History of the College

When Chinese Culture University was founded in 1963, four foreign language departments were established under the College of Liberal Arts: the Department of Oriental Languages, comprising Japanese, Korean, and Russian divisions; the Department of English Language and Literature; the Department of French Language and Literature; and the Department of German Language and Literature.

In 1963, the Japanese Studies Program was established under the Chinese Academy and was renamed the Graduate Institute of Japanese Studies in 1968. In the same year, the Graduate Institute of Western Literature was established, comprising divisions of English, French, and German Literature. Both graduate institutes remained affiliated with the Graduate School until 1985.

In 1980, when the University was reorganized as a comprehensive university, the College of Foreign Languages was established, and the four foreign language departments formerly under the College of Liberal Arts were transferred to the newly established College. In 1985, the Graduate Institute of Japanese Studies and the Graduate Institute of Western Literature were also transferred to the College of Foreign Languages.

The Graduate Institute of Russian Language and Literature established its master's program in 1991. In 1994, the three divisions of the Department of Oriental Languages were reorganized as independent departments. In 1998, the three divisions of the Graduate Institute of Western Literature were likewise reorganized as independent graduate institutes. The master's program of the Graduate Institute of Korean Language and Literature and the doctoral program of the Graduate Institute of Russian Language and Literature were established in 2000.

In 2003, the Graduate Institute of Japanese Studies was renamed the Graduate Institute of Japanese Language and Literature. Following the University's integration of departments and graduate institutes in 2004, the Graduate Institute of Japanese Language and Literature was incorporated into the Department of Japanese Language and Literature.

As part of the University's academic restructuring in 2009, admissions to the master's and doctoral programs in Russian Language and Literature, as well as the master's programs in French Language and Literature and German Language and Literature, were suspended. Beginning in 2019, the Department of German Language and Literature ceased admitting new students. In 2025, the Departments of English Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, and Russian Language and Literature were consolidated to form the Department of European and American Languages.

In response to the needs of an increasingly diverse society and with the goal of cultivating internationally oriented professionals equipped with interdisciplinary expertise, foreign language proficiency, and multicultural competence, the College was officially renamed the College of International Studies and Foreign Languages in 2020. As part of this reorganization, the Global Business Bachelor's Degree Program and the Global Business Master's Degree Program, formerly under the College of Business, were transferred to the College.

The College also includes the Language Center, which was established in 1968 and was originally affiliated with the Office of Academic Affairs. In 1980, the Center became part of the College. It is responsible for University-wide foreign language instruction, including first- and second-year courses such as Foreign Language: English Reading and Listening/Speaking (I) and (II) and Intensive English (I) and (II).

Deans of the College

Throughout its history, the College has been led by distinguished scholars and educators. Professor Lee Dongfang(Orient Lee) served as the founding dean beginning in August 1980. He was succeeded by Professor Sun Yan-mei in July 1981. Professor Lee Dongfang(Orient Lee) returned to serve as dean in September 1984, followed by Professor Song Yue-lun in March 1986, Professor Chang, Fang-chieh in August 1991, Professor Margaret Yang MAR in September 1999, Professor Teng I-lu in August 2005, Professor Yao Chung-kuen in February 2007, Professor Chang, Wu-chang in August 2011, Professor LI Hsi-mei in August 2013, Professor Shyu, Hsing-ching in August 2017, and Professor Chao Mei-sheng in February 2019. Professor Shyu, Hsing-ching returned to serve as Acting Dean in August 2021, followed by Professor CHEN, Jaw-lin, who assumed the position of Acting Dean on June 29, 2022. Professor Yeh Shu-hua became Dean in August 2022. The current Dean, Professor Wang Yi-chun, assumed office in August 2026.