Under the Visiting Scholar Programme, eminent scholars and distinguished visitors from overseas are invited to teach in the Department on a short-term basis, give public lectures and participate in forums organized by the Department. Hundreds of internationally renowned scholars and famous writers have visited us for such academic exchanges since 1980.

In addition, there is the yearly Wu Teh Yao Memorial Lecture series which was set up in memory of the prominent scholar and distinguished educator, Professor Wu Teh Yao. Each year a prominent scholar in the field is invited to Singapore to give bilingual lectures (English and Chinese) in the areas of Confucianism, Chinese culture and language and political thought in the East and West, and other related fields.

As part of undergraduate and student activities, the Department also organizes a yearly JC seminar with invitations to all junior college students to an open house at the Department, typically in April every year. This event usually is a series of talks and presentations about the Chinese language subjects, which give these students insights into the state of Chinese learning and education in modern Chinese and Asian societies.

Extra-curricular activities such as overseas summer camping, overseas cultural tours, and classes in Chinese calligraphy, seal carving, painting and lion dancing are also regular features of the Department. These activities aim to expose students to cultural aspects of Chinese Studies outside the confines of traditional scholarship.