Japanese Major

Students should take 36 credits hours beyond the 1000-level. (JPNS 1000 and 1010 are prerequisites for the higher level of the language, but do not count directly toward the major.)

Only grades of “C” or better can be counted toward a Japanese major.

Required Courses (28 credit hours):

JPNS 2000 - Intermediate Japanese I Credits: 4 hours
JPNS 2010 - Intermediate Japanese II Credits: 4 hours
JPNS 2750 - Japanese Life and Culture Credits: 3 hours
JPNS 3000 - Advanced Japanese I Credits: 4 hours
JPNS 3010 - Advanced Japanese II Credits: 4 hours
JPNS 3250 - Close Reading in Contemporary Japanese Credits: 3 hours
JPNS 3260 - Close Reading in Modern and Classical Japanese Credits: 3 hours

And either:

JPNS 4510 - Advanced Japanese Language Credits: 3 hours
OR
JPNS 5600 - Advanced Literary Readings in Japanese Credits: 3 hours

Elective courses:

To fulfill the remaining hours, students should take at least eight additional credit hours of electives. The following courses may be counted as electives:

JPNS courses at the 3000 level or above
Courses that focus specifically on Japanese studies in other departments, such as the Departments of Comparative Religion, History, or Political Science. All electives taken outside the Department of World Languages and Literatures must be approved by the Japanese advisor.

LANG 3750 - Foreign Literature in English Translation: Views of Humanity Credits: 3 hours

Note:

At least one elective must be taken as a class at WMU and not as a course during study abroad.

Study Abroad

Students in the Japanese major are strongly encouraged to take advantage of study abroad through WMU’s exchange institutions in Japan. Students must consult with the Japanese advisor well in advance of such study in order to plan properly and obtain approval for credits to be taken as part of the required or elective hours for the major.

Transfer credits

Students may transfer up to 16 credits earned in other institutions, including equivalents for JPNS 2000, JPNS 2010, JPNS 3000 and JPNS 3010, and up to 8 credits for elective courses.