Bachelor of Arts in Oriental Languages and Cultures (China (UGent Track))

Oriental Languages and Cultures is a discipline that attracts many young people, who are then often asked to justify their ‘exotic’ choice. Their choice is not one of otherworldliness, quite on the contrary: as much as 50% of the world population speaks one of the oriental languages taught at Ghent University. The languages on offer are not an arbitrary mix: each one of them is what we call ‘key languages’, i.e. languages in important religious, scientific and literary texts were and are written. Up until this day, these texts still influence the thoughts and behaviour of a significant part of the world’s population. A student of Oriental Languages and Cultures, therefore, is not an eccentric, but rather someone who understands the importance of these languages to 21st-century Europe. A student of Oriental Languages and Cultures, in other words, is firmly anchored in the world. You will study an oriental language, its region, its history, its social and political structures, its religious and philosophical movements and its literature. By teaching you how to research these languages and cultures academically, the study programme hands you all the tools for an open dialogue with the world.

Bachelor

• In your first year of the Bachelor's programme, you will primarily take a number of general education courses that introduce you to the basic concepts and insights of philosophy and world history, among others. The language courses specific to your chosen specialization form the core of your studies. In the cultural courses, you will take two historical subjects related to the languages you have chosen.
• From your second year onwards, you will further focus on the languages of your choice. Depending on those languages, you will select cultural courses (e.g., Eastern worldviews and religions) and political courses (such as the History and Culture of the Modern and Contemporary Middle East). You will also take an elective set, a coherent group of courses from one or more other disciplines. This may include the opportunity to study an additional Eastern language, although other options are also available. In your second year, you will also be introduced to scientific research.
• In the third year of the Bachelor's programme, the Bachelor's dissertation serves as the practical culmination of these studies. During the same year, you will deepen your immersion in the language and culture of your study area with a semester abroad in China, Japan, India, or Cairo.

Master

The two-year master's programme integrates the foundational skills from your bachelor's studies - language proficiency, essential understanding of historical, cultural, and societal contexts, and research strategies - into a more cohesive whole. A professionalization trajectory, internationalization opportunities, and an internship facilitate a smoother transition to the job market. Finally, with your master's thesis, you demonstrate your ability to make Eastern sources accessible to a Western audience.

• Your bachelor's degree also provides access to other master's programmes beyond those mentioned above, including a Master’s Programme in Teaching (in Dutch: een educatieve master). You can find an overview under the 'Further Studies' tab.

A degree in Oriental Languages and Cultures gives access to all professions for which a university degree is required. It goes without saying that the degree offers an added value when applying for positions, for which knowledge of, and experience with non-Western languages or cultures is important.

Our graduates are active in many sectors: in journalism, the business world (especially companies with offices in the Orient), migrant centres, the education sector, at Ministry Offices (e.g. Asylum Policy), as tour guides, and in academic research. Many of our graduates spend some time in the Orient, which is of course an additional asset on the labour market.