Film Studies and Chinese

Film studies and Chinese is a combination that opens onto two of the richest and most distinctive cultural traditions available to a student at SOAS. Film studies examines cinema as an art form, a cultural institution and a medium that has shaped how modern societies represent themselves and the world, developing the analytical vocabulary to describe what happens on screen and the critical frameworks to explain why it matters. Chinese, in its Mandarin standard form, is the most widely spoken language on earth and the medium for a literary, philosophical and artistic tradition of extraordinary longevity and complexity, as well as for a cinema that has become one of the most significant in the world.

At the School of Oriental and African Studies, this four-year full-time programme, which includes a foundation year to build the academic foundations needed before the main degree begins, is shaped by SOAS's commitment to engaging with the cultures of Asia, Africa and the Middle East seriously and on their own terms. Your study of film will be enriched by the institution's deep expertise in Chinese culture, history and society, and your language learning will be given depth by the cultural and cinematic contexts you encounter in your film studies. You will develop Chinese language proficiency progressively alongside your engagement with cinema as a critical and cultural object.

A typical entry tariff of 120 points makes the programme accessible to students from a range of backgrounds, and the four-year structure, including the foundation year, gives you the time to develop genuine depth in both disciplines.

Graduates find careers in film and media production, broadcasting, cultural diplomacy, translation and interpreting, international business, journalism, the civil service, international organisations and education. The combination of Chinese proficiency and film cultural knowledge is particularly well suited to roles in international media, content distribution, cross-cultural communication and the growing market for Chinese-language film and television. Postgraduate study in film studies, Chinese studies, translation or area studies offers further pathways.