Since arriving at UND in January, Dr. Min Wang has been working hard to expand the university’s Chinese Studies program. It’s been a busy fall for Wang as she is teaching all four of the Chinese studies classes this semester in addition to her work promoting the program.

“When I came to UND in January, I only had 5 students,” Wang said, describing some of the enrollment challenges she faced when she first arrived. “This fall semester, I have 50 students.”

She complete her Ph.D. in 2012, and conducted post­doctoral work at Harvard for two years prior to coming to UND. She also taught language Chinese courses in the summer at the prestigious Middlebury College in Vermont. She is currently the only professor in the Chinese studies program at UND.

UND offers both a major and minor in Chinese studies, giving students an opportunity to learn about China through a variety of dimensions, including the country’s language, culture, history and economy.

Students major in Chinese studies are required to take 16 credits of Chinese language courses and a capstone class. Students take an additional 18 credits of classes in elective credits including courses in Chinese film, literature and business. There is also a study abroad trip to China and internship opportunities available for credit.

The minor in Chinese studies includes 2 Chinese language courses and 15 credits in elective courses.

The program has attracted a variety of students into the variety of different Chinese classes that are offered.

“I studied three years of Chinese in high school and wanted to continue that at UND,” Rio Baca, a UND junior who is majoring in Chinese studies, said. She plans on pairing the major with Indian studies.

Ava Wertz, a freshman at UND, plans on studying Chinese along with Accounting. She has studied Chinese for the past seven years and spent a semester abroad in Bejing.

The program has also attracted Chinese students to join the classes during their time at UND.

Qian Zhang, who is a Business major from Shanghai, and Jingtao Deng, a freshman chemistry major at UND, are both enrolled in Wang’s course of Chinese film this semester.

Wang regularly coordinates events for the UND community to further experience Chinese culture, including dinners, film screenings, and assisting with Chinese culture night. Additionally, she has taken to social media to expand awareness of the program, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

She also has conducted short Chinese language learning sessions while at UND. She explained that while people may be intimidated by some aspects of Chinese language, the characters can be put together “like Legos” and learning some of the key, frequently used characters covers a large part of the Chinese language.

Part of the Chinese studies program includes an opportunity for a three and a half week long study abroad trip to China. Participating students take a course on Chinese business in the spring semester to prepare them for their trip, and they conduct the research and fieldwork they discussed during the preparatory class.

The trip includes visits to a variety of important cultural and historical sites in Shanghai, Beijing, and Xian. It is available to all UND students, not solely students in the Chinese studies program.

Wang is optimistic about the continued growth of the program, and encourages any students interested in learning more about China to check out the available classes. Next semester, the second section of first year Chinese will be offered, along with a history course on modern China and a course on Chinese business and culture. These courses are still open for registration if any UND students are interested in enrolling for the Spring semester.

To learn more about the program, visit http://arts­sciences.und.edu/languages/chinese/.