Dr. Tom Cliff

Associate Professor

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Biography

Tom Cliff is an ethnographer specializing in Chinese political economy at the Australian National University. He serves as the Deputy Director of Education at the School of Culture, History, and Language, where he is a founding convenor of the Bachelor of Philosophy (Humanities and Social Sciences) program—ANU's elite undergraduate research initiative in HaSS disciplines. Cliff teaches the undergraduate research unit ASIA2099/6099, which focuses on 'Social Power in China: Family and Family-State'. Currently, he is working on a book that addresses political ideals, social mobilization, and the structure-agency problem in China, with an emphasis on rural non-state welfare and industrial restructuring in the People's Republic of China (PRC). His previous publications include 'Oil Water: Han Xinjiang' (Chicago University Press, 2016), which won the E Gene Smith prize from the Association for Asian Studies. His research interests encompass entrepreneurs in the private sector, family lineage, and the roles of institutions in production, market dynamics, and social order, alongside issues surrounding charity, state mobilization, and the provision of public goods in a socialist context.

Research Interests

Experience

Associate Professor

— Present

Australian National University • Canberra, Australia

Teaching and researching in the field of Chinese political economy and anthropology.

Requirements for Australian National University

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:2.8
IELTS
Listening
Required:6
Reading
Required:6
Writing
Required:6
Speaking
Required:6
Overall
Required:6.5
TOEFL
Listening
Required:18
Reading
Required:18
Writing
Required:22
Speaking
Required:18
Total
Required:80
PTE
Listening
Required:55
Reading
Required:55
Writing
Required:55
Speaking
Required:55
Overall
Required:64
Prerequisites
Bachelor degree or international equivalent Cognate discipline for some specializations
Application Checklist
  • Academic Transcripts
  • Proof of English Proficiency
  • Copy of Passport
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Statement of Purpose
Specialization Notes

Requirements are standardized across most Master of Science and Arts programs within the College of Science and College of Arts & Social Sciences.