Major in Japanese Studies

The Major in Japanese Studies provides a solid grounding in Japanese language, culture, literature, and linguistics, with 36 units of core courses covering each of these areas and 4 units of elective courses in Japanese history, religion, philosophy, economics, politics, art, and business. The Major curriculum incorporates advanced Japanese instructional software developed at USF that is capable of analyzing and correcting student-composed sentences. Students have the option to pursue immersion study in Tokyo through our ongoing exchange program with Sophia University. The program affords opportunities for research and professional internships that are unique to the Bay Area.

Requirements for the Major

Core Courses

The program requires completion of forty (40) units in Japanese. The two semesters of lower-division Japanese language courses (Japanese 101 and 102) serve as a prerequisite but do not count toward the units necessary for the major.

Prerequisites (8 units)

• JAPN - 101 First Semester Japanese
• JAPN - 102 Second Semester Japanese

Required Courses (36 units)

Students take the following four Japanese language courses and one Japanese linguistics course:

• JAPN - 201 Third Semester Japanese
• JAPN - 202 Fourth Semester Japanese
• JAPN - 301 Intermediate Japanese
• JAPN - 302 Advanced Japanese
• JAPN - 410 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics

Students select four courses in Japanese culture and literature.

• JAPN - 310 Zen and the Art of Japanese Calligraphy
• JAPN - 350 Japanese Culture
• JAPN - 351 Contemporary Japanese Culture
• JAPN - 355 Japanese Literature in Translation
• JAPN - 357 Naturalism in Japanese Literature
• JAPN - 360 Japanese Calligraphy and Ink Painting

Electives

Students take one course, chosen from the following:

• HIST - 383 Modern Japan Since Perry
• HIST - 387 History of U.S.-Japan Relations
• THRS - 395 Special Topics (Course on Japanese Religion)
• PHIL - 480 Topics in Contemporary Philosophy (Course on Japanese Philosophy)
• POLS - 359 International Politics of the Asia Pacific Rim
• VA - 307 Asian Art
• BUS - 397 International Study Tour (Japan Study Tour)
• Internship in a Japanese Organization

Learning Goals/Outcomes for the B.A. in Japanese Studies

• Students will acquire Japanese skills that will enable them to converse at an upper-intermediate level of proficiency, to read newspaper or magazine articles and some short literary works with the aid of a dictionary, to write short essays, letters, or business memos, and to comprehend television programs or films on general-interest topics.
• Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the historical development and contemporary state of the Japanese language, literature, and selected aspects of culture, and also the competency to employ the analytical and conceptual tools relevant to their study.
• Students will develop communicative and research skills, and the requisite linguistic and cultural knowledge to deploy them effectively, that will prepare them to pursue graduate work, or alternatively, careers in teaching Japanese at the secondary level, Japan-related business, and governmental or NGO opportunities.