Japanese

Over the past 150 years, Japan has experienced change at a rapid pace but has nevertheless retained its fascinating cultural heritage.

On our programme, you will develop the linguistic, intercultural and analytical skills to engage with this dynamic society in an interdisciplinary way.

Our language courses will develop your skills in speaking, listening to, reading and writing Modern Japanese. You can start the language as a complete beginner, or at a more advanced level - we will place you in the right course for you.

Our programme is not for native speakers, but we also welcome heritage language learners.

In addition to language learning, you will learn about Japan's place in East Asia, one of the world's most important and influential regions.

Why Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the only university in Scotland to offer undergraduate honours degrees in Japanese. We also teach the languages, histories and cultures of China and Korea, giving you an interdisciplinary experience in East Asian studies.

You will be able to take a path through the programme that suits your interests, choosing from courses in:

• pre-modern and modern history

• politics and international relations

• religion

• literature, theatre, and cinema

• linguistics

The University's excellent resources include the East Asian Studies Collection which contains more than 50,000 resources, both print and digital; over 5,000 are in Japanese.

Student societies include the Japan Society and the Anime Society. We also often host visiting Noh masters from Japan for performances and student workshops.

Teaching excellence

Our programme has been carefully designed to enable you to become an expert on Japan. It introduces skills and knowledge step by step, and we encourage you to see the connections between language, history, politics, culture and international relations at every stage.

Our courses are mostly taught in smaller groups, so you will have plenty of opportunities to contribute to class discussion and receive feedback on your progress.

Language classes are active, innovative, inclusive, and always informed by the best practice in the field. Our Year 4 students regularly pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test at N2 and N1 level.

You will also have the opportunity to study other subjects from a wide range offered by the University, and to spend a year studying in Japan.

How long it takes to complete this degree programme

This programme is studied over 4 years, including a year abroad. This enables us to build choice and flexibility into your studies, giving you time to explore options, find what you like and build your skills.

Your first two years will be your pre-honours years. They will give you a good grounding in the Japanese language and the study of Japan.

In addition to your core courses, you will broaden your education and skill set by choosing option courses from a range of disciplines. This gives you the chance to build your intercultural awareness in other areas of the arts, humanities, social sciences and beyond.

Your final two years will be your honours years. You will spend Year 3 studying abroad, gaining lived experience of Japanese and East Asian culture. Year 4 will be tailored to your interests in specific topics or approaches to Japanese Studies. You will also further develop your Japanese language and translation skills and write a dissertation.

Programme benefits

• Take the only programme of its kind in Scotland.

• Study over four years, including one abroad.

• Become fluent in a language.

• Try out different subjects in your first two years.

• Join societies related to what you are studying.

• Delve into fantastic libraries and collections.