China · Japan · Germany · Rest of World
Chinese universities are cutting language majors to make way for AI
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As artificial intelligence reshapes the global economy, Chinese universities are rapidly redrawing the landscape of what is worth studying.
Key facts
- In 2025, marketing programs saw the largest number of cuts, with 16 programs eliminated across 70 universities
- AI master’s programs nearly doubled between 2022 and 2026, according to educational and career resource platform Programmes.com
- Between 2020 and 2024, e-commerce-related disciplines were among the most heavily reduced majors across China’s top universities, according to MyCOS, reflecting the cooling of China’s internet
- Ao Manyun teaches a six-decade-old course called “Swahili Translation: Theory and Practice” at the Communication University
Summary
A May 2026 survey of 70 Chinese universities revealed sweeping structural cuts to once-booming foreign language and translation programs. In recent months, Chinese universities have actively cut foreign language and translation programs and launched new majors in “embodied intelligence” and “low-altitude economy.” A survey published in May tracked 70 Chinese universities that announced changes to their upcoming programs, and found sweeping cuts in language-related curricula: Eight in Japanese, five in German, and five in translation studies. “Foreign-language majors were among the fastest-growing university programs in China for years,” MyCOS, a Chinese educational consulting firm, said in the report.