The french language and literature department's predecessor can be traced back to 1863 in the French language department of the Beijing Shitong Museum. In June 1999, Peking University established the Chinese, and the French Department of the former Department of Western Languages and Literature was renamed the Department of French Language and Literature. The department currently has 6 professors (all doctoral tutors), 5 associate professors and 2 assistant professors, all of whom are PhD recipients. Peking University established the Master of Arts in French Languages in 1956, the Ph.D. in French Languages and Literature in 1987, and subsequently the Postdoctoral Mobile Station.