Xi'an International Studies University (XISU), founded in 1952, is one of the longest-established institutions of foreign language education in China. For more than 50 years it was known as Xi'an Foreign Language Institute and was renamed Xi'an International Studies University in 2006, indicating its evolution from a foreign language institution into a multidisciplinary university with a balanced academic program of social sciences, management and natural sciences. Nonetheless, it now teaches nearly all the world's major languages and therefore plays a key role in foreign language education and research in northwest China.
The university comprises twenty-three faculties, offering forty-eight major undergraduate programs, seven minor programs, four academic master programs (Foreign Language and Literature, Chinese Language and Literature, Business Management, and Education), six professional master programs (MTI, MTCSOL, MTA, MPAcc, MJC and Ed.M), and one doctoral degree program (Foreign Language and Literature).
XISU is a teaching/research university with a strong research capacity. It is home to twenty-four academic and research institutions in the areas of foreign languages, human geography and international exchanges, two of which are key research centers at the provincial level. The university has established the International Education Exchange Center in collaboration with the China Education Association for International Exchange, formed a complete interdisciplinary research system, undertaken a series of national, provincial and foreign-sponsored research programs, and published nationally and internationally prestigious dictionaries, translations, papers and textbooks.
XISU has established partnerships with over 190 institutions of higher learning around the world. It is a Fulbright Program participant and one of the target universities for foreign students studying in China on Chinese government scholarships. It conducts PhD, MA and BA programs in collaboration with over 120 overseas universities. Authorized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters, XISU set up the Multilingual Base for the International Promotion of Chinese Language (Xi'an) in 2012, and in response to the Chinese government's "Belt and Road" initiative, it established the School of Central Asia in 2014, recruiting and training students from Central Asian countries. So far, XISU has established three Confucius Institutes and one Confucius Classroom respectively in the United States, Kazakhstan, Argentina and Austria. XISU is an Associate Member of the International Federation of Translators.
The School of Translation Studies (STS) at XISU hosts the National Pilot Innovation Base for Translator Education and the National Translator Internship Education Base. Its translation and interpreting major is classified by China's Ministry of Education as a National Featured Major, and its MTI program is recognized by the Education Department of Shaanxi Province under their comprehensive profession-oriented education reform pilot scheme. It has a top-quality academic team, involving well-known international scholars, visiting professors, as well as certified translators and interpreters. In collaboration with globally renowned corporations including Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Beijing RWS Technology Consulting Co., Ltd. (part of the RWS Group) and Transn (China) Technology Co., Ltd., the STS offers a range of courses to improve students' international communication competence and professional literacy. In addition, the school manages a series of undergraduate and postgraduate exchange programs with prestigious universities both within China and abroad. Its teachers have generated a large amount of translation- and interpreting-related research, and have had a series of academic papers published in the SSCI and A&HCI journals. Translation Studies: An Advanced Textbook has been included on the national list of textbooks for higher education.