The subject of the Master's program is the in-depth study of modern and contemporary China and the historical process of its formation as well as the political, social, economic, linguistic and cultural transformations in a globalizing environment. The program provides a combination of regional expertise with subject-specific methodology: the basis for the program is a concept of Area Studies, which enables specialization in the Chinese region, including its transnational and international interconnections, by means of an interdisciplinarity necessary for the understanding of regions and a deepening and broadening of content-related, linguistic and methodological knowledge. Chinese knowledge, scientific and cultural traditions as well as gender- and diversity-specific dimensions are taken into account. Special emphasis is placed on the in-depth teaching of the methodological and theoretical tools of cultural or social science analysis in a profile area of Chinese Studies. The students deal with central discourses of China-related research in their profile field of study. Furthermore, knowledge of current academic discourses in the disciplines relevant to their profile field of study, such as history and cultural studies or law, economics, humanities and social sciences, will be imparted and developed in relation to China. Likewise, on the basis of central theoretical discourses in the disciplines relevant to the profile areas, comparative knowledge is also imparted, which enables the placement of China in larger, also transnational or transregional contexts. Depending on the chosen profile area in the in-depth phase of the Master's program, the following study contents are additionally the subject of the Master's program:
The main focus of language training is to provide students with language skills in Chinese comparable to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The language training is designed to deepen and broaden linguistic knowledge and skills that create the prerequisites for academic training.
The master's program imparts the ability to develop one's own scientific problem-solving strategies and research approaches in Chinese studies beyond the attendance phases in guided independent study on the basis of continuous supervision and the creation of individual work plans, the application of which students can also implement in an interdisciplinary context.
For admittance to the master’s program applicants need to fulfill the following admission requirements:
The DSH - or German Language University Entrance Exam for Foreign Students - is obligatory for all applicants whose first language is not German and who have earned their initial degree from a university (or equivalent institution) where the language of instruction is not German.