What is the Chinese program about?
Chinese is the most-spoken language in the world and is the fastest growing choice for language study. Learning the language gives you the opportunity to expand your horizon to the East. It is also the perfect chance to challenge yourself and reach a new level of satisfaction in your life.
The Chinese program is geared towards the practical use of Chinese language and takes a holistic approach to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. It caters for students with a wide range of language proficiency levels; from beginner to advanced.
China is an ancient civilisation and undeniably one of the world's largest economic powers today. Australia’s links to China are not only fascinating and complex, but critical to our country's economic and social future.
With an increasingly global economy, private and public organisations favour employees who speak more than one language and can operate successfully in different cultural contexts. Why not add Chinese to your skill set?
"As the Chinese proverb goes, 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'. Learning Chinese allows you to discover a truly fascinating country – and it's not as difficult as you think!"
Why study Chinese with us?
Participate in our China/Taiwan Language & Culture Program with Mandarin Training Centre at the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei – one of the major hubs of the Chinese-speaking world. This intensive language program takes place during over Summer break, with assessment credited to your UTAS units at home.
Begin with introductory units that cover written and spoken Chinese (Mandarin), move onto intermediate units that further develop your language skills and knowledge of grammar, then undertake advanced units at the highest level of Chinese.
Taught in English, our Chinese Studies units give you specialist knowledge of society, culture, politics and economics in the Chinese-speaking world.
Broaden your knowledge of Asian cultures and languages by combining your studies in Chinese with programs in Asian Studies, Indonesian and Japanese also available through the School of Humanities.
Undertake a major (eight units) in Chinese language on-campus in either Hobart or Launceston.
What careers relate to Chinese?
Graduates from our Chinese program have worked for the Australian government in Shanghai, non-governmental organisations in Beijing, successfully applied for competitive scholarships in China and Taiwan, and pursued postgraduate study at universities in the region. With demonstrable language skills in Chinese, you can enhance any career and open doors for employment overseas.
Become an effective global citizen with a better understanding of the fundamental changes taking place in this dynamic region of the world. Demonstrate you have developed skills in intercultural understanding, communication and team work, independent research and leadership – all skills sought after by employers anywhere.
- Advocacy and counselling
- Arts and heritage
- Communications and public relations
- Education
- Linguistics
- Finance
- Foreign relations and international aid
- Healthcare and healthcare ethics
- Historian
- Interpreter or translator
- Journalism and publishing
- Law
- Manager in private and public enterprises
- Marketing and advertising
- Politics and public policy-making
- Psychology
- Public health and welfare
- Researcher
- Trade and foreign exchange
- Tourism and travel operator
- Writer
How can I learn Chinese?
Many people who undertake a major in Chinese do so to master the language itself, or as a valuable adjunct to other study in their undergraduate degree. Chinese is also a popular choice as the Arts major in combined degrees with Business, Science, Fine Arts and Education.
This major (eight units) involve cores and elective units in Chinese which can be identified with HMC in the unit code. The program provides you with a structured pathway through Chinese language learning (written and spoken), as well as units on Chinese culture, politics and society.
Interested in studying with us? Explore our course and research opportunities below.
Each course and unit is linked to its own page with more detailed information and entry requirements on the Courses & Units website.
Your learning experience in Chinese goes beyond the lecture and tutorials.
You will be taught by experts, and gain perspective from guest lecturers and forums; gain a competitive advantage with real-world experience prior to graduation; study abroad for a fortnight, a month, a semester or a year, as part of your degree; have options to complete your studies your way, whether on-campus, online, part-time or full-time; pursue your passion or specialisation with a range of scholarships, bursaries and financial assistance programs, or meet your career goals with our pathway options.
Take your passion for ideas further than you ever imagined.
We offer a collegial, supportive environment, with experienced supervision, regular seminar series, research skills training, and many opportunities to work with peers and academics on your areas of interest. We supervise across a range of methodologies and conceptual/theoretical approaches, and encourage scholarship that draws on ideas from across diverse fields.
Choose a research topic that reflects your interests and identify a supervisor with the expertise to guide you in your research. Search for a discipline staff member via our staff profiles, or by an area or expertise.
The School of Humanities welcomes qualified applicants to undertake a research degree with us in any of our areas of research strengths and interests.
Masters by Research
Doctorates (PhD)
To find out about application procedures, entry requirements, and scholarships, refer to College of Arts, Law and Education Research Degrees.
Our research in Asia
As an interdisciplinary program, the research strengths of the Global Cultures and Languages staff and associates are both geographical (China, Burma/Myanmar, Japan, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Singapore) and thematic. Our small, passionate team of academics share common interests in politics, traditional and popular culture, language, art, literature and film in the countries we research.
The disciplinary background of our staff is broad, incorporating Political Science, History, Area Studies and Literature. Our research strengths include the following areas:
- Asian cities and urbanism
- Ethnicity and diasporic communities
- Gender and sexuality in Asia
- Literary and translation studies
- Asia-Australian relations
- National and regional politics
- Nationalism and identity in Asia
- Second and foreign language acquisition
- Contemporary culture and cultural studies
- Asian art, film and literature
- Volunteer tourism
- Media, internet and youth culture in Asia
- Language and language teaching
We welcome proposals from qualified applicants to undertake research degrees at both the Masters and PhD levels, and are pleased to discuss proposals that cross disciplinary boundaries.
Asia Institute of Tasmania
Established in a partnership with the State Government of Tasmania, the Asia Institute Tasmania is an organisation that fosters engagement with the Asian region by the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian community. The Institute aims to build professional and institutional relationships with Asia, develop expertise and understanding of Asia, and promote new research activities.
Featured Researcher | Dr Isabel Wang
Isabel is a Lecturer in Chinese in Global Cultures & Languages. Her research area encompasses applied linguistics including language and culture; language use in the workplace, and ICT in language learning. In particular, she has a strong interest in the area of culture and communication in tertiary education.
View Isabel's full researcher profile Browse our academic staff profiles