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Faculty of Modern Chinese Studies

Exploring the possibilities of Asia as a door to the world by traveling around and speaking with local people

Asian countries, including China, which is enjoying rapid economic growth, today serve as important bases for businesses around the world. The Department of Modern Chinese Studies helps students study the economy, politics, cultures, and languages of present-day China and other East Asian countries with reference to their respective relationships with Japan in the context of global trends. In the spring semester, sophomore students go on the Department’s four-month compulsory Study Abroad Program. This Program helps students experience contemporary aspects of life in China and other Asian countries that are likely inaccessible via the media. Students will be overwhelmed by the vibrant cities and the people they meet. The Department also aims to help students who want to develop the potential to do business worldwide by offering opportunities to conduct fieldwork, go on an internship, and embark on a double degree program in China or other Chinese-speaking country.

Developing the ability to collaborate from a broader perspective by expanding our view from China to the rest of Asia and then to other countries throughout the world

Aichi University is the only university in Japan with a faculty whose name includes the phrase “Modern Chinese,” which reflects its origin, a school called Tung Wen College that existed in Shanghai in the first half of the 20th century. Keeping the tradition of Tung Wen College alive, the Faculty has always placed importance on delivering as many of its education activities as possible—from Chinese language lessons to fieldwork and internship programs—in Chinese-speaking countries. The Faculty aims to cultivate global citizens by helping students consider the viewpoints of others by visiting other countries, sharing their thoughts with people in their host countries, and collaborating with them. Despite having a long history of interaction, Japan and China still seem to misunderstand and hold prejudices against each other in many ways. Today, with China having gained great influence over the world, Japan has an increasing need for people able to arrive at a more accurate understanding of the country from a truly objective perspective. The Faculty places importance on helping students acquire not only Chinese language skills but also a comprehensive understanding of China’s politics, economy, history, society and culture as practical real-life knowledge not only through lessons in the classroom but also various activities offered in China and other Chinese-speaking countries. The field of study includes not only mainland China but also other Chinese-speaking regions in Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Southeast Asian communities of Chinese ancestry with the aim of helping students develop the ability needed to lead their lives in China, other Asian countries, or other countries worldwide by developing an in-depth understanding of the ever-changing vitality of Chinese-speaking countries and regions.

Curriculum Features

Double-Degree Program

Offering an opportunity to earn two degrees: One from Aichi University and another from either Nankai University (in Tianjin, China) or Soochow University (in Taipei, Taiwan)
This is a five-year program that allows students to earn one degree from Aichi University and another from one of two prestigious universities in either China or Taiwan. This program starts at the beginning of the sophomore fall semester, following the spring-semester Study Abroad Program, and requires participants to continue studying abroard at the same university for two years to earn the necessary credits required by the university’s relevant bachelor’s degree program. From the senior fall semester to the end of the 5th year, participants are required to pursue the credits needed to graduate from Aichi University, including those for graduation research, and students who meet the graduation requirements of both universities are awarded two degrees.

China-based hands-on education: three opportunities for field experience

Fostering powerful cosmopolitans with vast experience in globalized society in Asia
The Faculty of Modern Chinese Studies aims to foster powerful cosmopolitans who have not only high Chinese proficiency and a good understanding of China as knowledge and education but also the ability to play a leading role in real settings of international business and cultural exchange and build a better relationship between Japan and China. To fulfill this aim, the faculty offers the Study Abroad Program as a compulsory program for second-year students, and the Fieldwork Program and the China Internship Program as regular courses for third-year students. In addition, the faculty offers the Double-Degree Program, where students aim to receive two degrees, one each from Aichi University and an overseas partner university through two years of long-term study abroad. The faculty provides practical education based on on-site experience.

Study Abroad Program (for second-year students)
All students study in China, Taiwan or Malaysia for four months
The Study Abroad Program can be called the most prominent feature of the Faculty of Modern Chinese Studies. In this program, all students study abroad for four months in the spring semester of their second year of study. Since AY2015, in addition to Nankai University (Tianjin, China), which had cooperated in the program, National Taiwan Normal University (Taipei, Taiwan) and Southern University College (Johor Bahru, Malaysia) have participated in this program. National Taiwan Normal University is a leading general university in Taiwan, and its Mandarin Training Center is especially famous for Mandarin education with a high international reputation. Meanwhile, Southern University College is the first Chinese university in Malaysia, where students can learn not only Chinese and English in a cosmopolitan environment unique to multiethnic Malaysian society. At any of the participating universities, the Study Abroad Program allows students to not only enhance their Chinese proficiency through classes taught by instructors who are native Chinese speakers but also learn about various elements of traditional Chinese culture, including Beijing opera, fine art, and the erhu (a two-stringed musical instrument). Moreover, at Nankai University or National Taiwan Normal University, students can use a language-partner or tutor system to master local Chinese expressions and immerse themselves in the thoughts of young people and a culture other than theirs. At Southern University College, all program participants can have language partners in both Chinese and English, to master both languages.

Fieldwork Program (for third-year students)
Exploring either China or Taiwan from the three perspectives of companies, cities, and agricultural villages
This program selects about 20 student participants to visit one city in either China or Taiwan for about two weeks during the summer break. Participants are divided into company, city, and agricultural village teams to conduct fieldwork into their respective assigned fields in collaboration with local college students. On the final day, a Japan-China Student Symposium is held, where participants give presentations on their findings in Chinese to the local representatives who helped them conduct their research. The program helps participants not only gain a deep understanding of the local community they visit but also learn how to conduct fieldwork and give presentations.

China Internship Program (for third-year students)
One-year long-term program that includes a company training program in Beijing or Shanghai
This long-term program aims to help students design an international career by offering them an opportunity to do an internship for about two weeks during the summer break at a company either in Beijing or Shanghai and also receive pre- and post-internship training. The program selects about 20 participants in December in their sophomore year, who then receive pre-internship training through regular curriculum and extracurricular courses in their senior year. In the fall semester of the year they return, participants receive post-internship training and then give presentations at a results briefing session in December.

Four Year Structure

First Year

The first year of the curriculum primarily focuses on helping students learn the Chinese language. Students are required to be exposed to 180 hours of Chinese lessons a year, many of which are taught by native speakers of Chinese. In addition, the curriculum aims to help students develop their future vision by assisting them in deepening their understanding of society, communities, and the business world, sharpening their international sensibility through participation in an industry-academia-government collaboration program called Career Path Leader, and developing the basic skills required of working members of society, including human individuality.

Second Year

The second year of the curriculum aims to help students earn a grade 5 or higher certificate in the HSK Chinese Proficiency Test by assisting them to study in either China, Taiwan, or Malaysia on a four-month compulsory Study Abroad Program. The curriculum also offers English language lessons to help students become trilinguals. After returning from the Study Abroad Program, students continue to pursue their studies by selecting one of the following three courses: Business, Language and Culture, and International Relations.

Third and Fourth Years

Making use of the Chinese honed during their first two years of study, students go on to tackle China from a variety of angles, including its politics, economy, culture, business and its bilateral relationships with other countries. Students also have the option of participating in the China Fieldwork Program, a two week program spent surveying and analyzing Chinese society and culture; or the China Internship Program, where students spend two weeks working in the Chinese office of a Japanese company.

Second Year Course Options

Business

The Business Course aims to cultivate people who will bring Japan and China together through business. Students learn about China’s economy, industry, politics, diplomacy and relationship with Japan, with due consideration also paid to its social and historical background. Students gain an overarching understanding of businesses that trade with and invest in China, and acquire the specific skills needed to conduct business dealings and take part in business negotiations.

Language and Culture

Through linguistic analysis, students develop an understanding of the linguistic peculiarities inherent to the Chinese language. This fundamental understanding of the linguistics behind the language help students to then go on to attain high levels of fluency. Students also learn about the characteristics of Chinese culture from a variety of angles, including that of literature, art, society, history and philosophy. We educate students in Chinese culture in a comprehensive manner, and we hope that they will go on in the future to work in roles that will bridge the gap between Japan and China.

International Relations

The International Relations course offers students the opportunity to learn about the theory behind China’s domestic politics and international political economy, and furthermore how they compare with those of the West and Japan. Students also learn about the varying perceptions of China in the West and Japan, helping to orientate their understanding of China’s position in international society. The course also equips students with the knowledge necessary to understand the Sino-Japanese relationship and the bilateral relationships between other countries, fostering a new generation of people/students who can work across the globe within varying cultural contexts.