Chinese and Russian Studies

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 (complete beginners).

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.

Programme benefits

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

• Study over four years, giving you the choice and flexibility to try out different things.

• Go abroad for the first of your honours years - Year 3.

• Build up to fluency in two major world languages and specialise in different aspects of Chinese studies and Russian studies as you move through your degree.

• Explore fantastic libraries, collections and galleries at the University and in the city.

• Join societies, attend events, and gain the skills and confidence for life after university.

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.