The mission of the current Chinese Studies Program is to educate students in Chinese language, literature, culture, history, politics and religion, and to provide students with academic knowledge and experiences to understand China as both an ancient civilization and an emerging global power. In this spirit, Chinese Studies majors will also learn to appreciate their own positions vis-à-vis the challenges inherent in China's rise to global prominence, confronting difficult questions of nationalism and ethnocentrism. As an interdisciplinary program, Chinese Studies draws on faculty expertise from various departments and prepares students for post-graduate studies, China related employment opportunities and future engagement of China.