Why Study Chinese at Iowa?

We offer both a major and a minor, as well as study abroad opportunities, language partner programs, and various language and cultural activities, such as the Spring Festival Celebration, the Mid-autumn Festival Celebration, and the Midwest College Chinese Speech Contest. Students can practice their Chinese at conversation hour and with a Chinese peer tutor.

A Chinese major or minor prepares you to pursue a wide variety of career paths, including, but not limited to: International trade and global marketing; government, politics, and international relations; law, particularly commercial law and international law; media; education, including language teaching; and translation and interpretation.

Stacks of ancient Chinese textbooks.

Chinese Courses

Browse available language and culture courses available for students.

Lanterns brightly glowing during the Chinese New Year.

Cultural Activities and Events

Find celebrations, activities, exhibitions, and other events to connect with and enhance social development with members of the community.

Three Chinese texts with white covers stacked side-by-side.

Language and Culture Resources

As a means of communicating values, beliefs and customs, language has an important social function and fosters feelings of group identity and solidarity. It is the means by which culture and its traditions and shared values may be conveyed and preserved.

Aerial view of Tianjin study abroad campus

Study Abroad

The program encourages students to study abroad to develop their linguistic and intercultural competencies. The University has several opportunities to select from.

Li Tong He Lian

Student and Alumni Voices

Hear testimonials directly from the students and alumni of the program.

Faculty Specializing in this Area

Helen Shen, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus
Director of Graduate Studies
Personal Website

Wenyang Zhai

Visiting Assistant Professor

Huiqiang Zheng, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Instruction