Chinese Studies

Chinese studies engages with one of the world's oldest continuous civilisations and the language spoken by more people than any other on earth. China's political, cultural, and economic significance has made an understanding of Chinese language, history, philosophy, and society genuinely important across a huge range of professional and academic fields. The discipline approaches China as a living culture with deep historical roots, and it asks you to engage seriously with both the classical tradition and the contemporary realities of Chinese society, politics, and global influence.

At the University of Durham, this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, giving you a structured entry point into the language and the broader field before you move into the full degree curriculum. Language study is central to the programme, and you will develop real proficiency in Mandarin, moving progressively from the basics of written and spoken Chinese through to advanced reading of literary and contemporary texts. Alongside the language, you will study Chinese history, political thought, literature, film, and contemporary society, building a contextually rich understanding of the culture you are developing the tools to access in its own terms.

Durham's standing as a research university means you will encounter scholarship of the highest quality.

Learning Chinese is demanding but rewarding in distinctive ways. The writing system, tonal phonology, and grammatical structure all require you to develop habits of attention that transfer into many other forms of learning. The cultural and historical content of the degree develops your capacity to think comparatively and to understand how societies with very different assumptions from your own function and reason.

Graduates in Chinese studies move into careers in international business, diplomacy, law, journalism, and translation, where fluency in Mandarin is a significant differentiator. The commercial relationship between the UK and China, and China's broader global footprint, creates sustained demand for professionals with this combination of linguistic ability and cultural understanding. Government and public-sector roles, including positions in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, also draw on this expertise.

Postgraduate study in Chinese, East Asian studies, international relations, or law is another common route.