The School of International Studies traces its origin to the Department of Applied English founded in 1987, which was renamed the Department of Economics and Foreign Trade in 1991. In 2001, it was split into the Department of Foreign Languages and the Department of Economics and Management in accordance with disciplinary characteristics. In 2003, the Department of Foreign Languages was reorganized into the School of Foreign Languages. While retaining its Chinese name, the School adopted a new official English designation, the School of International Studies, in 2026. As a teaching and research-oriented school, it focuses on undergraduate and postgraduate education while conducting academic research in related fields.

The School offers three undergraduate programs: English, Japanese, and Translation. The Translation Program was approved as a National First-class Undergraduate Major Construction Site in 2021. It holds the first-level master’s degree authorization in Foreign Languages and Literatures. This discipline was designated a key discipline supported by the university in 2014 and a Tianjin Municipal Key Discipline in 2017. Three sub-disciplines are available: Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, English Language and Literature, and Japanese Language and Literature. The School hosts four research centers: the Center for Innovative Foreign Language Education for New-Quality Development, the Center for Discourse and Cross-Cultural Communication, the Center for Chinese-Foreign Cultural Translation and Communication, and the Center for Comparative and Intercultural Studies of Chinese and Foreign Literature.

The School boasts a faculty with strong ethics and outstanding professional competence. It has 98 full-time teachers, including 5 professors and 36 associate professors. Among them are 1 Tianjin Municipal Distinguished Teacher and 3 University-level Distinguished Teachers. One faculty member was selected for Tianjin’s High-end Talent Recruitment Initiative, three for Tier 3 of Tianjin’s “131” Innovative Talent Development Project, and two for Tianjin University Academic Leading Talents. One teacher received the title of Outstanding Young and Middle-aged Translator from the Translators Association of China. The majority of faculty hold doctoral or master’s degrees. Over the past five years, faculty members have secured more than 100 teaching and research projects at all levels, including 4 National Social Science Fund projects, 6 projects sponsored by the Ministry of Education, and multiple Tianjin Philosophy and Social Science projects. Awards won include one Second Prize in the National Final of the National University Faculty Teaching Innovation Competition, three First Prizes and one Second Prize in its provincial-level rounds, and four Tianjin Excellent Social Science Achievement Awards. Faculty have published over 50 monographs and translations and more than 300 papers, including one high-quality article in  Guangming Daily and over 30 papers in CSSCI-indexed journals and leading foreign language periodicals. More than 20 policy advisory reports have been adopted by central and Tianjin municipal authorities.

Upholding the student-centered philosophy, the School continuously optimizes its “Foreign Language +” education framework. It prioritizes cultivating students’ innovative thinking and long-term development potential, expands international collaborative education channels, and improves students’ social competitiveness and employability. It strives to foster innovative, interdisciplinary international talents with a devotion to their homeland and a global vision.