Chinese Studies - Comparative Literature

Chinese studies and comparative literature together offer a genuinely unusual intellectual combination. Chinese studies gives you access to one of the world's oldest and most complex civilisations, engaging with the breadth and depth of Chinese linguistic and cultural practices across classical and modern periods. At St Andrews, the programme goes beyond traditional models of language and literature to include visual and popular cultures, giving you a rich and contemporary engagement with how Chinese societies produce and consume meaning.

Comparative literature then extends this by asking you to read across cultural and national frontiers, examining how literary traditions relate to one another and what is distinctive about particular cultures when seen in a broader comparative frame.

This four-year full-time MA (Hons) at the University of St Andrews includes a year abroad, which is essential in a degree of this kind, giving you the opportunity to develop your language skills and cultural understanding through immersion in a Chinese-speaking environment and through study at an international partner institution. You will develop proficiency in Mandarin Chinese alongside skills in literary analysis, cultural interpretation, and the comparative methods that allow you to read across traditions. The high entry tariff reflects the academic rigour of the programme, which combines demanding language learning with sophisticated critical and cultural study.

The combination of Chinese language skills and comparative literary and cultural knowledge is highly valued in an increasingly China-focused global economy. Graduates pursue careers in diplomacy, international business, finance, journalism, translation, publishing, and cultural organisations. The analytical and intercultural skills developed by the degree are also valued in law, the civil service, and non-governmental organisations working in Asia-Pacific contexts.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in Chinese studies, translation, international relations, comparative literature, or Asian studies, and some pursue doctoral research in Chinese literature, culture, or language.