Under the background of deepening of the national economic reform and expanding of the opening up policies to the outside world, China became a formal member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. Taking this China’s accession to WTO as a perfect opportunity to educate the public on the rules of WTO and its up-to-date challenges for the whole country, Wuhan University decided then to set up WTO Studies School in response to the economic globalization and the effective requirements of Chinese social development. Belonging properly to the Faculty of Social Sciences, WTO Studies School is one of the teaching and research schools directly subordinated to Wuhan University.

As a newly emerging academic unit since its foundation, the primary strategy of WTO Studies School is consequently based on the all-round opening to exteriors, the multi-level partnership collaboration, the scientific internal administration, the highly efficient operation and the human oriented service. By carrying forward the long-term cultural heritage of Wuhan University, assimilating richly its centenary humanistic excellence, relying entirely on its remarkable scholarly achievements and outstanding international reputation, WTO Studies School is becoming the most dynamic and featured platform of Wuhan University in the domain of external exchange and transcontinental cooperation.

With orientation of cooperative work and complementary advantages according to the pedagogical philosophy of openness and internationalization, the main objectives of WTO Studies School are to remove the traditional frontiers of knowledge between different faculties, schools or departments within Wuhan University, to optimize the University’s top quality educational resources through inter-disciplinary efforts, to make full use of its multiple clustering benefits by curriculum innovation, and finally to cultivate students as senior accomplished talents with sound theory understanding and practical skills in business, international law, applied foreign languages and computing that would enable them to be more competitive in graduate employment and professional careers and to make great contributions to national construction and social advancement.

Taking the lead in open and synergetic forms of school running, WTO Studies School is devoting its best to introduce the high grade intellectual resources and draw on the domestic and overseas advanced experiences. So far WTO Studies School has signed bilateral exchange and cooperation agreements with famous universities in France, United Kingdom, Ireland, United States of America, New Zealand and Australia on mutually beneficial win-win premise. WTO Studies School conducts now five program series consisted of Domestic Double Degree Bachelor Program (majors in Law, Business, Management and Applied French Language), Domestic Master Program, International Undergraduate Program, International Postgraduate Program and High-end Professional Training Program.

WTO Studies School holds four academic departments including Law, Economics, French Language and English Language. At present, the registered students in WTO Studies School are more than 2000 and the graduate number goes over 4000. Specializing in across disciplines teaching and research in International Law, Business, Management and Foreign Languages while concentrating on cultivation and training of highly qualified professionals in WTO relevant issues such as legal affairs, public administration and transnational enterprises, WTO Studies School actively develops the close and large-scale international cooperation and communication which provide a credible framework for continually extending the theory research projects and practice consulting service concerning WTO multilateral aspects.