Chinese Studies with Year Abroad T102 September 2025

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Typical offers

Typical offers
A Level	AAB
BTEC	DDD
International Baccalaureate	36

Course details

This is multidisciplinary degree will develop advanced knowledge and understanding of Chinese language and culture.

You will study a core language module in each of your three years spent in Durham. You don’t need to have any previous knowledge of Chinese, but a pathway is available if you already have an A level or equivalent qualification in Chinese.

You will also have the chance to choose from a selection of other modules relevant to the study of China from other departments. This includes Anthropology, Education, Government and International Affairs, Economics, and Theology and Religious Studies. In addition, you may choose to take additional language modules, including European languages, Japanese and Korean.

You will spend your third year studying the Chinese language at a university in China. This is an amazing opportunity to experience Chinese culture first-hand and to put your language learning into practice and context.

In your final year, you will bring together all your learning and experience to write a dissertation on an aspect of Chinese studies.

Course structure

Year 1

Core modules:

Either Chinese Language 1A (for post-A level entrants) will help to consolidate and extend grammatical knowledge developed for A Level, and enhance communication skills in written and oral Chinese.

Or Chinese Language 1B which will help you develop elementary level skills in Chinese speaking, listening, reading and writing.

In recent years, optional modules have included:

Introduction to Chinese Culture
Society and Culture in China under the Ming and Qing Dynasties
French Language
German Language
Italian Language
Russian Language
International Security, Interdependence and Organisation
Introduction to International Relations
Spanish Language
Gallery 101: Designing an Art Exhibition

Year 2

Core modules:

Chinese Language 2A or Chinese Language 2B. To build on the Chinese language skills developed in Year 1 in all four competencies: speaking, listening, reading and writing. To prepare linguistically and culturally for the year abroad.

In recent years, optional modules have included:

Chinese Cinema
Modern China’s Transformations
Kinship and Religion
Politics and Economics
Classical Chinese
French Language
German Language
Italian Language
Introduction to Anime: Aesthetic, Technology, Seriality
Russian Language
International Organisations
Spanish Language
Death, Ritual and Belief

Year 3

The third year is spent in China studying the language full-time at a Chinese university.

Year 4

Your Dissertation, will give you valuable experience and understanding of self-directed learning and the importance of choosing appropriate methodology when approaching a research project. It will help you to expand your data collection, analysis and presentation skills, and to develop your critical faculties in relation to existing literature on your topic area.

Chinese Language 4 builds on the Chinese language skills developed in your year abroad to the point where you are capable of using Chinese as a working language for employment or further study/research, and are aware of the cultural imperatives for operating in such an environment.

Chinese Historical and Literary Texts develops higher level reading and translating skills based on literary and historical texts in Chinese.

In recent years, optional modules have included:

Anthropology, Art, and Experience
Anthropological Skills for Climate Change Survival
Violence and Memory
Power and Governance
Mass Media in China
Empires and States in Early Modern Asia
Special Topic on Pacific Asia
Religion and Film
Photography in East Asia
The Work of Art: Professional Skills and Work Placement in the Visual Arts

Placement

You may be able to take a work placement. Find out more.

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Meet Our Students

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Career opportunities

School of Modern Languages and Cultures

A degree in Languages and Cultures will provide you with an impressive portfolio of cultural knowledge, transferable skills and real-world experiences that is valued by employers worldwide. In particular, the year abroad which, as well as developing language abilities, can also greatly enhance your intercultural, problem-solving and communication skills.

With the UK as a whole producing fewer linguists, proficiency in languages coupled with the intellectual rigour and cultural understanding acquired during your degree will make you highly employable in a wide range of careers both in the UK and internationally. These include occupations such as interpreting, translation and teaching, media and the arts but also working across wider industry in research, administration, human resources, sales and business development, and the financial services.

Modern Languages and Cultures

Visual Arts

The study of Visual Arts and Film will help you build up future-proof skills.

In a world that increasingly demands visual literacy and is rapidly changing through technologies like AI, it is hard to predict what specialised skills will be needed in future.

For this reason, our programme seeks to enable you to be a nimble thinker and writer, moving across disciplines and geographical areas while still being rigorous In your academic work.

You will cultivate new active learning strategies, understand how to work in teams in the more practice-related elements of the course, develop an ability to solve complex problems, and display creativity, originality and initiative in the range of outputs the course demands. All of these are the kinds of skills identified in the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report in 2020.

Of those students who graduated in 2020-21:

88% are in paid employment or further study 15 months after graduation across all our programmes

Of those in employment:

87% are in high skilled employment
With an average salary of £28,780

(Source: HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. Further information about the Graduate Outcomes survey can be found here www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk)

Department information

School of Modern Languages and Cultures

Spanning languages and society, the arts and cultural history – an in-depth understanding and appreciation of language and culture will give you a greater insight into communities and build deeper connections with people across the world.

In an era of increasing globalisation, a skill set that includes cultural understanding and proficiency in languages will help you view the world through a different lens while equipping you with the skills that global employers are looking for.

Our language-based courses offer the flexibility to specialise in one or two languages and the cultural worlds associated with them – choose from Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hispanic Studies, Italian, Japanese and Russian. You can study from beginners’ level or opt for a more advanced route if you already have an A level or equivalent qualification.

All of our language degrees include a year abroad, a valuable experience that will broaden your horizons, boost your skills and give you the confidence to adapt to different environments. You will return to Durham for the final year with a deeper understanding of language and cultures, and be better equipped to make meaningful connections with people around the world.

The BA in Visual Arts and Film includes optional modules in languages and an opportunity to apply for a placement year or a year abroad. Course content is almost global in geographical reach covering art, film, and visual culture from the Western world, the Middle East, Eurasia and East Asia.

For more information see our department pages.

Rankings

World Top 100 in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2023
6th for Italian and 5th for Asian Studies in The Complete University Guide 2024
5th in The Complete University Guide 2024

Top 10 in The Guardian University Guide 2024

Staff

For a current list of staff, please see the School of Modern Languages and Cultures pages.

Research Excellence Framework

8th in the UK for research power (REF 2021).

Facilities

Our highly skilled academics share their expertise in languages, as well as in literature, cultural history, cinema and visual culture, and translation. Many of our language academics are native speakers, while others have lived experience of the culture and language of the country.

Our location on Elvet Riverside is close to the ancient Elvet Bridge, and within easy walking distance of the colleges, Students’ Union and the historic centre of Durham. Learning facilities include language laboratories, computer classrooms and a large study area. There are satellite and recording facilities for viewing programmes in all the major taught languages.

The University's fully equipped Centre for Foreign Language Study is housed in the same building, and Languages and Cultures students have access to its facilities.