undergraduate
Japanese language and literature
Best schools with Japanese language and literature
What is a Japanese language and literature major?
This curriculum has a focus on the Japanese language. Specific course topics include: philology; ancient, medieval, and modern Japanese; dialects; and applications to business, science/technology, and other settings.
of students said a highlight of this major was the exposure to diverse perspectives.
of students said they were motivated to select this major because it fit their passion & interest.
of students and alumni plan on being or are currently employed in an occupation related to this major.
How much do Japanese language and literature majors make?
This data isn't currently reported, but we're working on it!
How popular is Japanese language and literature as a major?
Each year, around 730 students obtain a bachelor’s degree and around 100 students obtain an associate degree in Japanese language and literature. In 2021, 729 students received a bachelor's degree and 125 students received an associate degree. This is 2% fewer Japanese language and literature majors than there were in 2020. Japanese language and literature is a relatively popular major compared to other foreign languages majors.
Advice from Japanese language and literature majors
Share your experienceStudying is important and if you are unsure about things, be sure to ask professors and fellow students for help.
Have a genuine interest in the Japanese language and culture outside of just learning it in school. If your goal is to become good at the language, or reach any level of fluency, you should learn about the immersion-based language learning methods to acquire the language over time. The best way to learn the language in my opinion is to utilize multiple specific methods at the same time. I have made the most progress and have gotten the most enjoyment out of learning the language through immersion from watching anime and playing games in Japanese to build a foundation, and then polishing up my skills and work on mastering the grammar and technical details here in my Japanese classes at GSU. People who are passionate about Japanese will get the most out of the classes especially if you study on your own before starting. Check out the Matt vs. Japan, Fluent Japanese From Anime, That Japanese Man Yuta, Japanese Ammo with Misa, YouTube channels for a lot of resources for self-learning.
do a double major to expand your horizons when starting a career
I’m still a senior in high school so I have majored in the subject yet. But as far as Japanese goes you should understand that there are three alphabets including Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, so don’t be surprised if you just learning as a beginner. Hiragana is their basic alphabet and can be used to spell anything similar to the English alphabet. Katakana is used to pronounce foreign words, onomatopoeias, and some sound effects you see in mangas. Kanji uses characters for an entire word rather than spelling it out, similarly to Chinese characters. I personally think that out of the three, Hiragana is the easiest to remember, write, and recite. In Japanese they don’t pronounce L but sometimes they can substitute R in by pronouncing it slightly different. If you’re looking to be poly-lingual I believe that Japanese is a great start to your language journey because its complex structure can make other languages easier.
