The Department of Translation and Interpreting was established in 2007, when its translation program became one of the first seven approved translation programs in China and the first of its kind in Zhejiang province. The department is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including advanced language laboratories, national first-class laboratories of translation and of simultaneous interpreting, and centers for self-directed foreign language learning and scenario-based training. The department has since expanded to offer bachelor’s, master’s (both MTI and Masters in Translation Studies), and doctoral degrees, and has gained recognition as a university-level signature program in 2008, a provincial-level key program in 2009, and a provincial-level emerging signature program in 2014. In 2021, the department was approved as a construction site for the national first-class undergraduate program in translation.

The department boasts a strong faculty, with over 70% of the teachers having overseas experience. The faculty has led over 30 high-level research projects, including those with financial support from the Chinese Fund for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the National Social Science Fund of China, and the State Council Information Office’s “Chinese Culture Going Global” key project. The faculty has also published extensively, with over 100 monographs, translations, and articles in core journals such as Chinese Translators Journal, Foreign Language Teaching and Research, Foreign Languages, and African Studies.

From 2019 to 2021, the department’s translation program has consistently ranked first among Zhejiang’s provincial universities in the Translation Competence Index Ranking of Chinese Universities. In 2019, it secured the eighth position nationwide in the Translation Practice Ability Ranking, establishing itself as the leading normal university in the country. The department’s graduates are in high demand, securing employment across a range of industries such as foreign affairs, commerce, media, and technology. Additionally, many students have been admitted to prestigious universities, both domestic and international, including Beijing Foreign Studies University, Shanghai International Studies University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Peking University, Fudan University, Monterey Institute of International Studies, the University of Edinburgh, the University of London, and the University of Hong Kong, where they have furthered their studies.