Chinese, Master's, 2 years

Presentation

Objectives and content

The Master programme in Chinese Studies is a full-time programme of study over four semesters. The courses offered or included in the programme are customized to develop students¿ knowledge, skills, and competence in various aspects of Chinese Studies and beyond. The Master programme in Chinese Studies consists of newly created courses focusing on topics in Chinese language, literature, culture and society. The subjects cover a set of selected key topics in the discipline of Chinese Studies, aiming to cultivate general competences that are demanded by the society and specialized professional competences. This includes language, literature research, critical thinking and analysis, language teaching pedagogy, interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration, and knowledge dissemination.

In terms of learning goals, the students will 1) gain thorough knowledge about scholarly theories and methods in the field; 2) learn analytical skills to critically deal with different sources of information, evaluate and compare existing theories, and apply relevant research methods to carry out independent research, to contribute to new and innovative findings; 3) have communicative competences to debate and relate about academic issues using the terminology of the academic field. To gradually improve students¿ language proficiency that allows them to translate, examine, and assess Chinese cultural and academic products, courses will integrate Chinese-language sources, both primary and secondary. To enable students to carry out independent research and contribute with new and innovative findings based on Chinese primary sources, students will experiment with academic literature search in Chinese databases, data collection through the Chinese internet and social media, and learn how to critically evaluate these different sources.

Structure-wise, the Master curriculum is composed of 120 ECTS credits and is made up of two main parts: coursework (60 credits) and a Master thesis (60 credits). There are 4 compulsory courses offered by the Chinese section, and one approved elective course which can be chosen from a list of recommended elective courses offered by the Faculty of Humanities or other Faculties. The students will be encouraged to identify a research topic for their Master thesis and sign a supervision contract as early as possible in the second semester

Semester

Autumn

What you Learn

Required Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the Master programme in Chinese Studies, the student is expected to achieve multiple learning outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The students

- will have developed advanced knowledge based on what s/he has gained previously via specialised courses in Chinese Studies.

- will have gained advanced knowledge within the field of Chinese Studies in general and specialized insight in limited subfields in order to enhance their intercultural ability.

- will have thorough knowledge of central academic theoretical debates and methods applied in the selected discipline.

- will be able to analyze academic problems within the subfields and apply the acquired knowledge to other and new subfields.

Skills

The students

- are able to work independently and in the long term on solving problems based on their knowledge of China and Chinese language, literature, society and culture.

- are able to critically assess and explain theories, methods and interpretations within Chinese Studies.

- are capable of using relevant methods to acquire and apply knowledge of new subfields within Chinese Studies.

- are capable of carrying out supervised research projects with distinct research questions and in accordance with established research-ethical norms.

- are familiar with the norms of academic writing and able to put them into practice in their written academic outputs.

- are capable of using ICT tools and necessary electronic databases in order to carry out independent work within Chinese Studies.

General competence

The students

- are capable of continuing to develop their competence and specialisation in an independent manner.

- can apply their knowledge and express problems, analyses and conclusions in academic terminology within the selected discipline in English and Chinese.

- are familiar with relevant communicative genres such as conference presentation and other presentations

- can contribute to the scholarly and public discourse relevant to the discipline and add new and innovative reflections and insights.

Study Period Abroad

Study period abroad

In the second year of the Master study, students can, if necessary, travel abroad to conduct field work or data collection in connection with the master¿s thesis.

The programme board has started to contact overseas institutions for the possibilities of providing places for our students to do exchange studies. When proper exchange agreements are established, the Master programme students can apply to obtain part of the study credits from institutions in other countries.