Chinese Studies, BA

Location(s): Main Campus

The Chinese Studies program offers students a diverse curriculum centered on the Chinese language, literature, culture, and society. Its rigorous language curriculum stresses verbal and textual mastery and cultural competency and includes Chinese linguistics and language pedagogy courses. Content courses explore both ancient and modern Chinese literature, visual arts, society, history, philosophy, and economics. The Chinese Studies faculty stresses global/transnational perspectives and area/regional knowledge and linguistic skills to best prepare students for a broad spectrum of future educational and career goals and opportunities.

Program Requirements

University General Education Requirements

All Binghamton University undergraduate students are required to fulfill this set of university-wide requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of a SUNY university undergraduate education. Please refer to the General Education page for more information.

Harpur College Requirements

All students in Harpur College must fulfill additional requirements designated by Harpur College to complement and extend the general education requirements. Please refer to the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences page for more information.

Major Requirements

Course Requirements

Students majoring in Chinese Studies must successfully complete 11 courses as follows:

A. Language Sequence Courses

Students are required to successfully complete the following 4 language courses:

Note on Language Requirements

Depending on prior exposure to the language, CHIN 101 and CHIN 102 may be required prerequisites for the major. CHIN 101 - ElementaryChinese I NoBackgrnd , CHIN 102 - Elementary Chinese II , CHIN 103 - Elementary Chinese I Heritage and CHIN 104 - Elementary Chinese II Heritage provide the basic linguistic knowledge and skills required to begin the major but do not count toward the major.

For students with significant prior exposure: after consultation and proficiency test assessment administered by Chinese Program faculty, students who already demonstrate competence in Mandarin at any of the required levels may waive part or all of the language requirements. Waived Chinese language courses will not count toward the major and must be replaced with other Chinese Studies courses so that the student completes a total of 11 courses for the major.

CHIN 305 and CHIN 306 will count as 2 of the 6 upper level course requirements for the major.

B. Elective Courses

Students should complete 6 courses from the list below and/or from other approved Chinese Studies courses as they become available.

C. Core Course in Asian American and Diaspora Studies

Students are required to take 1 core course in Asian American and Diaspora Studies. Students can choose from the courses listed below and/or other approved Asian American and Diaspora courses as they become available:

AAAS 200 - Intro to AsianAmerican Studies
AAAS 275 - History of Asian America
Other courses found on the Chinese studies website list: Courses for Chinese Studies Majors and Minors may count toward this requirement. Contact the Undergraduate Director to confirm your courses.

D. Upper Level Requirements

Of the 11 required courses, 6 courses must be at the 300 or 400 level. These 6 upper-level courses must include:

Two 400-level AAAS seminars, at least 1 of which must be in Chinese Studies. The two 400-level seminars must be:
- taught by DAAAS faculty members;
- AAAS content courses (not CHIN language courses); and
- chosen in consultation with the major advisor and/or the Undergraduate Director
Four other 300 or 400-level courses (AAAS and/or CHIN), including CHIN 305 and CHIN 306.

Note: If a student takes AAAS 491 (Practicum in Teaching), it may count as 1 of the 6 upper-level requirements. However, it will not count as 1 of the 2 required 400-level AAAS seminars.

Additional Information on Chinese Studies

Students must earn a C or better for a course to count toward the major.
A course must be 3 or more credits to count toward the major.
CHIN language courses cannot be taken Pass/Fail.
No more than 1 non-language / AAAS course may be taken Pass/Fail.
No more than 1 course may be an independent study.
Residency Requirement: At least 6 courses must be taken at Binghamton University.

For more information on the Chinese Studies BA program, please visit the DAAAS website. To apply to the Chinese Studies BA program, please visit the University Admissions website.