The rising economic and political importance of China is fueling interest in the study of Chinese language, history and culture. As the official language of China and Taiwan, and an official language of Singapore and the United Nations, Mandarin is spoken by over a billion people. According to the Los Angeles Times, enrollment in Chinese language studies has skyrocketed over 8,000% nationally in the last 30 years. In fact, according to the U.S. Government, Mandarin is one of the critical languages for trade, security and diplomacy.

USC Dornsife’s Chinese language program aims to equip students with communicative, literary and cultural competency. Students gain these skills by studying conversational Chinese in our introductory level courses and by deeply examining stimulating issues such as the environment, public health, economics, politics and diplomacy at our advanced level. Whether students major in the humanities, the sciences or the professional schools, studying Chinese provides them with unique cultural insights on their subjects of study and affords them opportunities for cultural exchange, jobs and a well-rounded global perspective.