The School of Foreign Studies (SFS) at Harbin Engineering University (HEU) traces its origins to the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Section of the Department of Academic Affairs at the PLA Military Engineering Institute, established in 1953. It later evolved into the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Section of the Department of Basic Courses at Harbin Engineering Institute (1966–1970), and then at Harbin Shipbuilding Engineering Institute (1970–1986). In 1987, Foreign Languages Department was founded on the basis of the First and Second Foreign Languages Teaching and Research Sections of Harbin Shipbuilding Engineering Institute, and in 2021, it was officially upgraded to the SFS .

Foreign language instruction at the School began with Russian during the PLA Military Engineering Institute period. The development of the School’s academic programs started in 1978 with the launch of an undergraduate English teacher training program. A master’s program in English was introduced in 1985. In 1986, as one of the earliest science and engineering institutions in Heilongjiang Province to offer an English major, the School initiated an English for Science and Technology (EST) undergraduate program, which was renamed the English major in 1994. The English major was recognized as a Provincial Key Construction Major in 2011. In 2017, the master’s program in the first-level discipline of Foreign Languages and Literature was approved. In 2021 and 2022, the English major was designated a Provincial First-Class and a National First-Class Undergraduate Major, respectively.

The School currently offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in English and Foreign Languages and Literature. It also provides foreign language instruction (English, Russian, Japanese, German, and French) for non-language majors across all degree levels at HEU. The faculty consists of 121 members, including 105 full-time instructors, 11 professors, 41 associate professors, and 33 master’s supervisors. Additionally, there are 4 visiting professors, 6 adjunct professors, and 4 foreign teachers. Currently, there are 405 students enrolled, including 194 undergraduate English majors and 211 master’s students.

The School has three major academic units: the Center for Foreign Languages and Literature Research (with sub-centers in Linguistics and Foreign Literature), the Center for Area and Country Studies and Translation Research (including the Corpus Translation Research Center and the Area and Country Studies Center), and the Center for Public Foreign Language Teaching Research (including the divisions for College English, Non-English-Majored Postgraduates, and English Majors). Administrative offices include the General Affairs Office and the Talent Cultivation Office, with branches in Teaching Affairs and Student Affairs. Academic governance bodies include the Committee of Professors, the Academic Sub-Committee, and the Teaching Supervision Committee. Support platforms include the Multimedia Language Experiment Center, the Teacher Development Center, the Intelligent Translation Training Room, the Maritime Document Translation Center, and the Reference Room.

Over the past seventy years, the School has developed robust master’s programs in Foreign Languages and Literature and a professional MTI program. The academic master’s program includes three tracks: English Language and Literature, Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, and Russian Language and Literature. Four research teams focus on foreign languages and literature, applied linguistics, translation studies, and area studies. Discipline development and talent cultivation are aligned with HEU’s strategic strengths in naval architecture, ocean development, and nuclear engineering. The School has established internship and training bases with key institutions and companies, including Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding, the 714 Institute, Nuclear Power Institute of China, China Institute of Marine Technology & Economy, and others.

Focusing on the goal of cultivating "New Engineering" talents and continuously deepening the reform of foreign language education and teaching, SFS has formed its teaching model and formative evaluation and assessment method with HEU's characteristics. College English courses have been selected as the Excellent Courses of Heilongjiang Province and the Ideological and Political Demonstration Courses of Heilongjiang Province. College English courses are also in the first batch of National First-Class Online Undergraduate Courses and National Online and Offline Mixed First-Class Courses. The course cases of College English have been selected into the MOOC-based Excellent Mixed Teaching Case Set and the Top 100 Cases of Ideological and Political Work in Universities by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The project of Research and Practice of Integrating Ideological Value Guidance into College English Curriculum Education has been approved by the Ministry of Education. Positive energy of Chinese Dream is manifested in College English courses, which has been publicized and praised by Xuexi.cn. The front page of China Education Daily published a special report on lecturers of College English transmitting positive energy in class.

The Teaching and Research Section for Non-English Major Postgraduates takes academicization and internationalization as the core of curriculum construction, taking into account the requirements of cultivating humanistic literacy and comprehensively improving students' international communication and exchange abilities. Academic Exchange English, a MOOC for graduates, has been launched on XueTangX.com and Treenity Platform. It has been selected as a National Smart Education Platform Course, Ideological and Political Education Resources for University Courses on Xinhua Net, and a "Double First-Class" University High-quality Course on Treenity. Academic Exchange English has also been approved as the Engineering Master's Demonstration Course by the Ministry of Education, the Ideological and Political Course Construction Project for Graduate Courses of Heilongjiang Province and enjoyed the honor of being a demonstration course in the "Tuojin Plan" of the Ministry of Education.

To meet national standards for first-class undergraduate programs, the Teaching and Research Division for English Majors builds upon HEU’s strengths in shipbuilding, ocean, and nuclear engineering. It follows a student-centered approach and emphasizes integration, distinctiveness, foundation, and quality. The English major has been selected as a model team for the 'Three Enterings' initiative and has been listed in the New Liberal Arts Construction Plan of Heilongjiang Province.

The Center for Area and Country Studies manages undergraduate and Sino-Russian Innovation Class instruction, while the Linguistics Research Center is responsible for graduate education. Faculty are actively engaged in linguistic, literary, terminological, and translation studies. Since 2019, a master’s degree program in Russian has also been offered.

Since the 13th Five-Year Plan, faculty have published over 300 academic papers, secured more than 70 national and provincial research grants, and received nearly 60 provincial awards. Over 60 monographs and textbooks have been published.  The secretary of a Teacher Party Branch of SFS has won the first place in the College Party Branch Secretary Ability Competition of Heilongjiang Province. Faculty members have won more than 20 honors, including the Champion of the Youth Category in the "21st Century Cup" National English Public Speaking Contest, the third place in the "Teaching Star" Competition of FLTRP, the first prize in the College Foreign Language Young Teacher Ability Competition of Heilongjiang Province, the first prize in the Higher Education Institutions Curriculum-based Ideological and Political Teaching Competition of Heilongjiang Province, and the first prize in the Gold Course Team Competition of Heilongjiang Province. Cognitive Linguistics along with other 15 courses was approved as Provincial Curriculum-based Ideological and Political Cases.

SFS adheres to the construction of teacher ethics and morality in the new era under the Party's guidance and focuses on building an excellent teaching team with high political caliber, masterly professional abilities, and exquisite educational skills. In 2008 and 2009, the School was awarded the honorary title of Women's Civilization Post by the All-China Women's Federation for two consecutive years. The First Teaching and Research Section for College English has become one of the first-batch National Party Building Model Branches Cultivation and Construction Units and has passed the review by the Ministry of Education. Among SFS's faculty members, there are Excellent Teachers in Colleges and Universities under the National Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense, Excellent Teachers of Heilongjiang Province, Exemplary Individuals with Teacher's Professional Ethics and Morality of Heilongjiang Province, and Outstanding Party Workers of Heilongjiang Province. The university-level honorary titles have been awarded to SFS's teachers over 300 times, which include Model Lecturer, Excellent Lecturer, Exemplary Individual of Three-Dimensional Education, My Favorite Teacher and so on.

The School places strong emphasis on international exchange and cooperation. It has established partnerships and joint training agreements with over ten universities in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, India, Ukraine, and Singapore, and maintains close collaborations with institutions in Hong Kong and Macao. By regularly organizing international and domestic academic conferences and expert forums, the School continues to advance global strategic cooperation and foster academic exchange at home and abroad.