There is a wide range of degrees in which you can study the language and culture of Asian and oriental countries. The outline below refers to Chinese Studies and provides a useful insight into other degrees which might fall into this category.

The aim of the Chinese Studies degree is to provide students with a broad training in the Chinese language and in Chinese Studies. If you enrol in this degree, most of your time will be taken up studying either Chinese language or modules on Chinese politics, economics, society and so on. You won't be expected to have any prior knowledge of the Chinese language, though you will learn to use Chinese characters from the start, and language classes at all levels are conducted in Chinese as far as possible.

A very important part of the degree is the opportunity to spend one year studying in China.

In addition, you will study a variety of modules that develop your own interests, particularly in the politics, economics, society and culture of modern and contemporary China. The China-related modules offered by the School are:

• Understanding China
• State and Economy in Contemporary China
• Contemporary Chinese Society
• China 1914-1978: Revolution and Modernity
• Population and Environment in China
• Chinese Economic Issues
• Late Imperial China: State, Society and Family
• Business and Management in Contemporary China
• Chinese Identity

The information below outlines the Classics course at Durham University:

Aims

• to complement our other programmes in attracting highly motivated students from the broadest possible range of backgrounds to the study of the Classical world
• to enable students to develop a broad and deep understanding of the Classical world and the interdisciplinary skills required for its study, through engagement with leading, research-active specialists in its various fields
• to maximise thereby the potential of students attracted to the programme, foster their personal development and inform and enrich their cultural experience
• to widen the horizons of students through the study of a culture both alien and ancient, but also a significant influence on our own
• to give students the capacity, the confidence, and the initiative to recognise and address problems with independence and autonomy; also to see where different skills are needed for their solution, and to be in a position to acquire such skills if necessary
• at the same time to inculcate skills, specific and transferable, which will enable students to progress to graduate work in the fields, and to be strongly places for employment or further training in areas which place a premium on communication, decision-making, analysis, the exercise of personal initiative, receptiveness to new learning

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific knowledge

• knowledge of a selection of classical texts in the original language
• knowledge of a range of Greek and Roman literature, particularly those texts which are represent the epic tradition
• a knowledge of some key aspects of Greek and Roman history
• knowledge of the range of evidence for the study of the classical world, and an understanding of how to make use of it, with awareness in particular of the ways in which the Greeks and Romans themselves remembered and were remembered for their own achievements and culture
• some appreciation of the influence of classical literature and culture through its reception in later periods of history (and up to the present day)
• knowledge of the most important issues in contemporary scholarly debate in the areas studied

Subject-specific skills

• at least one of the ancient languages (Latin, Ancient Greek)
• close reading of classical texts in the original language
• the methodologies appropriate for a sophisticated understanding of the diverse range of evidence that exists for the history of antiquity: in particular, written texts, artefacts and the visual culture
• the ability to synthesise these different forms of evidence in reconstructing a coherent and plausible picture of the events and culture(s) of the Greco-Roman world
• the ability to engage with a lien patterns of thought, culture, and expression; to see and understand the discontinuities between the Classical world and our own as well as the continuities
• the ability to present ideas and arguments in written form according to the conventions of academic writing

Key Skills

• the linguistic skills that derive from practical experience of using a foreign language, and a sound understanding of the structure of language in general
• the ability to think independently and outside the 'box' of conventional wisdom
• the skills needed to analyse, evaluate and synthesise a wide range of evidence, and to select and apply the methodologies appropriate in different cases
• the ability and self-discipline to work autonomously and the capacity for organisation required to meet deadlines and to negotiate competing claims on finite resources
• the capacity to sustain a clear, well-structured and well-defended argument in written form
• facility with key IT resources: in particular, the ability to use e-mail, word-processors and online databases; also the ability to make fruitful use of internet resources.

Language is a window to the mind and lies at the heart of understanding all aspects of human cognition, culture and conduct. It is through the study of language that we come to understand the intricacies of human nature, psychology and development. A linguistics degree introduces you to the workings of human language in all its various forms and leads to an awareness of the relationship between language, culture and social identity. It also provides you with a toolkit for the analysis of the structure of languages.

How does a child first learn language and why do some children never acquire a native tongue? Why do speakers from different geographical areas use different dialects and accents and why are some of these considered ‘better’ than others? How do we explain language impairments in some individuals and apparent linguistic genius in others? These are the sorts of questions that linguists ask.

A typical Linguistics degree might follow the following structure:

In the first year you learn to look at language in a new way. The core course-units are designed to equip you with the skills necessary for describing and analysing the sounds, meanings and structures of language. You will study topics ranging from grammar to semantics, from phonetics to discourse analysis. Finally, you will have the opportunity to take a language course and a 'free choice' unit from the range offered across the University.

In the second year the emphasis switches to linguistic theories. You will build on your new analytical skills by considering ideas about the nature of language and models of its structure. You will study units in Syntactic Theory, Phonology, Typology and Grammatical Semantics as well as a number of specialised course-units of your choice.

Finally, in your third year you can develop interests in particular areas of the subject. We offer a very wide range of specialist options including:

• sociolinguistics
• linguistic typology
• language contact & language change
• creole linguistics
• experimental phonetics
• grammatical theory
• phonology
• semantics
• pragmatics

Graduates in Linguistics have varied destinations after completion of the degree. Some go on to further training leading to careers involving language and communication (language teaching, teaching English as a foreign language, speech therapy). Many more go on to the range of careers that are open to all graduates in the arts and humanities.

The information given below provides an outline of the degree course in German at University College London and provides a good example of the better Modern European Language courses.

German: The Department

The Curriculum

We aim to see the development of German literature and language within a whole web of historical, social and cultural connections, and to allow students the opportunity to pursue certain avenues in greater depth as they proceed.

The degree programmes are organised on a course-unit system, in which students take a number of individual courses, each assigned a course-unit (CU) value depending on the amount of work involved. UCL has recently extended this system to assign each course a European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) value. ECTS allows students to gain recognition for academic achievement at participating institutions across Europe, which can assist UCL students who wish to pursue educational or career opportunities throughout Europe. Each year a student completes courses to a value of 4.0 CU, equivalent to 60 ECTS credits.

In the first two years of the degree, single-subject (BA German) students take a minimum of three out of their four course units (45 out of 60 ECTS) within the department, and may take one or two half-units (15 ECTS) elsewhere at UCL. The third year is spent abroad, in a German-speaking country. In the final year, all four units are chosen from the wide range of courses offered by the German Department.

German may be studied in combination with a number of subjects; a list of degree programmes is given on page 1, and these are described in more detail on pages 9-15.

Combined-studies students normally take two units (30 ECTS) in the German Department and two in their other ‘home’ department throughout the degree. The exception to this is students who are studying German in combination with Russian or an East European language ab initio. Students combining German with another foreign language divide their year abroad between the two countries, but students studying Russian or an East European language ab initio additionally spend the summer term of their first year in the relevant country. Combined-studies students have a greater range of choice: although language courses remain compulsory throughout, there is freedom to specialise in either the more literary, or the more political/historical elements of the degree.

All students pursue the study of language throughout the degree, attaining a high level of written and oral competence by the time they graduate. By the end of their degree programme, our students should not only be fully equipped to converse in and write fluent, idiomatic German, but should also have the capacity to reflect on the German language and its development.

The substantive courses offered by the department cover a wide range of aspects of German literature, culture, society and history. In the first two years, broadly-based courses provide an introduction to German literature from medieval times to the present, to the critical analysis of literature, and to the long sweep of German history. Courses in German film and linguistics supplement the literary and historical courses traditionally on offer. A limited number of final-year options are also made available to second-year students.

Some students choose to spend their year abroad at a university; others prefer to work in schools as Language Assistants, gaining teaching experience as well as an enhanced command of the language. We have a number of exchange schemes with particular universities (Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, Basle, Cologne, Hamburg, Koblenz, Vienna and Innsbruck); additionally, we are usually able to place students at other universities according to individual preference. During the year abroad, students write an extended essay, allowing them to pursue a topic of particular interest in greater depth.

In the final year, students choose courses from a wide range of options. Options include courses on particular authors such as Goethe or Thomas Mann; topics such as Austrian literature, modern fiction, gender in literature, and historical drama; and historical options, including German social and political thought and the history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).