Chinese Language
The undergraduate major in Chinese leads to the bachelor of arts degree and consists of required course and elective courses to complete a minimum 33 semester credits in Chinese and East Asian cultures and literatures. The goal of the program is to provide students with a quality program that emphasizes the obtainment of language competence and a rich knowledge of Chinese culture and society through a combined approach of proficiency-oriented, communicative, situational and study-abroad activities. All required courses for the major are taught, with the assistance of graduate students, by the faculty who have received a doctoral training in Chinese linguistics, Chinese language teaching, and Chinese cultural and literary studies. The rigid four-year program enables students to reach the advanced level of language proficiency and offers good training in cultural knowledge. Its study abroad program provides students with a good opportunity to get to know Chinese society and culture and to get immersed in the Chinese speaking environment. The diversity of courses offered by the Chinese Program prepares students, both majors and non-majors, for their future career advancement. The curriculum of the program is enriched by Chinese Club, which regularly sponsors a wide range of activities including cultural events, film showings, lectures, festivals, calligraphy, etc. Its "Conversation Partner" activity pairs up students of Chinese with native Chinese speakers on campus so that they can have more chances to practice Chinese outside the classroom.
In order to make our students more competitive and better prepared for the real world, the Chinese Program encourages double majors: students are encouraged to combine a major in Chinese with a major in other fields such as international relations, business, anthropology, etc. Please follow the links on the left and below for more information.
