Chinese Resources

The Global Cultural Studies department offers a Chinese language minor and an Asian Languages and Cultures major with a concentration in Chinese. The Chinese Program offers language courses at all levels, as well as courses on Chinese film, culture, and popular music. These courses enable students to achieve proficiency in reading, writing and speaking Mandarin and to acquire a fundamental knowledge of Chinese culture. Upon completing major requirements, students will be equipped with the necessary language skills and cultural understanding to further their studies or achieve their Asia-related career goals.

Our Chinese courses also count towards the Language, Business, and Culture Major with a Concentration in Chinese, the Asian Studies Minor, and the Asian Languages Minor.
 

A Chinese calligraphy practice setup with a brush, ink, practice workbook, and a sheet of traditional Chinese characters

What Jobs Can I get with Chinese Language Skills?

Chinese language proficiency opens the door to many opportunities. Below are some examples of employers that value foreign language degree holders.

International corporations and companies that maintain connections with Chinese-speaking populations need employees with Mandarin language skills. With more than 1.1 billion speakers worldwide, Mandarin is the second most commonly spoken language in the world after English. Those who can tap into such a huge market have a significant professional advantage.

The government is always seeking new talent in foreign language and diplomacy. The Chinese language is “essential to America’s engagement with the world” (Critical Language Scholarship Program). 

Language students can also pursue careers in Security, Intelligence, Immigration, Law Enforcement, Customs and Borders, and Journalism.

Chinese language proficiency is needed for those wishing to become a Chinese language educator and help prepare students to compete in a global economy. It is also possible to pursue a teaching career in Chinese-speaking countries or regions.

Successful travel and tourism businesses in the USA and in Chinese-speaking countries or regions need people who can connect and relate with tourists on a more personal level. Mandarin language skills open many doors in the hospitality industry.

Translators and interpreters can get jobs translating legal, medical, or literary documents, and even making movie subtitles. Social work is another area that needs foreign language skills.

Professionals with a foreign language and culture background can contribute to research in the Social Sciences, which often requires the ability to interpret cultural-based data. Those pursuing graduate degrees in various areas also find it helpful to be able to read and communicate in multiple languages when conducting research.

Featuring our Minors

The Chinese Minor program complements any of the majors at Montclair State University. Our current Chinese minors come from various disciplines, e.g. Psychology, Economics, Computer Science, Justice Studies, Biology, etc. Let’s see below why they love learning Chinese!
 

Emily Boyle

 

 
Deanna Sylvaince

Deanna Sylvaince
Business Administration Major, Chinese Minor

I enjoyed learning Chinese in high school, and a semester of taking it in college confirmed that I should get a minor. I was first recommended by my Chinese professor but I was not sure of what I thought of it all until I was told of other people’s stories after getting a minor and how it opened a whole new world of job opportunities. I believe this will allow me to challenge myself for the better and I already can tell that this will be very engaging for me! I am so excited about what this will lead to and how I can use the skills I learned thanks to this minor!

 

 
Jasia Hilson

Jasia Hilson
Economics Major, Chinese Minor

Although I am minoring in Chinese, this isn’t my first time indulging into Chinese culture. When I was a teenager, I decided I didn’t want to live in America anymore. I was determined to move abroad, and my journey led me to living in Hong Kong. It wasn’t my original intent to move to Hong Kong but in my time there I absolutely fell in love with the culture and the people I interacted with on a daily basis. College life in HK was totally different from what I was used to—I was a baby freshman venturing out into the world for the first time!

But I gained more of a worldly awareness from my time there and it wasn’t surprising at all when I decided to stay longer. Cantonese fascinated me completely, but I wasn’t quite ready to learn the language then. I was too busy immersing myself in this new culture before I moved north to Shanghai where I taught English to children from the ages of 3-17. It was during that time that I realized that learning Chinese was a goal I wanted to accomplish in life.

For me it is important that I learn from professors that have the same passion in what they do as I do in what I learn. In truth, the minor program in Chinese is why I chose to go to Montclair State. I was more than delighted when I finally started taking classes and found that I could finally learn Chinese in an impassioned environment.

If you want to learn the language and also engage in the cultural aspects of China while doing so, I highly recommend taking the minor in Montclair!

 

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