china

Chinese

Chinese Major

Introduction

Chinese MajorWhy major in Chinese? China is the world's second largest economy, Chinese is the most spoken language on our planet, and Chinese civilization ranks as one of history's oldest, continuous, richly complex cultures. Students often combine a Chinese major with a specialization in other fields, such as engineering, economics, biology, international relations, English, psychology, and history. Majoring in Chinese will enable students to find enhanced opportunities in business, law, and governmental careers. 

The Chinese major comprises three parts: language, literature, and linguistics. The language component offers up to five years of instruction from top-flight teachers versed in modern language pedagogy. Students go from learning the four tones of Mandarin pronunciation all the way to reading and writing formal contemporary prose. In the literature and linguistics sections, students take from internationally-renowned faculty a range of courses that examine traditional and modern narrative, poetry, film, and drama, as well as receive a rigorous grounding in the structure and history of the language itself. Students may also take electives in the art history, anthropology, history, and comparative literature departments.

Major Requirements 
  Units
Lower Division - Preparatory Subject Matter  

CHN 1, 2, and 3: Elementary Chinese
CHN 4, 5, and 6: Intermediate Chinese

OR

CHN 1BL, 2BL, 3BL: Accelerated Written Chinese

OR

CHN 1CN, 2CN, 3CN: Mandarin for Cantonese Speakers

Students who do not have a background in Chinese that allows them to place out of the above courses will need to take them.

  0 - 30
Lower Division - Recommended  
  • CHN 10: Modern Chinese Literature (in English)
  • CHN 11: Great Books of China (in English)
  • CHN 50: Introduction to the Literature of China and Japan
  • JPN 10: Masterworks of Japanese Literature (in English)
  • LIN 1: Introductory Linguistics (Linguistics)
  • HIS 9A: East Asian Civilizations
The above courses do not count toward upper-division electives.		  
Upper Division - Required  

CHN 106, 107, 111*, 112*, 113*, (or 111A to replace 111-113) 114, 160

*Other advanced language and/or literature courses must be substituted if equivalent proficiency established

 28
Upper Division - Electives  

Complete 3 courses from the list of Chinese upper division courses below.  One of the three courses MUST be from 101, 102, 103, 104, 109C or 109G.

  • FROM THE CHINESE PROGRAM
    • CHN 100A
    • CHN 101
    • CHN 102
    • CHN 103
    • CHN 104
    • CHN 105
    • CHN 108
    • CHN 109A, C-E, G-I
    • CHN 110
    • CHN 115
    • CHN 116
    • CHN 118
    • CHN 120
    • CHN 130
    • CHN 131
    • CHN 132
    • CHN 133
    • CHN 134
    • CHN 140
    • CHN 150
  • FROM OTHER PROGRAMS
    • JPN 101: Japanese Literature in Translation: The Early Period
    • JPN 102: Japanese Literature in Translation: The Middle Period
    • JPN 103: Japanese Literature in Translation: The Modern Period
    • JPN 104: Modern Japanese Literature: War and Revolution
    • JPN 105: Modern Japanese Literature: Hero and Anti-hero
    • JPN 106: Japanese Culture Through Film
    • ANT 148A: Culture and Political Economy in Contemporary China
    • AHI 163A-B: Courses on Chinese Art
    • EAS 113: Cinema and Society in China
    • ECN 171: Economy of East Asia
    • HIS 191A-H: Chinese History Courses
    • POL 148A-B: East Asian Politics Courses
    • RST 170: Buddhism (Religious Studies)
    • RST 172: Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism (Religious Studies)
    • Or other course as approved by Chinese Faculty Advisor
  12
Total Units for the Major 40-70