Overview and entry requirements
The BA Japanese (Combined Honours) degree provides students with the highest level of competence in all aspects of the written and spoken language, as well as an introduction to both classical and modern Japanese culture - from the study of pre-modern Japanese literature and history, to contemporary cinema and TV. SOAS is the home to the largest concentration of Japanese specialists in Europe and our BA Japanese is suitable for both absolute beginners as well as those with some knowledge of the Japanese language.
Students will spend the third year of study in Japan furthering language proficiency and understanding of the local business practices and culture.
See Japan and Korea Department
Combine Japanese with other subjects
The nature of the Combined Honours degree will allow you to create a specialist niche for yourself by studying another subject, such as Development Studies, Economics, History, History of Art and Archaeology, International Relations, Linguistics, Music, Politics, Social Anthropology, or World Philosophies.
Why study Japanese Combined Honours at SOAS
- UK Top 10 in the 2021 QS World University Rankings for Modern Languages
- we are home to the largest concentration of Japan specialists outside of Japan
- you will not only learn the essential language skills but also an in depth understanding of the region’s culture covering subjects from literature, history, cinema, and politics
- you will spend your third year in Japan furthering language and cultural proficiency
- we are specialists in the delivery of more that forty African and Asian languages. Your command of a language will set you apart from graduates of other universities
- choosing to study a Combined Honours programme will allow you take advantage of the expertise of one of our other departments allowing you create a specialist niche for yourself
Explore
Programme Code: T210
Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings
Start of programme: September
Mode of Attendance: Full-time
Email: eastasia@soas.ac.uk
Entry requirements
- duration:
- 4 years
Fees 2022/23
Fees for 2022/23 entrants per academic year
- UK fees:
- £9,250
- Overseas fees:
- £20,350
Please note that fees go up each year. Further details see 'Fees and funding' (tab on this page) or the Registry's undergraduate tuition fees page.
Please see the Unistats data for the various combinations of this programme under the Combinations tab.
May be combined with:
Key Information Set data
Click on a combined programme to load KIS data
Structure
- Year 1: students normally take 60 credits of language and 60 credits from their second subject.
- Year 2: student continue with language learning and choose modules on culture, history, literature within the Japanese syllabus to the value of 60 credits. The remaining 60 credits will be taken from the second subject.
- Year 3: students will spend this year abroad at one of the many Japanese Universities where the focus is on further language training.
- Year 4: student continue with higher level language learning and choose modules on culture, history/literature/ISP within the Japanese syllabus to the value of 60 credits. The remaining 60 credits will be taken from the second subject.
Programme
Year 1
Core Module
This module must be passed in order to progress to the following year of study.
Second Subject
60 credits are taken from the syllabus of the second subject.
Year 2
Core Module
This module must be passed in order to progress to the following year of study.
Compulsory Modules
Students will take the modules below
Second Subject
60 credits are taken from the syllabus of the second subject.
Year 3 (Year Abroad)
Please see more information on the year abroad in Japan under the Teaching & Learning tab.
Year 4
Compulsory Modules
Students must take the modules below.
AND
Choose modules from List A/List B or Central Options (at the relevant FHEQ level for your academic year of study) to the value of 30 credits
Second Subject
60 credits are taken from the syllabus of the second subject.
Year 4 - List A Guided Option Modules
FHEQ Level 5/6
List B: Language Option Modules
FHEQ Level 5/6
Important notice
The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session. If you are a current student you can find structure information on the previous year link at the top of the page or through your Department. Please read the important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.
Teaching & Learning
All full-time undergraduate programmes consist of 120 credits per year, in modules of 60, 30 or 15 credits. They are taught over 10 or 20 weeks. The programme structure shows which modules are taught over one term or the full year. It also shows which modules are compulsory and which are optional.
Contact hours
As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study (see Approaches to teaching and learning at SOAS). It will also include class time, which may include lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects, such as learning a language, have more class time than others.
More information is on the page for each module.
Year abroad
All students spend their third year in Japan at one of the Japanese universities listed below, following successful completion of their second year. Please note that not all universities will have places available every year.
Tokyo
Nagoya
Kyoto
Osaka
Kobe
Hokkaido
SOAS Library
SOAS Library is one of the world's most important academic libraries for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, attracting scholars from all over the world. The Library houses over 1.2 million volumes, together with significant archival holdings, special collections and a growing network of electronic resources.
Pre-entry reading
- B. Frellesvig, A History of the Japanese Language (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
- K. Friday, Japan Emerging: Premodern History to 1850 (Westview Press, 2012)
- C. Gerteis and T.S. George, Japan Since 1945: From Postwar to Post-bubble (Bloomsbury, 2013)
- C. Goto-Jones, Modern Japan: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2009)
- J. Hendry, Understanding Japanese Society (Routledge, 2012)
- M.B. Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000)
- H. Shirane, T. Suzuki, and D. Lurie (eds.), The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature (Cambridge University Press, 2015)
- P. Varley, Japanese Culture (University of Hawai’i Press, 2000)
Tuition fees
Fees for 2022/23 entrants per academic year
| Programme |
Full-Time |
UK
Students |
Overseas
Students |
|
BA, BSc, LLB
|
£9,250
|
£20,350 |
| BA/BSc Language year abroad |
£1,385 |
£10,175 |
Please note that fees go up each year.
For full details of undergraduate tuition fees, see our Registry's undergraduate tuition fees page.
Scholarships
Application Deadline: 2020-04-30 15:00
For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section
Employment
Graduates from the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures develop competencies in intercultural awareness, analysis and communication. Demand for specialists with advanced proficiency in the languages of China, Japan and Korea has significantly increased in recent years, and graduates with these skills are highly sought after by employers.
Recent Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures graduates have been hired by organisations including:
- Accenture
- Amazon
- Bloomberg LP
- Department for Work and Pensions
- European Alliance for Human Rights in North Korea
- European Commission
- Google
- ITN
- Japanese Government
- Korea Trade Centre (KOTRA)
- KPMG
- Mizuho Bank
- Nagahama Board of Education
- Nanjing Museum
- Pinsent Masons LLP
- PwC
- Seoul Metropolitan Government
- Shelterbox
- UNDP
Find out about our Careers Service.
A Student's Perspective
It’s a melting pot of languages and cultures where your eyes open to new things you might have never heard about on a daily basis.
Antoni Slodkowski
