Director’s Welcome

Whether you are a prospective student for our M.Phil. in Chinese Studies, a current Trinity student interested in learning an Asian language, or a Trinity student who comes from Asia, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies (TCAS). Our Centre acts as a focal point for Asian Studies across Trinity College Dublin. The Centre aims to promote Asian Studies both nationally and internationally, and in so doing, to be the leading knowledge centre in Ireland for scholars, for policymakers, and for business leaders.

The Centre teaches Chinese, Japanese and Korean as optional credit-bearing modules for all Trinity undergraduates and postgraduates within, respectively, the Trinity Electives and the PG Languages for Employability programme. We also provide language classes for the general public via our extramural evening courses. Our flagship postgraduate programme is the intensive one year M.Phil in Chinese Studies. The M.Phil. attracts students from Ireland and across the world. Our alumni have gone on to careers in business and industry, technology, government and diplomacy, the cultural and NGO sectors, whilst others have continued their studies at doctoral level, at Trinity and other leading universities. We provide doctoral supervision in a range of subject areas.

Trinity is a world-class university situated in the heart of the vibrant and beautiful city of Dublin. No matter your background, the teaching at Trinity will develop your knowledge and skills, enhance your analytical and creative thinking, introduce you to new perspectives and insights on Asia, and equip you to pursue independent research. At TCAS you will be taught by dedicated and experienced teaching staff who are leading international researchers. To say a word about our core team members— Professor Isabella Jackson is a historian of modern China, currently a Laureate of the Irish Research Council. She is leading a research project that looks at changing perceptions of unpaid domestic labour as a window for understanding childhood in 20th century China. Dr Ning Jiang is a specialist in Chinese applied linguistics, with a particular focus on Chinese character writing and translation. Dr George Kwok researches in the area of language and identity and teaches classes on contemporary Chinese politics. I am the Director of TCAS as well as being the Sam Lam Professor in Chinese Studies. As the Centre's director, I would love to hear from you whether you have a question that you don't find answered online, or just want to say hello. If you are a prospective student, we can also put you in touch with a current student to provide you with more insights from a student perspective. Please send me an email at nathan.hill@tcd.ie. I hope to be able to greet you in person soon at one of our lectures, seminars, or events.

Professor Nathan W. Hill
Director, Trinity Centre for Asian Studies
Sam Lam Professor in Chinese Studies