Chinese and Global Affairs, Politics and International Relations

Chinese and global affairs, politics, and international relations is a degree that responds to one of the most significant facts of the contemporary world: that China's rise is reshaping global politics, economics, and culture in ways that affect every nation and every sector. Understanding China, its language, its history, its political system, and its international behaviour, is not a specialism but a necessity for anyone who wants to engage seriously with global affairs in the twenty-first century. Combining Chinese language study with politics and international relations gives you the linguistic capability to engage with China directly and the analytical frameworks to understand what is happening in the world around it.

At the University of Chester, this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich placement year and a work placement, giving you structured professional experience alongside your academic study. You will develop Chinese language skills, Mandarin being the standard focus, from a level appropriate to your prior experience, studying the written and spoken language alongside the history, culture, and politics of China and the Chinese-speaking world. The politics and international relations component gives you the theoretical tools to understand global governance, foreign policy, international security, and the political structures that shape interstate relations.

The combination is particularly valuable in contexts where engagement with China is central: international business, diplomacy, journalism, international organisations, and the many commercial and non-commercial bodies that need to understand Chinese policy and society. Chester's placement connections support the professional experience element of the degree.

Graduates move into careers in international business, the diplomatic service, journalism, international organisations, NGOs, think tanks, financial services with Asian exposure, and education. Chinese language skills combined with political analysis are a particularly distinctive and sought-after combination in a world where China's role continues to grow.