Study plan for MAHF-KIN Chinese, Master's, 2 years, spring 2024

Name of qualification

Master in Chinese Studies

ECTS Credits

120

Full-time/Part-time

Fulltid

Language of Instruction

English and Chinese

Semester

Autumn

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

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.

Admission Requirements

In order to apply for the Master programme in Chinese Studies, the applicant needs to have a Bachelor degree in Chinese Studies, sinology or relevant fields. The applicant must hold a minimum of 80 ECTS in the relevant courses, such as Chinese language, history, literature, culture or the equivalent. An average grade for the Bachelor programme studies shall be C or above.

As the courses are mainly taught in English, the applicant shall have sufficient English speaking and written competences. Pursuant to the relevant regulations of the UiB, any one of the following English test results would be valid:

IELTS academic - International English Language Testing System

Minimum overall band score: 6.5

TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language, internet-based test (iBT), and TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition

Minimum total score: 90

PTE Academic - Pearson Test of English Academic

Minimum overall score: 62

Test results must be valid (not older than two years) on the date of the application deadline.

Compulsory units

KIN301, KIN302, KIN303, KIN304, KIN350

Specialisation

Not relevant.

Recommended electives

KIN305 Intercultural Competences (10 credits)

KIN306 Independent Study (10 credits)

LING313 Methods for Master's Students in Language and Linguistics (15 credits)

NOTE: The list of elective courses remains open. Apart from these recommended electives, students have rights to take other courses offered by UiB or other institutions as an elective before the semester starts. The applicant must submit a formal application to take another specific course as an elective, providing adequate reasons and the detailed course description for evaluation. The programme board for Chinese Studies will evaluate the applications and approve (or reject) them on a case-by-case basis.

Sequential Requirements, courses

Recommended order of courses in the programme is as follows:

First Year

Semester 1 Autumn

KIN301 Topics in Chinese Applied Linguistics (15 credits),

KIN302 Research Methodology in Chinese Studies (15 credits).

Semester 2 Spring

KIN303 Topics in Chinese Sociolinguistics (10 credits),

KIN304 Topics in Chinese Literature, Philosophy, Media, and Art (10 credits), and

One approved elective course, which may be any one of the following*:

KIN 305 Intercultural Competences (10 credits);

KIN306 Self-Study Course (10 credits);

LING313 Methods for Master's Students in Language and Linguistics (15 credits).

* These courses are confirmed to be available for students of the Master in Chinese Studies Programme to take. Students can also apply to select other courses offered by UiB or other institutions as an elective after approval by the Chinese Programme Board.

All modules in the course part of the Programme must be completed before the submission of the thesis.

Second Year

Semesters 3 and 4, Autumn and Spring

KIN350 Master Thesis in Chinese Studies (60 credits)

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.

Teaching and learning methods

The teaching of Master courses is research-based and students are expected to take an active role in the learning. The main learning methods include digital collaborative learning, independent projects, individual or group assignments with or without supervision, student-led discussion, oral presentation, self-study and so forth. These are represented in different courses and are often combined in different ways to create a connection and alignment between teaching, learning outcome descriptions and forms of assessment. Arrangements will be made so that lectures, seminars and various learning objectives can be completed both physically and digitally, depending on what is considered most appropriate on various topics. In all teaching processes, students¿ active participation is strongly encouraged.

The courses are mainly taught in English, with considerable analytical examples and texts in Chinese. In the lectures, selected topics in the discipline are discussed. The main teaching activities include review of literature, key concepts and perspectives in the subject, dissemination of the subject¿s history and knowledge base and how this has been developed. Dialogues will be facilitated with the students about the subject contents¿ relevance to concrete issues in work and society. The lectures will primarily be delivered in physical form. In addition, guest lectures might be arranged on selected topics, and in such cases, digital lectures will be conducted using Zoom (or similar digital solutions) as the main platform.

Seminar is another major teaching method that stresses students¿ participation. During the teaching and learning process, students participate in discussion, collaborate in collecting, analyzing and using subject knowledge, literature and relevant information, give presentations, practice argumentation, and exercise writing. Particularly in the seminars, students will also actively work in groups with different case assignments, and for certain topics, student-led discussions are conducted. The purpose is for students to learn to collect, evaluate and use relevant information, theory and methodologies when faced with various tasks and issues within the field of Chinese Studies.

The course instructors provide guidance to the students¿ research assignments or projects, offering advice on any aspects of the research work such as data collection, data analysis and academic writing conventions. In the individual courses, the instructors may need to give supervision to the students¿ research projects. For the Self-study course, the supervision will be limited to 6 hours. For the Master thesis, an assigned supervisor provides supervision.

In some courses, arrangements will be made for students to collaborate through various digital solutions. For example, students will be required to give comments to fellow students¿ draft texts. This is a way to foster students¿ critical reading abilities. Another example could be organizing the students to attend digital webinars, online workshops or conferences to expand their academic horizon, keep up with frontier studies and establish academic and social networks. Such learning will be based on solutions already incorporated into Mitt UiB, such as Zoom or Teams.

For the Independent projects, the students do research work based on self-chosen topics related to the courses. The specific research topics must be approved by the course instructors/supervisors, and the students conduct research independently, with supervision if necessary.

Moreover, for some specific topics in the courses, the students need to study the reading materials by themselves. One student will be assigned the role of discussion leader. In the seminar, the student will talk about the general background of the research area, and then pose prepared questions for discussion, and summarize the main points elicited from the class discussion. Other students must participate actively in the discussion, and the instructor will facilitate the discussions.

Through various types of teaching and learning, students are given the opportunity to study and approach the subject in various ways. For more information about the teaching and learning forms, see the individual course descriptions.

Assessment methods

The MA programme adopts varied assessment methods to check the learning outcomes, including written exam, home-based exam, supervised term paper, oral exam, thesis and oral defense.

The assessment forms are explained in the descriptions of individual courses and are tailored to meet the course-specific learning outcomes. For more information about assessment methods, consult the individual course descriptions.

These various forms of assessment give students an opportunity to show how they master the knowledge, skills and general competence described in the course descriptions. Letter grades from A to F are applied.

The Master's program is concluded with an oral exam where the Master's thesis is discussed.

Grading scale

The individual courses included in the Master programme are graded with letter grades A-F, where F is the failing grade.

Diploma and Diploma supplement

Diploma and Diploma supplements are printed after the degree is completed.

Access to further studies

Completed Master programme with good results qualifies a candidate to apply for admission to doctoral studies in relevant subjects.

Students who plan to take PPU (Praktisk Pedagogisk Utdanning) must ensure that they meet the admission requirements during their studies. Please note that UiB currently does not offer PPU in Chinese.

Employability

Society needs people who recognize the power of humanities and its impact on communities and individuals. With a Master degree in Chinese Studies, the graduate is highly trained in reading carefully and evaluating sources, communicating clearly and discriminating between fact and opinion. The Master degree will qualify the students for working in both public and private sectors, and offer them more opportunities and possibilities to pursue employment in areas where competencies in teaching, research and development are required. For example, graduates from the Master programme in Chinese Studies may qualify for teaching Chinese language at various levels of schools after getting necessary PPU training. They can also get involved in research projects, working as research assistants/associates to develop research designs, data collection and analysis.

Generally, the Master degree in Chinese Studies gives the student possibilities to work as: language teacher in schools; research assistant or associate; advisor in the education sector; administrative work related to study departments at universities and colleges (study consultant, programme coordinator, etc.). The student may also work with public service sectors that require Chinese language skills and/or China-related knowledge. There are also employment opportunities in cooperative sectors, Chinese establishments in Norway or Norwegian companies having business with China or other polities in Greater China, international organisations, NGOs, and cultural associations, production firms, museums, etc.

Evaluation

The Master in Chinese Studies is continuously evaluated in accordance with the guidelines for quality assurance at UiB. Course and programme evaluations can be found at qualitybase.uib.no.

Programme committee

The Chinese Programme Board is responsible for the academic content and structure of the Master programme, and for the quality of all the subjects therein. If changes in the study plan are proposed, a Programme Board meeting involving teaching staff, student representative(s) and student advisor will be held in due course to discuss the proposal, reach an agreement and report to the relevant sectors for approval.

Administrative responsibility

The Department of Foreign Languages at the Faculty of Humanities has the administrative responsibility for the course and the study programme.

Contact information

Student advisor for Chinese Studies programme can be contacted at studieveileder@if.uib.no