Hunter College has won a $975,000 grant to establish an innovative Chinese program designed to enable undergraduates to achieve a near-native command of the language.

The three-year grant cited Hunter’s strong existing Chinese program and its “exceptional institutional support” as reasons for the award, which will enable the establishment of an Undergraduate Chinese Flagship Center, a four-year intensive program enabling students to complete two majors in four years (one in Chinese and one in a non-language major); attend Chinese language and culture immersion programs; receive scholarships for study abroad; win internships in translating and interpreting; and have other academic choices.

The Language Flagship grant is designed to enable Hunter to achieve full-fledged Flagship Center status at the end of the three-year grant, which began on January 1, 2011. The Flagship program is a leader in designing, supporting and implementing a new paradigm for advanced language education, allowing students to graduate with a mastery of languages considered critical to U.S. competitiveness and security.

The Language Flagship program, administered by the nonprofit Institute of International Education, is part of the National Security Education Program of the U.S. Department of Defense.