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Undergraduate study - 2024 entry
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Subject area: Chinese

Why choose Chinese at the University of Edinburgh?

  • We are the only university in Scotland to offer both single and joint honours undergraduate programmes in Chinese. All four-year honours programmes include a year abroad studying in either China or Taiwan.

  • We are ranked third in the UK for both Modern Languages and for Arts & Humanities in the QS World Rankings by Subject 2022.

  • You will be part of a friendly community of staff and students. We have our own Chinese Studies Peer Support group, and our regular Asian Studies Seminar Series features visiting speakers from around the world.

  • You will study in the heart of a world-leading festival city whose collections include the University’s own East Asian Studies Collection, including 45,000 books and journals in Chinese, and 600 Chinese films.

Study abroad

The programme at Edinburgh is unique in its structure because it allows you to not only study Chinese language with your peers but also delve into China’s history, literature and film under the guidance of renowned lecturers. One of my favourite aspects of studying at Edinburgh is being able to connect with other students studying Chinese from across all four years; they are always willing and enthusiastic mentors.

Uma 4th year MA (Hons) Chinese
Uma 4th year MA (Hons) Chinese

Introducing Chinese

Mandarin Chinese is the world's second most widely spoken language. Its associated cultures have helped shape the contemporary world in many ways.

At the University of Edinburgh, you can take Chinese as a single honours degree programme, or jointly with a range of other subjects, including other world languages.

While we specialise in teaching students with little or no prior knowledge of the language, we can also accommodate students who already have some experience studying Chinese.

Study with us, and you will develop reading, writing, speaking, listening and translation skills in modern standard Chinese to an advanced level.

As well as advanced competency in the Chinese language, you will also gain specialist knowledge of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and associated diasporas.

Courses explore pre-modern, modern and contemporary:

  • history
  • literature
  • culture
  • politics
  • international relations

We are based in a world-leading festival city filled with cinemas, theatres, galleries, libraries and collections.

Teaching takes place in the University of Edinburgh's Central Area, where you can also access our Chinese and East Asian Studies Collection of 50,000 print and digital resources.

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