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Japanese

Japanese Program

The Japanese Program offers both a Japanese Major and a Japanese Minor for students wishing to gain a deeper understanding of cultures other than their own through the study of languages, literature, and society. The Japanese Section works closely with the Asian Studies Program, and many of our courses can be counted towards an Asian Studies major.

Through this program, students can expect to achieve language and cultural fluency in a clearly participatory manner in order to communicate information on autobiographical topics, and topics of community, national, or international interest.

Japanese Major (BA)

Students are required to declare their major at least two semesters before their expected graduation date.

Learning Outcomes

  • Achieve language and cultural fluency in a clearly participatory manner in order to communicate information on autobiographical topics, as well as topics of community, national, or international interest.
  • Write routine informal and some formal correspondence, as well as narratives, descriptions, and summaries of a factual nature.
  • Understand the main ideas and most supporting details in connected discourse on a variety of general interest topics, such as news stories, explanations, instructions, anecdotes, or travelogue descriptions.
  • Analyze and discuss Japanese society and culture, including literary texts and their authors in their social, historical, and political contexts.
  • Exercise critical thinking skills and write well in English.
  • Analyze and discuss the structure of the Japanese language, including aspects of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
  • Discuss basic differences and continuities between modern and pre-modern Japanese.
  • Proficiency in the use of language dictionaries and research databases.

Required Courses

33 Total Credits

Completed at least 1 of the following

WLC2010 Introduction to the Study of Literature and Culture (3)
WLC2020 Language in Society (3)

Completed 1 of the following sets

JAPAN3040 Third-Year Japanese I (3)
JAPAN3050 Third-Year Japanese II (3)

OR

JAPAN3060 Third-Year Japanese (3) 

Japanese Language and Linguistics
Earned at least 6 credits from the following

JAPAN3410 Teaching Japanese as a Second Language (3)
JAPAN3510 Commercial Japanese I (3)
JAPAN3520 Commercial Japanese II (3)
JAPAN5290 Structure of Japanese: Syntax (3)
JAPAN5291 Japanese Linguistics: Language and Society (3) 

Japanese Literature and Civilization
Earned at least 6 credits from the following

JAPAN4610 Survey of Japanese Literature: Modern Period (3)
JAPAN4630 Survey of Japanese: Women's Literature (3)
JAPAN4660 Contemporary Japanese Literature: The Fiction and Poetry of Japan Today (3)
JAPAN4710 Classical Japanese (3)

Electives
Earned at least 12 credits from the following
(No more than three non-JAPAN credits may count toward the major)

JAPAN3050 Third Year Japanese II (3)
JAPAN3220 Japanese Linguistics: Language and
Society (3)
JAPAN3330 Third-Year Conversational Japanese (3)
JAPAN3410 Teaching Japanese as a Second Language (3)
JAPAN3510 Commercial Japanese I (3)
JAPAN3520 Commercial Japanese II (3)
JAPAN3903 Cultures & Languages Across the Curriculum: Japanese (1)
JAPAN3950 Service-Learning in Japanese (1 - 3)
JAPAN4330 Fourth-Year Conversational Japanese (3)
JAPAN4540 Japanese Popular Culture (3)
JAPAN4550 Japanese Civilization (3)
JAPAN4560 Newspaper Japanese (3)
JAPAN4570 Multicultural Japan (3)
JAPAN4610 Survey of Japanese Literature: Modern Period (3)
JAPAN4630 Survey of Japanese: Women's Literature (3)
JAPAN4660 Contemporary Japanese Literature: The Fiction and Poetry of Japan Today (3)
JAPAN4680 Modern Japanese Literature in Translation (3)
JAPAN4710 Classical Japanese (3)
JAPAN4880 Directed Readings (1 - 3)
JAPAN4900 Special Topics (1 - 4)
JAPAN5290 Structure of Japanese: Syntax (3)
JAPAN5291 Japanese Linguistics: Language and Society (3)
ARCH4200 Japanese Architecture (3)
FILM3170 Japanese Anime (4)
SOC4438 Japanese Society (3)
ARTH3030 Arts of Japan (3)
HIST3520 Pre-modern Japan (3)
HIST3530 Modern Japan (3)
POLS3460 Government and Politics of Japan (3)

World Languages and Cultures Practicum

Completed one practicum (3) - see Advisor for options.

Minimum Degree Hours

122 Total Credits

Minimum Major Hours

33 Total Credits

All classes must be passed with a C or better
Students must take at least 15 credits of the major in residence at the University of Utah

DOWNLOAD JAPANESE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS  DOWNLOAD WLC PRACTICUM OPTIONS

Students with advanced language skills (e.g., native speakers, heritage speakers, students who have lived for an extended period abroad) should not enroll in first, second, and some third-year courses. If you do not know what your language level is or if you think your situation justifies petitioning for an exception, contact the WLC advisors before enrolling in classes. For pedagogical reasons, the department reserves the right to remove advanced speakers who have not successfully petitioned from classes not appropriate for their language level. 

Japanese Minor

All students should declare their minor at least two semesters prior to their anticipated graduation date. Please visit our Undergraduate Advising page to set up an appointment with an advisor.

Required Courses

15 Total Credits

Completed at least 1 of the following

JAPAN3040 Third-Year Japanese I (3)
JAPAN3050 Third Year Japanese II (3)
JAPAN3060 Third-Year Japanese (3)

Earned at least 12 credits from JAPAN 3000 - 5999

Minimum Minor Hours

15 TOTAL CREDITS

All courses must be passed with a C or better.
At least 6 credits of minor requirements must be taken in residence at the University of Utah

DOWNLOAD JAPANESE MINOR REQUIREMENTS

Students with advanced language skills (e.g., native speakers, heritage speakers, students who have lived for an extended period abroad) should not enroll in first, second, and some third-year courses. If you do not know what your language level is or if you think your situation justifies petitioning for an exception, contact the WLC advisors before enrolling in classes. For pedagogical reasons, the department reserves the right to remove advanced speakers who have not successfully petitioned from classes not appropriate for their language level. 

Scholarships

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships are federally funded awards offered through the University of Utah's Asia Center. They provide funding for undergraduate and graduate students who study modern foreign languages and related area studies.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FLAS SCHOLARSHIP

Student Experience

The University of Utah Japanese department offers many programs that complement course work and help enhance the study of Japanese, including: StudyAbroad, Internships (US- Japan Center) with Japanese companies, E-mail exchanges with Waseda University students, and Japanese speech contests.

Learning Abroad

Learning abroad is the opportunity to live, study and intern abroad while completing your degree here at the University of Utah. Learning Abroad helps connect you to over 500+ program options in over 50 countries, many of which are great for improving your proficiency in another language. Learn more about Learning Abroad by visiting learningabroad.utah.edu and completing Learning Abroad 101

To get started, see below for program options for Japanese. 

For questions, email Learning Abroad at learningabroad@utah.edu, call them at 801-581-5849, or visit in person at Union 159.


Faculty-Led Programs

U of U faculty lead students on short-term programs centered on specific coursework, which is commonly integrated into your major or minor requirements. When participating on a faculty-led program you have the benefit of taking U of U courses abroad that combine in-country experiential learning with classwork. 


Exchanges

The U partners with universities around the world to offer you the opportunity to complete coursework in an immersive university environment alongside local students. Coursework can be quite flexible with students oftentimes completing major, minor, and general education requirements. Additionally, the cost of an exchange program is the same as paying U of U resident tuition, which makes exchanges one of our most affordable options!

  • Doshisha University
  • Kansai Gaidai University
  • Waseda University MEXT Scholarship for Japanese Studies - Learning Abroad can nominate one student per year for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Scholarship. Students must be enrolled at the University of Utah at the undergraduate level and be majoring in fields related to Japanese language or Japanese studies/culture at the time of both arrival in and departure from Japan. Applicants must have studied Japanese or Japanese studies/culture at a university for a total period of at least one year. In order to be eligible for the MEXT Scholarship, applicants must complete a Learning Abroad Waseda University exchange application first. 
  • Japanese Student Services Organization (JASSO) Student Exchange Program Scholarship - The Japanese Student Services Organization (JASSO) offers awards for students interested in studying abroad in Japan. Students pursuing an exchange in Japan should contact the Learning Abroad exchange team about the need-based “JASSO Student Exchange Support Program” Scholarship. 

Affiliate Programs

The U partners with external organizations (Affiliates) to expand where you can go and what you can study on a learning abroad program. Affiliates offer programs at study centers, local institutions, or a combination of both in the host country. Programs are commonly structured around a particular theme or topic, such as "Language, Culture, and Society". Program options can also include internships, service learning & community engagement opportunities.

Japanese Speech Contest

The University of Utah Japanese Speech Contest is held every year in February. Anyone registered for the spring semester is eligible to participate. The finalists compete with those from BYU, Weber State, and Utah State. For more information please contact a member of the Japanese faculty at the University of Utah.

Resources

Here are some links to Japanese resources. This list should get you started down the path toward accessing Japan on the Internet. First set up the Japanese character processor with your browser's help file for instructions, then go to Professor Johnson's links page and the search engines below.

Japanese Computing

Union Way

A front-end Japanese character processor for Windows-based systems.

Njstar

This company can solve all your Japanese computing needs. Curtis Wilde recommends this strongly.  

Japanese Search Engine

Yahoo!
(requires Japanese character display capabilities)

Shushoku Links

Jobs in Japan

This is a free service with many links to job opportunities in Japan.

Miscellaneous Japanese Links

Origami Homepage

Information about the art of origami, including photos of examples.

Tokyo Food Page

Information about Japanese food, restaurants, and recipes.

Asahi Shimbun
Daily news from one of Japan's largest newspapers.

Japan Times Weekly

An Internet version of Japan's largest English-language newspaper.

Yomiuri Shimbun

Daily news from one of Japan's largest newspapers.

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Last Updated: 10/24/23