Our main focus at the Department of Chinese Studies within the Institute of East Asian Studies is teaching Chinese as a modern and classical language, as well as Chinese history and culture. Programmes at BA, MA and PhD levels provide our students with useful and up-to-date knowledge with a historical perspective.

History

Founded in 1924, the Institute of East Asian Studies placed great emphasis on the teaching and research of Chinese language and culture. Our department within its successor, the Institute of East Asian Studies, is now the longest established university-level department of Chinese studies in Hungary. Like other university majors, since 2006, it has been possible to choose Chinese as a major in the three-level higher education system (BA, MA, PhD).

Education

At BA level (three years), Chinese can be chosen within the BA in Oriental languages and cultures. Potential students must specify their choice when they apply. Our BA programme offers courses in two major fields. Firstly, it provides intensive training in modern Chinese, with the help of which students “starting from scratch” achieve at least intermediate proficiency in both written and spoken Chinese. Secondly, the BA also includes training in classical Chinese, as well as Chinese history, culture, history of ideas, economics and politics.

The Chinese BA can also be completed as a minor. For students with another major, a programme of 50 credits in Chinese studies enables them to master the modern Chinese language and the basics of Chinese culture.

Students majoring in Chinese are strongly advised to complete the specialisation in Chinese translation and interpretation. After completing this 50–credit programme, students can be officially certified as interpreters and translators. 

BA students have several opportunities to study in China on state or other scholarships. With the help of various extra-curricular activities, such as lectures, films and language competitions, organised in cooperation with the ELTE Confucius Institute, our department helps our students to become more familiar with the Chinese language and culture.

After obtaining a BA, students can choose between starting their professional careers and embarking on their Sinology master’s (two years), which include both modern Chinese and cultural studies, as well as classical fields of Sinology such as philology, linguistics and the history of ideas. 

After obtaining an MA, those with scholarly ambitions can enrol in a doctoral programme in Sinology (three years), where they can concentrate on their scholarly research and obtain a PhD.

Main research fields

The main research fields of the department’s lecturers are: the history and characteristics of Chinese Buddhism, the history of ideas in China, Chinese linguistics, classical and modern Chinese literature, Chinese history.