The University of International Relations(UIR),one of the key university under Ministry of Education in china,is well known for its research and teching in the fields of international relations,international affairs and international issues.Located in beijing Zhongguancun development zone for new and high technology industries,the university covers an area of 13.2 hectares,with the world-famous imperial garden the Summer Palace adjacent to it in the west,Fragrant Hill in sight further west and Yuanming Yuan(the Round Bright Garden)nearby in the east,and there are many renowned universitied on its periphery. The cultural remains of ancient tradition and the modernization in progress complement the best of each other.The ideal location and academic environment are favourable to the development of the university.

Established in 1949, UIR has since benefited from instructions of the leaders of the Chinese Gov. . Though half a century’s effects,the university has developed from a school for training professionals in international; affairs to a famous multidisciplinary university which boasts a variety of disciplines such as foreign languages, science of law, management science, information tech. and communication engineering, with international relations as the predominant discipline. It has produced large number of excellent graduates who are qualified to deal with international affairs for government institutions in China. At present, the university has Bachelor’s degree programs in English, Japanese, French, international politics, international economy, science of law, mass media, information engineering, and information applications, and the Master’s degree programs in English, French, relations and international economy. The UIR and China Institutions of Continuing Educational Relations jointly offer a program leading to Ph. D degree in the field international relations. The Continuing Education center of UIR offers degree of education and non-degree training programs, as well as education and further educational reforms in China, the university will maintain its characteristics, develop its advantages, enlarge its enrolments to prepare excellent graduates for international affairs with quality of teaching as the foundation and all-round development of students as the goal.

The university has admirable facilities and excellent faculty who are enthusiastic for education and well learned with magnificent achievements in teaching and research, and who enjoy high prestige in the fields of international relations, international laws, foreign languages, and public relations. The university puts the great emfersis on academic development of the teachers and encourages international academic exchanges by sponsoring them to go abroad as visiting schools or participate in international academic symposia. Foreign professors and experts are invited every year to the university to teach courses or give lectures.

A Short Introduction to the English Department:

University of International Relations (UIR) was officially founded at the end of 1949. From the very outset of its creation, UIR has attached special importance to English teaching, culminating in the formal establishment of the English Department in 1955. Through rigorous screening, several dozens of leading English teaching specialists were recruited from across the country to form the first generation of the outstanding faculty of the Department, whose powerful influence is felt even today both on and off campus.

Throughout the history of the Department, a considerable number of eminent English teaching experts in the nation have assumed teaching positions at the English Department, among whom can be listed Cao Dun, Pan Li, Xu Zhongjie, Xu Jingyuan, Jiangyun, Xu Hualiang, Sheng Baoqing, Zhu Huili, Zou Dezi, Zheng Xianglin, Chen Yingzhuo, Xie Zhenyuan, Yang Shensheng, Huang Lanlin, Mei Bocui, Zhu Weiwen, Chen Fuan and many others.

The English Department, which offers both undergraduate and postgraduate programs, conducts teaching and research in four major concentrations: Anglo-American Literature, English Linguistics, English Cultural Studies, and English Translation. Currently, 190 undergraduates are enrolled in the Department. There is a total of 44 staff members, 41 of whom are professional English teachers actively engaged in providing English teaching to all the undergraduates, postgraduates and government officials in specialized training programs of the University. A well-structured echelon of teaching and research talents, proportionally distributed among different age groups and comprising of a central body of professors, associate professors, lecturers and foreign experts, has been formed on an initial basis.

At present, 41 faculty members are affiliated to three major teaching and research divisions under the Department¡ª the Teaching and Research Division of Junior & Senior Students, the Teaching and Research Division of Freshmen and Sophomores, and the Teaching and Research Division of College English for Non-English Majors. There are 20 professors and associate professors while there are 31 holders of Ph.D. and Master's degrees, accounting for 48.7% and 75.6% of the entire faculty respectively. 12 faculty members act as supervisors of Master's programs. 35 faculty members are under the age of 45, accounting for 85.3% of the entire faculty and constituting the backbone of the Department's teaching and research strength. The Department's basic English education is of the first-rate quality in the country, having achieved the highest ranking in the nationwide Test for English Majors (TEM)-Band 4 in a recent year.

In accordance with UIR¡¯s overall positioning as a foreign-related institution in political and legal education, the English Department has formulated its own educational objectives¡ªchampioning undergraduate education as the very foundation and the core of all teaching and research activities while vigorously promoting postgraduate education, with the development of continued education on a moderate scale. The Department will continue to strengthen the construction of such disciplines as English language, literature, translation and cultural studies. Sustained efforts will be made to develop graduates with well-structured knowledge and practical skills, who are sound in political ideology and strong in the practical application of English, endowed with international perspectives and innovation initiatives. We will prepare our students for careers at teaching and research institutions and equip them with the management skills required for careers at the nation¡¯s political and legal departments, administrative organizations, foreign-related corporations and institutions. One of the major goals of the English Department is to develop into a cutting-edge platform of English teaching, research and training, maintain a leading position among its domestic counterparts in terms of the quality of English teaching, and exert its own unique influence in the nation¡¯s English-teaching community. Under such guidelines, the English Department will adhere to its legacy of English education, namely, emphasis on the development of basic knowledge and skills in the use of English, emphasis on the research and teaching of the dynamic and current English usages, cultivation of the application-oriented personnel with relatively strong integrated skills in English, and the stress on fostering students¡¯ broad international perspectives and comprehensive analytical caliber. Through the concerted efforts of both the faculty and the students, the English Department is determined to strive for greater achievements by meeting new challenges in the field of English teaching and research.

English web site at http://www.uir.cn/index.php?id=127