Chinese and Spanish

This joint honours programme enables you to study two major world languages. You will also learn about the histories, literatures and societies of the many countries in which they are spoken.

Together, Chinese and Spanish have over two billion native speakers. They are your gateway to a vast range of cultures and career opportunities in:

• Europe

• Latin and North America

• East Asia

• the Caribbean

Skills development

On this programme, you will develop advanced competency in Modern Standard Chinese and in Spanish. You will gain the skills needed to use your languages in social and professional settings, focusing on:

• reading and writing (including translation)

• speaking and listening

You will have the opportunity to engage with culture in Spanish from around the world, while gaining specialist knowledge on mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and associated diasporas in pre-modern, modern and contemporary contexts.

Our courses explore Chinese, East Asian, Spanish and Latin American:

• literature, theatre, and cinema

• political history and international relations

• social and cultural movements and linguistics

Why Edinburgh

As a world-leading festival and capital city, Edinburgh is a fantastic place to study global languages in their cultural context.

We are the only university in Scotland to offer both single and joint honours undergraduate programmes in Chinese. Within the UK, we are also the only university to offer three different language entry levels to our Chinese degree programmes:

• ab initio - for complete beginners in the Chinese language

• upper beginner

• intermediate

We also offer two entry levels to Spanish, including ab initio.

Our programme is not for native speakers of either language, but we welcome heritage language learners.

Studying over four years enables you to choose courses that match your own interests, expertise and employability needs. We have built immersive study abroad into the programme in Year 3, which you will spend in either mainland China or Taiwan and in a country where Spanish is spoken.

When you graduate, you will have the combination of broad cultural education and specialist knowledge valued by employers worldwide.

How long it takes to complete this degree programme

This programme is studied over 4 years, including a year abroad. This enables us to build choice and flexibility into your studies, giving you time to explore options, find what you like and build your skills.

Your first two years will be your pre-honours years. They will give you a good grounding in both your languages and in Chinese, Spanish and Latin American Studies. You will also gain research skills and choose an option course from a wide range of disciplines.

Your final two years will be your honours years. You will spend Year 3 studying abroad, gaining lived experience of Chinese and Spanish-speaking cultures. Year 4 will be tailored to your interests in specific topics in Chinese, Spanish and Latin American Studies. You will also further develop your language and translation skills.

Programme benefits

• Take the only programme of its kind in the UK to offer three entry levels for Chinese.

• Study over four years, including one abroad.

• Become fluent in two major world languages.

• Join societies related to what you are studying.

• Delve into fantastic libraries and collections.

• Try your hand at creative writing and publishing.