Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies)

Entry requirements

Applicants for this course should have achieved high 2:1 or a first at BA level from a UK university or equivalent. Good working knowledge (especially reading) of Modern Chinese.

Months of entry

October

Course content

The MPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) is an intense one-year course primarily for students who intend to go on to do a PhD in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese Studies) at the University of Cambridge or elsewhere. It is designed for highly motivated future researchers who have a substantial undergraduate background in Chinese studies or related fields but need more exposure to topic-specific or discipline-based analytical frameworks and more intensive training in primary source language(s) and research skills.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the MPhil programme, students will be expected to have:

• acquired the ability to read, interpret and translate primary sources in Modern and/or Classical Chinese;
• acquired a good knowledge of the general scholarship on modern and/or pre-modern Chinese culture(s);
• acquired an in-depth knowledge of the secondary literature relevant to the subject of their dissertation;
• developed the ability to formulate original research questions and produce a well-constructed argument to answer them, in the form of an independent piece of research based on the use of primary and secondary sources; and
• developed independent archival and library- and internet-based research skills concomitant with successful completion of a Masters-level degree in Chinese Studies.