Japanese
Western Michigan University's Japanese program leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Arts and Sciences. It has a strong focus on Japanese language and culture.
As a Japanese language student at WMU, you will study fundamental, intermediate and advanced Japanese, Japanese life and culture, and contemporary as well as modern and classical Japanese literature. You will also take an additional course in either advanced Japanese language or advanced literary readings.
To round out your program, you will choose electives with the help of your advisor. Electives may include courses that focus specifically on Japanese studies in other departments such as comparative religion, history or political science. All electives taken outside the Department of World Languages and Literatures must be approved by the Japanese advisor.
As a student in WMU's Japanese program, you will be strongly encouraged to take advantage of study abroad opportunities available through WMU’s exchange institutions in Japan. You must consult with the Japanese advisor well in advance of such study to plan properly and obtain approval for credits to be taken as part of the required or elective hours for the major.
You will also want to take advantage of the many events and activities related to Japanese language and culture, most of which are sponsored by the University's Michitoshi Soga Japan Center and the Japan club, a registered student organization.
Recent WMU graduates with degrees in Japanese are working in many different industries and types of organizations, including:
- Airlines
- Businesses and banks
- Charitable organizations
- Education, all levels
- Hotels
- International exchange programs
- Media
- Museums
- Non-governmental organizations
- State and federal government
- Travel and tourism
Sample job titles include:
- Artist
- Author
- Cultural officer
- Customs or immigration officer
- Diplomat
- English teacher in Japan
- Filmmaker
- Foreign correspondent
- Guide
- Intelligence specialist
- International banker
- Interpreter or translator
- Journalist
- Language teacher
- Librarian
- Linguist
- Missionary
- Museum curator
- Negotiator
- Professor
- Publisher
- Kalamazoo
- Anthropology
- Art
- Art History
- Arts Administration
- Communication Studies
- English: Literature and Language
- Film, Video and Media Studies
- French
- German
- Global and International Studies
- History
- Interior Architecture and Design
- Latin
- Music
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Public History
- Spanish
- Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
- Strategic Communication
- Tourism and Travel