1973, the Department of French and Francophone Studies is the earliest of its kind in tertiary institutions in Northeast China. One of the standing members of National French Teaching and Research Association, the department offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in French studies. Ever since its establishment, it has been committed to an internationalized educational approach, emphasizing bilingual-level language proficiency, excellent intercultural communication abilities, practical skills, rich linguistic and literary knowledge and interdisciplinary versatility in the fields of foreign affairs, trade, culture, translation, science, management and so forth.
The department has a faculty of sixteen members, with two professors, five associate professors, and nine lecturers, of whom two are PhD degree holders and five PhD candidates. The professional expertise and educational backgrounds of the faculty fully meet the needs of language instruction, academic research and development within the discipline. Over the years, forty faculty members have been to France and Canada for short-term visits, lecturing, or for PhD studies. Their overseas experience has greatly aided their teaching and research skills.
The Department of French and Francophone Studies has always laid great emphasis on international exchanges through establishing joint programs with such tertiary institutions as Université du Havre, Université Lumière-Lyon 2, Université Charles de Gaulle-Lille 3, and Université Paul Valéry-Montpellier 3 in France. The ‘2+2’ joint program allows for students to spend the first two years at Dalian University of Foreign Languages improving their language skills and to complete their studies in the next two, majoring in linguistics, education or economics at French universities. Thus, the students not only become proficient in French, but also can obtain knowledge of other fields of study. In addition, qualified scholars and international students from French-speaking countries participate in facilitating student learning on campus. They contribute considerably to the cultural and academic diversity in the department and also help to broaden the students’ horizons, with an improvement in communication skills as a result.
That our excellent graduates are popular with the employers is clear from a first-time employment rate of over 96% in recent years. More than 20% of graduates have gone on to their MA studies, more than half of whom have been recruited to such renowned universities as Beijing Foreign Studies University, Shanghai International Studies University, Wuhan University and Nanjing University. Graduates are usually employed in areas such as foreign affairs, diplomacy, economy and finance. Indeed, thirty past students have secured positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce where their services are greatly valued.
Website for the Department of French and Francophone Studies:
