Modern Sinology

The four-semester English-language Master’s programme in Modern Sinology in Göttingen offers students a wide range of thematic specialisations relating to modern China (beginning from the 17th century). It has a focus on combining an intensive training in Chinese language with intensive content-oriented as well as methodological training. Our students get the chance to acquire cultural competencies, and they learn to investigate the Chinese world from a variety of contextualising perspectives. In this context, we familiarise our students with social science and cultural studies-oriented methodologies and theories, analysing them critically. The degree programme can be studied as specialist course of study for the Single Honours MA in Modern Sinology and as specialist course of study for the Joint Honours MA in Modern Sinology, in combination with one or two subject-external module packages (minor – one package of 36 credit points [CP] or two packages of 18 CP). The course employs a variety of approaches to study the Chinese world. Students get access to various methodological approaches and comparative lenses. Through the programme, "China" is not looked at as an isolated cultural universe; rather, the wealth of the global interactions that have characterised the important facets of the Chinese world and its region is accentuated. The Master's degree programme offers you… 1. …excellent and intensive training in both spoken and written modern Chinese and premodern written Chinese language. The teacher-student ratio is strictly maintained to be around 1:10. From there, the language plays not only the role of being an essential tool for communication, but also of being the main tool to understand Chinese culture and society. The Master's programme in Modern Sinology prepares for all professions for which exceptional knowledge of the language and culture of modern China is a prerequisite. 2. …an interdisciplinary atmosphere and an exceptional diversity of research and teaching emphases. Our courses cover such diverse fields as the history, philosophy, religion, politics, society, economy and judicial system of modern China. 3. …an active research and teaching landscape, with a steady flow of international visiting professors, academic talks and conferences. In addition to the excellent intensive training in advanced spoken and written modern standard Chinese and pre-modern written Chinese language, transmission of research-oriented knowledge as well as analytical skills are central to the Master’s programme (for details, click here). The programme comprises 120 ECTS credits: 78 CP (credit points) in the main part The degree programme can be studied as specialist course for the Single Honours MA in Modern Sinology (78 CP) and as specialist course for the Joint Honours MA in Modern Sinology (42 CP) in combination with subject-external module packages (minor – one package of 36 CP or two packages of 18 CP). 12 CP in professionalisation modules 30 CP for the MA thesis In seminars on the current state of research in the first semester, you will deal intensively with the latest findings of sinological research on various topics. In the second semester, you will focus on primary Chinese source texts in the case study seminars. You will receive training in the concrete application of cultural and social science methods and theories in the context of an independent research project in the second year. On this basis, you will write your Master’s thesis in the fourth semester, thereby successfully bringing your studies to an end. PDF Download