With the changing international exchange environment and the rapid development of artificial intelligence translation tools, foreign language majors, which used to be highly regarded in mainland China, are now facing serious challenges. Many universities in China are either cutting back on or ceasing enrollment for foreign language majors, and are beginning to transition.
Recently, the Chinese Ministry of Education announced the registration and approval results of undergraduate majors at ordinary institutions of higher education for the year 2025, showing that many local universities are simultaneously undergoing departmental restructuring. For example, in Jiangsu Province, local universities have added 151 undergraduate majors, while at the same time canceling 55 majors, including e-commerce, tourism management, animation, fine arts, Japanese, Korean, and others.
According to statistics from the China Higher Education Data Research Institute “Michael Think Tank,” 70 universities have altogether stopped enrolling 525 undergraduate majors. Among them, adjustments in language-related majors are particularly evident, with 8 universities discontinuing Japanese majors, and significant reductions observed in German, translation, and other majors.
It is reported that in the 21st century, foreign language majors were once a focus of expansion, with the number of majors increasing from 1,321 in 2005 to 2,531 in 2013. However, with the proliferation of AI translation tools and changes in the international environment, the traditional talent cultivation model for language majors has begun to be phased out or transformed.
In 2023, the University of Science and Technology of China discontinued its undergraduate English major, becoming the first “985” university to do so. In 2024, Beijing Language University ceased enrollment for a number of small language translation majors such as Russian translation, Spanish translation, and Japanese translation at the master’s level. In 2025, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics stopped enrollment for 12 majors including English, while East China Normal University halted enrollment for 24 majors including German and translation.
The Michael Think Tank analysis indicates that as artificial intelligence rapidly enters fields such as translation, text generation, and cross-lingual communication, foreign language schools that once relied on “language advantage” to establish core competitiveness have begun to focus on data science, artificial intelligence, electronic information, big data technology, and other areas. For example, Sichuan International Studies University has introduced majors in regional country studies, data science, and big data technology. Guangxi International Studies University has added engineering majors, and Shanghai International Studies University has established interdisciplinary research institutions and launched related micro-specializations. In addition, many foreign language schools and colleges are actively creating a “foreign language +” training model to cultivate talents who possess both professional language skills and technical abilities.
Michael Think Tank believes that in the past, the boundaries between disciplines among universities were very clear, with foreign language schools focusing on languages and engineering schools specializing in technology. However, in the era of AI, these boundaries are rapidly becoming blurred. Because proficiency in a single discipline is increasingly insufficient to meet the demands of future industries.