this is one of the things you have to wrap your head around in chinese, and it just takes practice. but the rule is very simple - an adverbial phrase always precedes the verb. So to us english speakers, Chinese sentences seem to zigzag back and forth compared to our linear sentences. They literally say "He (at university) studies". "at university" is an adverbial phrase. it can be even longer, and it gets really confusing until you're used to listening for it. for example: 他在大學學習 ---- he (at university) studies --- english: he studies at (a) university. 他在一個很有名的大學學校 ---- he [at a very big-name university] studies - he studies at a very famous university our sentences kind of flow along in linear time, they build up some context and then deliver the final meaning at the very end ... like saying "he.... there is this very famous university.. he studies there." so there is more initial attention paid to the description of the object (the uni) than the verb (studying).

我朋友在大学里学中文。We always use at the University in front of the verb and translate the studies Chinese at the end.

you know every words meaning,but you fail in the order of this sentence.Translating it in china,"at the university"should be set before ‘studies chinese."My friend at the university studies Chinese"is the chinese order for you to translate

我的朋友在大学学中文

You can say:"我朋友在大学学习汉语专业"