Master of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature

The UMass Amherst master’s in Chinese offers the flexibility to shape the curriculum to support your professional goals. Students entering the program must have finished the equivalent of four years of college Chinese and are therefore ready for advanced work in the field. The program prepares students for a variety of careers in the public and private sectors. Our students choose from among three paths: preparing for doctoral programs, translation and interpretation work, and language teaching.

As a destination for prospective PhD students, we are unique among public institutions in that we offer classical, manuscript, and modern language training in Chinese, and expertise in both modern and pre-modern literatures and cultures. For students preparing to work in translation and interpretation, we provide opportunities in this area that reflect the kind of work they will find in the field. Our teacher preparation courses include Chinese linguistics and pedagogy, and we routinely place students in teaching positions at all levels. Other students use the MA as a springboard to a wide range of other paths, such as journalism, business, or government.