About Us

About Us

Welcome to the Contemporary China Studies Programme (CCSP)

The Contemporary China Studies Programme is part of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies at the University of Oxford. Since its founding in 2002 with a generous grant from the Leverhulme Trust, the CCSP has offered a vibrant focal point for study and research on the full spectrum of subjects concerning contemporary China and Chinese society. The CCSP brings together expertise and scholarship on China from across the social sciences, including economics, politics, international relations, sociology, anthropology and Chinese history. The programme facilitates collaboration between students, post-doctoral research fellows and faculty members from across the university, as well as with other academics, researchers and policymakers from around the world who share a passion for the study of contemporary China and a focus on producing ground-breaking interdisciplinary research.

The CCSP’s MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies (previously the MSc in Modern Chinese Studies) brings more than 20 exceptionally talented students to Oxford per year and provides high-quality graduate research training to those who wish to deepen their understanding of contemporary China, welcoming applications from both recent graduates and returning professionals. The programme organises frequent seminars, workshops, colloquia and conferences to develop, share, and disseminate the latest thinking on China, whilst also hosting a number of visiting academics from across the world who wish to access the unrivalled research resources in Chinese studies available at Oxford.  A limited number of fellowships and other forms of financial support are available to postgraduate students concentrating on the study of contemporary China within the social sciences.

The Director of the CCSP is Professor Paul Irwin Crookes who has made significant contributions to the study of China's foreign policy and international relations. Other academic staff working directly for the programme include Professor Anna Lora-Wainwright ,expert on human geography of China and on China’s environment policies;  Professor Rachel Murphy, a recognised authority on the sociology of China; Professor Kyle Jaros, who specialises in the political economy of China; and Dr Patricia Thornton, an expert on the politics of China. The programme’s administrator can be reached at chinesestudies@area.ox.ac.uk