The Department of Chinese Studies
Chinese Studies is one of the earliest programs to be included in the curriculum of the Department of Asian Studies, which then comprised Japanese Studies and Korean Studies, and later the Department of Oriental Studies.
The program is one of the three courses overseen by the Faculty of East Asian Studies. From the years of 1992 to 1996, the late Mr. Nguyễn Thiện Chí was put in charge of the Faculty; from 1997 to 2001, the Faculty was supervised by Mrs. Võ Mai Bạch Thuyết.
In 1999, the program was put on hiatus and later assumed the designation of Chinese Language and Literature; the classes of 1996, 1997, and 1998 continued to receive their training, nevertheless.
In 2002, the course of Chinese Studies once again made its appearance in the curriculum of Oriental Studies Department, the former still being among the three programs overseen by the Faculty of East Asian Studies, which was put under the supervision of Dean of Faculty Dr. Lê Đình Khẩn.
In 2010, the Faculty of Asian Studies was disbanded according to Decision 310/QĐ-XHNV-TCHC, signed on October 25th, 2010.
Decision 311/QĐ-XHNV-TCHC, signed on October 25th, 2010, dictated that Chinese Studies was to be a separate Faculty, i.e the Faculty of Chinese Studies, being under the direct supervision of the Department of Oriental Studies, with Dr. Nguyễn Nam as Dean of Faculty.
As for the most recent term, Dr. Hồ Minh Quang takes office as the Dean of the Faculty of Chinese Studies, as dictated by Appointment Decision 322/QĐ-XHNV-TCCB, signed on January 14th, 2013.
At the present, the Faculty of Chinese Studies, in addition to visiting lecturers, has in total 09 tenured lecturers:
1. Dr. Hồ Minh Quang, Dean of Faculty.
2. Prof. D. Sc. Trần Ngọc Thêm
3. Dr. Đỗ Thuý Hà
4. Dr. Nguyễn Thị Thanh Mai
5. Hoàng Thị Thu Thuỷ, MA, Research student.
6. Dr. Đoàn Thị Quỳnh Như
7. Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Chi, MA.
9. Nguyễn Phan Tuấn, MA, Research student.
The syllabus of the Faculty of Chinese Studies can be understood as one which provides training in Chinese studies.
Students will be equipped with knowledge regarding, among others, the culture, history, economy, politics, natural environment, of Chinese cultural regions.
Our scope is not limited to the geographical boundaries of the PRC, but also includes regions such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, as well as those populated with Chinese communities around the globe, namely Hồ Chí Minh City, Cần Thơ, Hội An, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, Jakarta, etc.
The key to the understanding of the aforementioned aspects of studies is language, i.e. Mandarin Chinese.
Our language training module will not be so rigorous as that incorporated in language-intensive programs; nevertheless, it should provide formal and comprehensive training so as to equip the learners with sufficient language skills to learn more about facets of Chinese studies, which include, among others, politics, economy, culture, society, literature, linguistics, history.
At the same time, however, the learners need to command adequate language skills and general knowledge in order to accommodate the recruitment requirements of the labor market, which mainly encompasses the following fields: commerce, tourism, teaching, foreign relations, etc.
What is unique to the B.A. in Oriental Studies (Chinese Studies major) degree program is that the majority of concentration courses are taught in Chinese, the language incorporated in the course; as a result, students are not only equipped with an appropriate amount of specialized knowledge but also witness their language skills significantly enhanced.
Starting from the class of 2005, students enrolled in the Chinese Studies programs, after graduation, or even in the course of study, have been receiving more than 50 scholarships of various kinds, funded by heads of the PRC, ROC, India, Swiss, Singapore, among others.
Talents who finish their study abroad mostly return to their homeland to contribute to the mission of building the country.
