This joint honours programme enables you to study the languages, literatures and cultures of two of the world's largest countries, both of whom play an important role in contemporary global politics.
Together, Chinese and Russian have around 1.5 billion native speakers. They are your gateway to cultures and career opportunities in many parts of:
Europe
East and Central Asia
North America
There are large communities of Russian speakers in China and increasing numbers of young Russians are learning Chinese at high school and beyond.
Skills development
On this programme, you will develop advanced competency in Modern Standard Chinese and in Russian. 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
Our courses explore Chinese, East Asian, Russian and Russian-speaking (Russophone):
literature and cinema
political history and international relations
social and cultural movements
You will have the opportunity to study Russia's transnational mobility and to learn about Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and associated Chinese diasporas.
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 Russian, including ab initio.
Our programme is not for native speakers of either language, but we welcome heritage language learners.
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 Russian is spoken.
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 and Russian 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 Russophone cultures. Year 4 will be tailored to your interests in specific topics in Chinese and Russian 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.
The following entry points are available for this course:
This degree programme has a subject requirement of a language other than English. You may not use your own native language to meet this requirement. English or an alternative language other than native will be acceptable.
Chinese degrees involve beginners language study and are not suitable for native or near-native speakers.
Detailed entry requirements, including typical offer levels, and information about other qualifications we accept, are available on the University of Edinburgh’s website. You’ll also find important information on how to apply. You must submit a fully completed UCAS application that includes details of the qualifications you are taking, including full predicted grades for qualifications not yet completed, your personal statement and your reference.
Find out more about qualification requirements for this course.
Find out more about minimum qualification requirements for this course.
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6.5 | total 6.5 with at least 5.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements. |
| TOEFL (iBT) | 92 | total 92 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements. |
| Cambridge English Advanced | total 176 with at least 162 in each component. | |
| Cambridge English Proficiency | total 176 with at least 162 in each component. | |
| Trinity ISE | ISE II with distinctions in all four components. |
Full details of our English language requirements can be found on our website:https://study.ed.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry-requirements/english-language
The University of Edinburgh welcomes students from the UK and all over the world. We accept a wide range of qualifications and our policies support students with diverse backgrounds and experience. UCAS entry grade data is currently not available for our degrees but we publish admissions statistics on our website. We also provide information on widening access offers and entry requirements.
This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course with (learn more).
It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place.
Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.
Historical entry grades data is not currently available for The University of Edinburgh - we are working with them to try and make it available soon - learn more.
This report uses your grades to show how students with similar results have done when applying to this course in the past. Sometimes, there isn’t data for every possible set of grades. When that happens, universities and colleges occasionally fill in the gaps for sets of grades that are typically accepted.
| Location | Fee | Year |
|---|
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.
Scotland - Scottish students must apply to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for payment of their tuition fees.
England/Wales/Northern Ireland - The Rest of UK (RUK) students commencing or continuing their studies in September 2026, the tuition fees will be £9,790. This is subject to Parliamentary approval and is an increase of £255 on the fee rate for academic year 2025-2026.
EU On 9th July 2020 the decision was made by the Scottish Government to end free university tuition for European Union (EU) students starting in 2021-22. Funding policy for EU nationals and associated groups starting a course of study in academic year 2022-23 or later will be in line with international fees.
Full time international and EU students will pay a fixed annual fee rate for the duration of their programme
Phone:0131 297 3272
Have a question about undergraduate study?
Email:futurestudents@ed.ac.uk
Phone:0131 650 1000
The University of Edinburgh
Old College
South Bridge
Edinburgh
EH8 9YL
At The University of Edinburgh
