📖 ABSTRACT/OVERVIEW
The establishment and growth of Chinese Studies as an academic discipline in Nigerian universities represents a significant educational development that has received only fragmentary documentation. This study traces the evolution of Chinese Studies in Nigerian universities from 2000 to 2023, examining curriculum development, research output patterns, institutional growth, and the factors that have driven or constrained programme development. A historical and archival research design was adopted, drawing on university departmental records, academic publications, National Universities Commission accreditation reports, and structured interviews with 20 founding or senior faculty members of Chinese Studies departments across five universities. Bibliometric analysis of research output from Nigerian Chinese Studies scholars indexed in Scopus and Google Scholar from 2000 to 2023 was also conducted. Findings reveal that Nigerian Chinese Studies expanded from two formal programmes in 2000 to seventeen by 2023, driven primarily by Chinese government scholarship incentives and Confucius Institute establishment. Research output has grown but remains predominantly descriptive and policy-focused, with limited contribution to theoretical debates in international Chinese Studies scholarship. Faculty capacity constraints, particularly the dependence on Chinese government-sponsored visiting lecturers, have limited curriculum innovation. The study fills a significant institutional history gap and contributes a longitudinal perspective on Chinese Studies in Sub-Saharan Africa, recommending investment in the next generation of Nigerian-born Chinese Studies scholars through dedicated postdoctoral research fellowships.
Keywords: Chinese Studies history, Nigerian universities, curriculum development, institutional growth, academic research
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