BA in Japanese Language & Literature
Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese learn linguistics, literature, history, political science, anthropology, international affairs and culture through intensive language courses and electives.
The program is flexible enough to allow students to tailor their electives to their interests and rigorous enough to prepare them for business and management roles, government work, graduate school and more.
Questions about the Japanese major? Contact Brendan Morley.
Departmental Honors
Students may apply to earn special honors in Japanese to be noted on their transcript. The Japanese program selects no more than two students based on overall performance in the program. Department faculty will recommend the student for special honors only if they meet the requirements for eligibility:
- Meet GW’s special honors requirements
- Maintain a GPA of 3.7 or higher in the major and 3.4 overall
- Achieve a minimum grade of C- in every course taken at GW
Course Requirements
The following requirements must be fulfilled:
The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Undergraduate Programs.
Program-specific curriculum:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prerequisite courses | ||
| The prerequisite courses listed below are not required for students who demonstrate proficiency beyond the level of a given course. For example, a student who demonstrates proficiency beyond the first-year level can be exempted from JAPN 1001 and 1002. A student whose proficiency exceeds that of JAPN 2004 is not required to take any of these courses. | ||
| JAPN 1001 | Beginning Japanese I | |
| JAPN 1002 | Beginning Japanese II | |
| JAPN 2003 | Intermediate Japanese I | |
| JAPN 2004 | Intermediate Japanese II | |
| Required for the major | ||
| JAPN 3105 | Intermediate Japanese III | |
| JAPN 3106 | Intermediate Japanese IV | |
| JAPN 3111 | Japanese Literature in Translation I | |
| JAPN 3112 | Japanese Literature in Translation II | |
| JAPN 4109 | Introduction to Bungo, Literary Japanese | |
| Electives | ||
| Six additional JAPN courses (18 credits) numbered 3000 or above. | ||
| Two courses (6 credits) selected from the following: | ||
| ANTH 3705 | Anthropology of East Asia | |
| CAH 2190 | East Asian Art | |
| CHIN 3111 | Chinese Literature in Translation I | |
| CHIN 3112 | Chinese Literature in Translation II | |
| CHIN 3136W | Chinese Women in Myth, Literature, and Film | |
| or WGSS 3136 | Chinese Women in Myth, Literature, and Film | |
| or WGSS 3136W | Chinese Women in Myth, Literature, and Film | |
| EALL 3811 | Confucian Literature in East Asia | |
| or REL 2811 | Confucian Literature in East Asia | |
| EALL 3814 | Religion and Philosophy in East Asia | |
| or REL 2814 | Religion and Philosophy in East Asia | |
| EALL 3831 | Introduction to Daoism | |
| or REL 2831 | Introduction to Daoism | |
| HIST 3610 | Imperial China (Song-Qing) | |
| HIST 3611 | History of Modern China | |
| HIST 3621 | History of Modern Japan | |
| IAFF 2091 | East Asia-Past and Present | |
| KOR 3111 | Korean Literature in Translation I | |
| KOR 3112 | Korean Literature in Translation II | |
| PSC 2370 | Comparative Politics of China and Northeast Asia | |
| PSC 2374 | Politics and Foreign Policy of Japan | |
| PSC 2475 | International Relations of East Asia | |
| REL 2601 | Buddhism | |