Asian Language and Culture

University of British Columbia

Canada, Vancouver

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University of British Columbia

Canada , Vancouver

Key Facts

Program Level

Bachelor

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Application Fee

CAD 125

Campuses

Vancouver

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake Deadlines15-May-2023

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 4 year(s)

Tuition Fee

CAD 44,942 / year

Next Intake 15-May-2023

Asian Language and Culture

About

You can study intense specialization in a single field.

Asian Language and Culture introduces you to the history and culture of a variety of Asian societies. You can explore literary and religious traditions, as well as gender relations in Asian cultures. Language instruction courses are offered in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, and Indonesian.

In the current "Asia-Pacific Century"‌ it is essential for responsible global citizens to understand and navigate with confidence the complex historical, cultural, and linguistic dynamics that both help and hinder productive cross-cultural work and engagement. Graduates will value diversity and command a valuable and rare combination of Asia-relevant linguistic and inter-cultural competencies. Graduates become able to contribute to Canada's evolving relationship with Asia in informed, original, and culturally appropriate ways.

Experiential learning and research

Asian Studies majors are strongly urged to broaden and deepen their engagement with Asia by participating in a Go Global-sponsored study abroad experience, taking Asia-related courses in other Faculty of Arts departments, enrolling in the Arts Co-op and Internship Programs, as well as taking advantage of the many alumni, lecture, and other events sponsored by the department.

Campus features

The Asian Library has the largest collection of Asian materials in Canada. Its holdings include the Puban collection of over 45,000 books and unpublished manuscripts and a serial collection of nearly 1,000 Chinese periodicals and newspapers. Among the library's treasures is the oldest book in the UBC Library system, published in China in 986 AD. The collection also includes a 50,000-volume Indic languages collection with materials in Sanskrit, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, and Gujarati.

Asian Language and Culture is designed to give you the linguistic and cultural capital to work as a leader in the 21st century on the Canada-Asia interface. This program combines advanced language study with a concentration in one of five areas " China, Chinese Literature, Japan, Korea, or South Asia.

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4

CHIN 161 - Enriched Summer Intensive Beginning Chinese
An integrated language course developing communicative competence in speaking, listening to, reading, and writing modern Mandarin Chinese.
PERS 104 - Persian Reading and Writing for Persian-Speaking Students
Reading and writing of standard Persian; lexical and syntactic differences between written and spoken Persian. Restricted to Persian heritage speakers with aural/oral knowledge but no reading/writing skills.
PUNJ 102 - Introductory Punjabi
Spoken and written Punjabi. As of 2011W, credit will be granted for only one of PUNJ 100/101 or PUNJ 102. Students who have taken Punjabi 11 in high school cannot take PUNJ 102 for credit.
JAPN 100 - Beginning Japanese IA
An introduction to modern spoken and written Japanese with emphasis on both form (grammar and syntax) and functions (Non-intensive). Not available for credit to students with JAPN 11 and/or JAPN 12.

CHIN 231 - Basic Chinese II: Part 1 (Non-Heritage)
Skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Mandarin Chinese, active vocabulary of about 750 Chinese words, and basic grammar.
CHIN 241 - Basic Chinese II: Part 1 (Heritage)
Skills in listening to and speaking Mandarin and reading and writing modern written Chinese. Emphasis on reading and writing.
PUNJ 200 - Intermediate Punjabi
Study of the grammar and introduction to Punjabi literature. As of 2011W, credit will be granted for only one of PUNJ 201/202 or PUNJ 200.
JAPN 260 - Intensive Beginning Japanese II
Continuation of JAPN 160. Offered in Term 2. Students are recommended to complete JAPN 160 and 260 in the same year.

CHIN 381 - Mandarin for Cantonese Speakers I
Strictly for Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong who cannot speak Mandarin but who have advanced Chinese reading and writing skills (2,000 characters).
SANS 300 - Introductory Sanskrit
Basic vocabulary and most important grammatical features of classical Sanskrit. Useful to students of South Asian history, culture, languages, philosophies, and religions, and of linguistics and classics.
CNTO 301 - Basic Cantonese I
Elementary level (part I) course in Cantonese for non-heritage learners with no prior exposure to or background in Cantonese. Focus on training for basic listening and conversational skills in Cantonese. Heritage speakers of Mandarin are NOT eligible.
JAPN 320 - Intermediate Japanese I A
Integrated coverage of topics on culture and cross-cultural communication designed to develop competencies in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. It is strongly recommended that JAPN 320 and JAPN 321 be taken in the same year.

CHIN 435 - Business Chinese I (Heritage)
Reading, writing, and presentation skills in business documentation, focusing on technical Chinese as used in the workplace. Emphasis on specialized vocabulary and development of communicative competence as relevant to advertising, the stock market and E-commerce.
PERS 400 - Persian Short Story for Native and Heritage Speakers
Modern short stories from mid-19 century to present.
PUNJ 404 - The Punjabi Novel (Advanced Punjabi)
Study of the modern Punjabi novel to deepen understanding and use of Punjabi, and strengthen analysis in English and Punjabi.
CNTO 451 - Advanced Cantonese through Popular Culture
Popular culture in Hong Kong from media such as television, cinema, popular music, literature, social media, etc., through advanced authentic Cantonese listening and reading materials. Open to non-heritage and heritage speakers of Mandarin and/or Cantonese.
JAPN 456 - Newspaper Japanese I
Developing fluency in reading contemporary Japanese newspapers; concentration on current and emerging vocabulary, evolving grammatical features, and style of presentation.

Disciplines

Faculty of Arts

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Graduation from a university-preparatory program at a senior secondary school: General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi). Certificates must be official. Photocopies are acceptable if certified by school principal, head, or counsellor. Notarized copies are not acceptable.

Career

As an Asian Language and Culture graduate you will have a first-hand appreciation of linguistic and cultural difference, and a critically informed understanding of one or more cultures and civilizations of South or East Asia. These assets, along with strong research, writing, and critical thinking skills, set you up for other graduate and professional degrees; work in the Foreign Service, Canada Border Service Agency, and other branches of government; serve in NGOs and not-for-profit organizations; work as translators and interpreters in a variety of contexts; and employment in diverse educational, cultural, and media institutions.

Program graduates

Cultural ambassador, Labo Exchange Foundation
Channel care representative, TELUS
Program coordinator, First Steps Canada
Associate account strategist, GMS Sales

Related programs

- - Name
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- - Anthropology
    - Okanagan
    4 years
  - Asian Area Studies
    - Vancouver
    4 years
  - History
    - Okanagan
    4 years
  - Linguistics
    - Vancouver
    4 years

Fee Information

Tuition Fee

CAD 44,942 / year

Application Fee

CAD 125

How to Apply

As you complete the online application, keep the following tips in mind:

Start early and take your time. Once you begin the application, you will be able to save it and return to it later – but only up until the deadline. Once you have submitted your application to UBC, you will not be able to edit it. Since the online application can sometimes time out if left open for too long, we recommend working on your personal profile questions outside of the application (where you can run them through a spell-checker) then copy and paste them into your application.
Let the online application guide you. You’ll be asked to provide only the information we need based on your degree choice(s), your previous education, and other factors.
Tell us your full academic history. It’s important to include all of the high schools, colleges, and/or universities you have attended. Don’t leave anything out!
Be accurate. UBC has a number of methods in place to authenticate information provided in the application. These methods include, but are not limited to, contacting references, verifying academic records, and requesting additional documentation to verify your personal profile. If an application is found to contain untrue or incomplete information, UBC may, at its discretion: withdraw an offer of admission; require you to withdraw from UBC; subject you to academic discipline; or share the information provided with other post-secondary institutions, law enforcement agencies, or other third parties.
Use an email address you check frequently. Once you have submitted your application, UBC will communicate with you primarily by email.
Note your UBC student number. Write down your UBC student number somewhere safe. You’ll need it in future correspondence with UBC.