Chinese Minor

Globally, China occupies a prominent position in many respects. With 1.4 billion inhabitants, it is the most populous country in the world. It spans five time zones, has a surface area roughly the size of the United States, and its economy is projected to become the world’s largest before the end of this decade. China is the place of origin of one of the oldest cultural traditions in the world, with written records dating back more than three thousand years. Many elements of the traditional cultures of neighboring East Asian countries (such as Vietnam, Korea, and Japan) can be traced back to China. Finally, rapid economic development over the past few decades has bolstered China’s political and military aspirations to become a global superpower. A knowledge of Chinese language and culture will enable students to explore the long and complex history of China and better understand China’s role in the 21st century.

The Chinese program offers an extensive array of courses in the Chinese (Mandarin) language, premodern and modern Chinese and Sinophone literature, history, philosophy, society, and film. This allows students to satisfy foreign language requirements, major or minor in Chinese, or complete a Chinese track M.A. degree. Students benefit from one of the strongest Chinese language curriculum programs in the country and extensive resources, including advanced courses in Chinese, language-intensive study abroad opportunities, Chinese library resources, the Chinese Undergraduate Student Association, the Chinese Living-Learning Residential Community, the student-led Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit, and the Chinese Language Table. 

Requirements

In addition to the program requirements listed below, students must:

  • take at least nine hours of their minor "core" requirements at UNC–Chapel Hill
  • earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the minor core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for minor or specific courses.

For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.

The undergraduate minor in Chinese consists of five courses.

Core Requirements
At least three courses must be language courses beyond CHIN 203, chosen from among the following:9-10
Intermediate Chinese II
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Intermediate Written Chinese
Advanced Chinese I
Advanced Chinese II
Advanced Written Chinese
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Readings in Modern Chinese I
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Readings in Modern Chinese II
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese-English Translation and Interpreting
Business Communication in Chinese
Chinese Tea Culture and Its Changing Landscape
Topics in Chinese Literature and Language
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Classical Chinese
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Stay Tuned to China
Chinese History in Chinese
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Ancient Philosophers and Their Modern Reincarnation
Advanced Topics in Chinese Literature and Language
Chinese Internet Literature
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Writing Chinese (in) America: Advanced Studies of a Foreign Literature from United States Homeland
The other two courses may be chosen from the list above or from among the following:6
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Food in Chinese Culture 1
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Kung-Fu: The Concept of Heroism in Chinese Culture 1
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Writing Women in Modern China 1, H
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Philosophy on Bamboo: Rethinking Early Chinese Thought 1
IDEAs in Action General Education logo First-Year Seminar: Love in China
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Chinese Civilization
IDEAs in Action General Education logo From Martial Arts to Street Dance: Rebellion with Chinese Characteristics
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese Qin Music
Introduction to Modern Chinese Culture through Cinema
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Indigenous Spiritualities in Literatures of China and Taiwan H
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Introduction to Chinese Culture through Narrative
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese Language and Society
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Bandit or Hero: Outlawry in Chinese Literature and Films
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Imperial China in Global Objects
IDEAs in Action General Education logo History as Fiction or Fiction as History? Early Chinese History in Film and Literature
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese Environmental Literature
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese Traditional Theater
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Illustration and the Animation of Text
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Environmental China: Premodern Political Ecology
Global Shangri-La: Tibet in the Modern World
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Narrative Ethics in Modern China
IDEAs in Action General Education logo The City in Modern Chinese Literature and Film
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Confucianism: Origin, History, and Contemporary Relevance
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Daoism: Origin, History, and Contemporary Relevance
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Queering China
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese Science Fiction
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese Poetry in Translation
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Chinese Prose in Translation
IDEAs in Action General Education logo Contemporary Chinese Urban Culture and Arts
Total Hours15-16
H

Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

1

 No more than one first-year seminar may be counted toward the minor.

Approved language courses taken in UNC–Chapel Hill-sponsored study abroad programs may count in the minor. However, study abroad courses may not substitute for culture courses, which must be taken in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

Placement credit (PL) may not be used to meet minor requirements.

See the program page here for Special Opportunities.

Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Visit Program Website

New West 113, CB# 3267

(919) 962-4294

Chinese Program Advisor

Robin Visser

rvisser@email.unc.edu

Chair

Li-ling Hsiao

hsiaoLL@email.unc.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Bud Kauffman

budk@email.unc.edu

Student Services Specialist

Ash Barnes

wow@unc.edu