The Chinese program offers four years of instruction in language, literature, culture and film. Students may major or minor in Chinese. We offer three different tracks of study to declaring Chinese as a major: a one-language track; a two-language track involving Chinese plus another Modern Languages & Literatures (MLL) language; and an interdisciplinary track involving Chinese and another discipline outside MLL. 

Students in our yearlong course for beginners, Intensive Introductory Chinese, meet four times a week with the professor and three times a week with an apprentice teacher (AT) for practice sessions. ATs are fellow students who are either native speakers or advanced students of Chinese.

Students in the yearlong Intermediate Chinese course meet with the professor three times a week and an AT twice per week. In this course students continue to study and practice the language while engaging with culture through group projects, supplementary material as well as film and other assignments.

The advanced Chinese courses consist of two third-year courses (CHNS 321 and CHNS 322) and two fourth-year courses (CHNS 323 and CHNS 491 "China in Ten Words"). In those courses, students hone their grammatical and stylistic knowledge and engage more with authentic material and cultural artifacts, with a focus on advanced-level language production through class presentations and various analytical and creative writing assignments. Students also have regular practice or discussion sessions with visiting Fulbright Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs) from China. The hybrid course "China in Ten Words" is designed for both advanced Chinese learners and native speakers of Chinese, and aims to enhance students’ proficiency in the target language and develop the skills of literary analysis and creative writing.

In addition, we offer several courses on Chinese literature, culture, and film in translation (i.e. entirely in English), including two survey courses CHNS 221 (pre-modern Chinese literature) and CHNS 223 (modern Chinese literature), one course on Chinese cinema, and one course on Chinese women writers and gender relations. All these course offerings in English have no prerequisites and are perfect for non-majors or prospective majors who wish to explore Chinese literature and culture.

A number of our current and former students have been awarded prestigious scholarships and fellowships, including Fulbright grants and Critical Language Scholarship, and a few have received PhDs from top graduate programs. Our alumni have used their Chinese studies to forge rewarding careers in teaching, medicine, non-profit work, government, foreign relations, and other fields.

Recent Courses

Recent Courses

This is a sample list of recent and upcoming courses.

  • CHNS 111–112Y: Intensive Introductory Chinese
  • CHNS 213–214Y: Intermediate Chinese
  • CHNS 321: Advanced Chinese Conversation and Composition
  • CHNS 322: Chinese Language and Culture
  • CHNS 323: Contemporary Issues in China
  • CHNS 491: China in Ten Words
  • CHNS 221: The Pattern on Jade: Chinese Literary Tradition
  • CHNS 222: Women of the Inner Chambers
  • CHNS 223: Masterpieces of Modern Chinese Literature
  • CHNS 251: Modern China through Film and Fiction
  • CHNS 493 Individual Study