The ability to communicate with Japanese speakers and appreciate Japanese culture gives you a huge advantage in a wide range of careers. Whether on the job or in your community, your Japanese language competency and cultural understanding can help you establish valuable connections in the inter-dependent global community.

The B.A. in Japanese Language and Culture prepares students to be active participants in an ever-shrinking and increasingly interdependent world society by developing students’ literacy in global matters, multiculturalism and cultural diversity, as well as guiding students to achieve a formidable level of language proficiency (intermediate-high level according to the ACTFL guidelines in Japanese) to be able to communicate effectively in Japanese with well-rounded Japanese cultural knowledge in such areas as history, literature and social sciences.

The program prepares graduates for successful careers in teaching, business and technology, travel, tourism, governmental and nongovernmental agencies, and for graduate study in Japanese studies, linguistics, Asian studies, translation and interpretation, TESOL, or focused international disciplines such as policy, management, and business.

To learn more about the major, visit the World Languages & Cultures website.

Required Courses

In order to graduate, you will also need to complete your general education and university requirements.

Complete ALL of the following courses:

Complete TWO of the following courses

Complete TWO of the following courses:

  • JAPN 301: Advanced Japanese Culture and Communication
  • JAPN 303: Business Japanese
  • JAPN 312: Japanese for the Professions
  • JAPN 304: Introduction to Translation & Interpretation
  • JAPN 401: Structure of Japanese Language

Complete FOUR of the following courses (only one 200-level course):

Complete ONE of the following courses:

Compete ONE of the following courses:

  • JAPN 400: Advanced Interpersonal Communication
  • JAPN 403: Pre-Capstone
  • JAPN 404: Advanced Japanese Research and Communication

Though only one course is required, students are encouraged to take two courses (one in Fall and one in Spring) in the same year they are working on their Capstone projects.

Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in JAPN 420: Maximizing Study Abroad: Strategies for Language and Culture Use prior to their Study Abroad experience.

Learning Outcomes

MLO 1: Language and Communication

1.1 Students are able to communicate effectively in Japanese in three modes: interpersonal, interpretive and presentational; and in a culturally appropriate manner in a variety of social and professional settings and circumstances at the Intermediate-High level of language proficiency, according to the ACTFL Guidelines.

1.2 Students gain competency in the Japanese language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and discourse, and compare and analyze the structural differences between Japanese and English.

MLO 2: Culture

2.1 Students develop a comprehensive understanding, appreciation and knowledge of Japanese culture: perspectives (ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, philosophies), practices (patterns of social interactions) and products (both tangible and intangible, for example, art, history, literature, music).

2.2 Students develop analytical and critical thinking in areas such as how Japan’s cultural background influences modern Japanese life, how to compare their own culture with the Japanese culture, or how Japanese culture relates to other world cultures in an age of global inter-relatedness.

MLO 3: Secondary Culture

3.1 Students describe concepts of culture and use that understanding in their comparison of the target culture with the second culture.

3.2 Students will analyze and make connections among the ways of thinking and perspectives, behavioral practices and cultural products of a second culture.

MLO 4: Research and Technology

4.1 Students become familiar with appropriate research methodologies and are able to apply such in their studies.

4.2 Students will use appropriate technologies in research and studies relative to Japanese language and culture.

4.3 Students will collect, manage and analyze current and emerging technology-based resources to develop and produce their scholarly work.

MLO 5: Cultural Internalization and Language Immersion

5.1 Students demonstrate that they have actively immersed themselves in authentic Japanese cultural and linguistic environments and have internalized the language and cultural experience, from which they have developed a personal understanding and new perspectives of the community.

Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in JAPN 420: Maximizing Study Abroad: Strategies for Language and Culture Use prior to their Study Abroad experience.

WLC's Japanese program has exchange agreements with:

  • Chuo University, Tokyo
  • Dokkyo University, Saitama
  • J.F. Oberlin University, Tokyo
  • Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Aichi
  • Okayama University, Okayama
  • Osaka Gakuin University, Osaka
  • Toyo University, Tokyo
  • The University of Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu
  • The University of Shiga Prefecture, Shiga
  • Nagasaki University, Nagasaki
  • Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto
  • Tsukuba University*, Ibaraki
  • Waseda University*, Kyoto

* Study abroad at these Universities is conducted through CSU International Programs.

Course Pathways

These pathways are examples of how you might complete all the requirements for your degree in an order that makes sense given prerequisites. They are meant to give you a general sense of what your education will look like.

Your own unique situation and a number of other factors may mean your actual pathway is different. Perhaps you'll need an extra math or language class, or one of the courses we've listed isn't offered in a particular semester. Don't worry — there is flexibility built into the curriculum. You'll want to work closely with an advisor and use the academic advisement report to take all that into account and develop a pathway that's customized for you.

In the meantime, use this example as a starting point for choosing classes or discussing your plans with an advisor. Your advisor is your best resource when it comes to figuring out how to fit all the courses you need, in the right sequence, into your personal academic plan.

Freshman Pathway

Fall Freshman

Course: JAPN 101: Beginning Japanese I
Units: 4
Requirement:
Course: JAPN 185: Beg interpersonal and interpretive communication I
Units: 1
Requirement:
Course: FYS 181: Multicultural Health OR FYS 182: Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll OR FYS 183: Eat, Love, Learn
Units: 4
Requirement: E
Course: JAPN 215: Cool Japan Today
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • C1
  • Major
Course: Any approved course
Units: 4
Requirement: B4

* This FYS class is just an example. The FYS class you choose might meet a different GE area, so you would have to adjust your actual pathway accordingly.

Spring Freshman

Course: JAPN 102: Beginning Japanese II
Units: 4
Requirement:
Course: JAPN 186: Beg interpersonal and interpretive communication II
Units: 1
Requirement:
Course: Any approved course
Units: 4
Requirement: A1
Course: Any approved course
Units: 4
Requirements:

Fall Sophomore

Course: JAPN 201: Intermediate Japanese I
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • C3
  • Language Proficiency
Course: JAPN 285: Intermediate interpersonal and interpretive communication I
Units: 1
Requirement:
Course: Any approved course
Units: 4
Requirements:
Course: Elective
Units: 3
Requirement:
Course: Any approved course
Units: 4
Requirements:

Spring Sophomore

Course: Any approved course
Units: 6
Requirement: D3
Course: JAPN 202: Intermediate Japanese II or JAPN 300: Introduction to Advanced Communication
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 286: Intermediate interpersonal and interpretive communication II
Units: 1
Requirement:
Course: SBS 212: US Social Histories and Politics or GS 200: Politics of Everyday Life
Units: 4
Requirement: D2
Course: JAPN 420: Maximizing Study Abroad: Strategies for Language and Culture Use
Units: 1
Requirement:

Fall Junior

Course: WLC 300: WLC Major ProSeminar
Units: 2
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 301: Advanced Japanese Culture and Communication
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 320S: Advanced Japanese SL
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • D4
  • Major
Course: JAPN 305: Introduction to Japanese Culture & Civilization
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • C2
  • Major

Spring Junior

Course: JAPN 302: History of Japan
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 309: Japanese Literature in Translation
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: Approved Course for MLO 3 (Secondary Culture)
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: Any approved course
Units: 4
Requirement: A4

Fall Senior

If students participate in a study abroad program during this, or any, semester(s) to meet MLO 5, courses studied at the Japanese university will be counted toward the degree. For detailed information, please see MLO 5.

Course: JAPN 380: Japan: Land and People
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 401: Structure of Japanese Language
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 311: Social Issues In Japan
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • D1
  • Major
Course: JAPN 403: Pre-Capstone
Units: 2
Requirement: Major

Spring Senior

Course: WLC 400: WLC Major Capstone
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 312: Japanese for the Professions
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 306: The Japanese Mind
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 404: Advanced Japanese Research and Communication
Units: 2
Requirement: Major

Transfer Pathway

Fall Junior

Course: WLC 300: WLC Major ProSeminar
Units: 2
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 301: Advanced Japanese Culture and Communication
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • C3
  • Major
  • Language Proficiency
Course: JAPN 320S: Advanced Japanese SL
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • D4
  • Major
Course: JAPN 305: Introduction to Japanese Culture & Civilization
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • C2
  • Major
Course: Elective
Units: 1
Requirement:

Spring Junior

Course: JAPN 302: History of Japan
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 309: Japanese Literature in Translation
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • C2
  • Major
Course: Any approved course
Units: 4
Requirement: A4
Course: JAPN 420: Maximizing Study Abroad: Strategies for Language and Culture Use
Units: 1
Requirement:

Fall Senior

If students participate in a study abroad program during this, or any, semester(s) to meet MLO 5, courses studied at the Japanese university will be counted toward the degree. For detailed information, please see MLO 5.

Course: JAPN 380: Japan: Land and People
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 401: Structure of Japanese Language
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 311: Social Issues In Japan
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • D1
  • Major
Course: JAPN 403: Pre-Capstone
Units: 2
Requirement: Major
Course: Any Approved Course (if American Institutions requirement needed)
Units: 4
Requirement: D2

Spring Senior

Course: WLC 400: WLC Major Capstone
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 312: Japanese for the Professions
Units: 4
Requirement: Major
Course: JAPN 306: The Japanese Mind
Units: 4
Requirements:
  • C2
  • Major
Course: JAPN 404: Advanced Japanese Research and Communication
Units: 2
Requirement: