The Institute of French Studies, established in 2012, is a teaching and research institute under the School of Foreign Studies of CUPL. It was born from the Section of Non-Universal Language Teaching and Research, and became independent with the establishment of the MA program in French Studies. The Institute mainly engages in the teaching of postgraduate students majoring in French studies and offers courses in the following three directions, i.e. legal French translation, linguistics and literature. The Institute also engages in research on the law and legal translation of French-speaking countries. With a strong faculty that excels in French, specializes in translation, understands law and has overseas experiences, the Institute, since its foundation, has undertaken a series of studies on legal translation of French-speaking countries, leading its peers in the field of legal translation and studies of French-speaking countries.

The Institute of French Studies actively explores cooperation with other schools at the undergraduate level, and strives to cultivate high-quality and internationally competitive interdisciplinary talents who excel in law, economy and French.  At the postgraduate level, the interdisciplinary cultivation mode is adopted. Students, at their second year of postgraduate study, may choose to study in the law school or the translation school of the universities of French-speaking countries. On the basis of studies on legal French translation, the Institute actively pushes forward an overall study on the language, culture and other aspects of French-speaking countries, and focus on the interaction between and integration of the French language and law. It aims to cultivate interdisciplinary talents of  “French + law” who embrace both Chinese and western cultures and have solid language foundations, perfect knowledge structures and cross-cultural communication abilities. It not only emphasizes the cultivation of legal practice skills, but also enhances students’ abilities of foreign language application and international communication. Its alumni have a promising future, and work in national ministries and departments, well-known state-owned enterprises, large private enterprises, banks and law firms, etc.