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Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies

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Past news and events

Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne

About the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies (CCCS)

CCCS was established in the Asia Institute in the Faculty of Arts in 2013, with a focus on research and engagement. The Centre plays a vital role in shaping an Australian approach to the study of contemporary China and serves as a significant source of research-based information on China, Chinese societies and Chinese economies in the 21st century.

Mission

The Centre's mission is to facilitate high-quality research, teaching and engagement at the University of Melbourne that furthers our understanding of China’s ongoing transformation and the impacts within and beyond China. CCCS enhances Australia’s bilateral partnerships with top Chinese universities and acts as a hub for contemporary China studies in Melbourne.

CCCS Objectives

In pursuing the CCCS mission, our specific objectives are:

Objective 1: To lead Chinese Studies at the University of Melbourne by drawing together and highlighting the China-related expertise of colleagues from the Asia Institute, the Faculty of Arts, and across the University. CCCS is first and foremost a platform for encouraging and facilitating the University’s China-related research, teaching, and engagement.

Objective 2: To actively collaborate with leading Chinese and international institutions, conducting excellent interdisciplinary research, research training, teaching and engagement activities, and supporting the development of new China-related initiatives.

Objective 3: To provide strategic support to the University by actively assisting with the development and realisation of the Engaging with China Plan 2020-2024 and other strategies aimed at enhanced engagement with China and the Asia-Pacific region.

Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne

People

  • Directors and Researchers

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  • Advisory Board

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  • Members

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  • Associates and Honorary Fellows

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Contact CCCS

Address
Sidney Myer Asia Centre (Building 158)
The University of Melbourne
761 Swanston Street VIC 3010 Australia
Email
china-centre@unimelb.edu.au
Phone
+61 3 8344 3758

Twitter

Tweets by cccs_unimelb

CCCS Newsletter

To subscribe to our newsletter, please email to china-centre@unimelb.edu.au.

  • Current Issue
    • 2022 May Edition
  • Past Issues
    • 2022 March Edition
    • 2021 December Edition
    • 2021 September Edition
    • 2021 July Edition
    • 2021 May Edition
    • 2020 October Edition

Study with Us

As the University of Melbourne’s hub for Chinese Studies, the Centre provides students with an interdisciplinary, collaborative and rigorous research environment to pursue their interests. Addressing the challenges and opportunities of the Asian Century necessitates a closer understanding of and partnership with China on a number of fronts. Understanding contemporary China is part of defining the contours of economic cooperation, such as through trade and investment and taxes; political collaboration such as effective diplomacy and sustainable security; and social connection through building peer-to-peer linkages and addressing shared social challenges such as an ageing population.

The Centre welcomes enquiries from graduate students with the requisite analytical skills in the social sciences who wish to pursue PhD thesis topics on contemporary China’s economy, politics, society and environment. Our team of early career and established researchers can supervise students on topics including economic development, public finance, public administration, governance, trade and security, social policy (health, education, housing), urbanisation (land use, zoning, rural-to-urban migration), agricultural development, environmental management and other topics.

Enquiries should be directed to china-centre@unimelb.edu.au.

More information about the Doctor of Philosophy – Arts

Scholarships

Applicants should consider the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend Scholarship and other scholarship opportunities available at the University, including Graduate Research Scholarships and the Faculty of Arts Graduate research scholarships.

Information about other available scholarships

Chinese Studies Research Group

The Chinese Studies Research Group (CSRG) is a postgraduate academic group representing all Chinese Studies researchers at the University of Melbourne, regardless of department, school, or faculty. We provide events, resources, training, and support.

To become a member of the Group, please email CSRG.

More information about CSRG

Coffee plantation adjacent to the Nu River, Yunnan Province – Photo: Zoe Wang, 2017

Priority Research Themes

The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies (CCCS) acts as a hub for contemporary Chinese studies in Australia and leads an interdisciplinary research program covering major social science disciplines, including sociology, geography, development studies, and public policy.

In its current strategic plan (2020–2024), CCCS identifies three priority research themes:

  1. Global China
  2. Civil society and social change
  3. Natural resources, water, and climate change

Current Research Projects

Our Centre has been spearheading Chinese Studies in Australia. We are currently working on several large research grants, including a Ford Foundation grant to conduct collaborative research on local engagement within Indonesia for Chinese investment projects, and to organise a network of scholars for sharing China knowledge in the Southeast Asia and Pacific Region (2021–2022, US$250,000), a DFAT funded project “Engaging Digitally with Chinese International Students to Promote Australian International Education: Creating a Collaborative Online Video Series about Studying In Australia” (2021–2022, AU$99,000), and another project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China “The Process, Mechanism and Effects of Spatial Restructuring of the Multi-dimensional Primary Education” (2021–2024, AU$110,000).

Further details and smaller projects can be found on individual staff members' Find an Expert profiles or personal websites.

An NGO-led eco-tourism and local capacity building project in Amdo, southern Gansu Province
An NGO-led eco-tourism and local capacity building project in Amdo, southern Gansu Province – Photo: Fengshi Wu, 2018
A poverty resettlement project in Shaanxi Province – Photo: Sarah Rogers, 2018

Visiting Scholar Programs

Visiting Scholars

CCCS regularly hosts visiting scholars (including PhD candidates) of Chinese Studies from China and elsewhere in the world.

Please contact individual staff members to sponsor applications.

Asia Scholars Program

The Asia Scholars Program provides joint appointments across the Faculty of Arts, targeting outstanding scholars from the Asia region. The Program builds the Faculty's research, teaching, and engagement profile through collaborative research projects and joint publications with scholars from the best universities in the Asia region.

Past Asia Scholars

Research Briefs

Chinese Studies Research Brief Prize (2021–present)

In 2021, the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies and the Chinese Studies Research Group jointly launched the Chinese Studies Research Brief Prize. The Prize supports and promotes China-related academic research across all disciplines by Research Higher Degree (RHD) students at the University of Melbourne. The Prizes are awarded annually to the student authors of the best Research Briefs submitted to the competition.

See 2022 Application Guidelines here.

Read Winning Briefs.

CCCS Research Briefs (2016–2018)

The newly-established Prize builds upon a past initiative of the Centre—between 2016 and 2018, CCCS published Research Briefs on a bimonthly basis. The Briefs offer analysis of recent developments in China and an introduction to current academic research.

Read CCCS Research Briefs.

Resettlement village near the Bui dam in Ghana – Photo: Xiao Han, 2015

Seed Funding

The purpose of our Seed Grants is to encourage and support new research ideas, collaborations and high-quality publications by University of Melbourne staff and RHD students, with a focus on contemporary China studies.

  • CCCS 2022 Seed Funding Winning Projects

  • CCCS 2022 Seed Funding available

  • CCCS 2021 Seed Funding Winning Projects - New Projects

  • CCCS 2021 Seed Funding Winning Projects - PhD Publication