Please note that this BA programme will undergo a structural reform for 2019/20. Although the overall scope and learning outcomes will remain mostly unchanged, there may be minor changes to the core module and the selection of guided options. These changes are designed to improve the student experience and engagement with the subject matter, based on feedback from current and previous students.

From the study of pre-modern Japanese literature and history, to contemporary cinema and TV, we are the home to the largest concentration of Japanese specialists in Europe. 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, and 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. Additionally, the nature of the Combined Honours Degree will allow you to create a specialist niche for yourself by studying another subject.

What subjects can you combine it with?

Other disciplines -  Development Studies, Economics, History, History of Art, International Relations, Linguistics, Music, Politics, Social Anthropology, World Philosophies 

Why study Japanese Combined Honours at SOAS?

• 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

Apply now via UCAS or visit our upcoming Open Day.

Find out more about how to apply.

Programme Code: T210

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: Sepetember

Mode of Attendance: Full-time

May be combined with:

• Chinese Studies, (Jap/Chi) TT21
• Development Studies
• Economics, LT12 BA/JEC
• English, QT32
• History, TV21
• History of Art/Archaeology, VT32 BA/HAAJ
• International Relations, (LTF2 BA/IRJ)
• Korean Studies, TT24
• Linguistics, QT12 BA/JKG
• Music, TW23 BA/MSJ
• Politics, LT22 BA/POLJ
• Social Anthropology, LT62 BA/SAJ
• Study of Religions, TV26 BA/SRJ
• World Philosophies, T202

Key Information Set data

Click on a combined programme to load KIS data

Students take 120 credits per year composed of core and optional modules, which allows for students to design their own intellectual journey while maintaining a strong grasp of the fundamentals. Students take 60 credits of Japanese language, and the remaining 60 credits from their other subject in each year apart from Year 3.

The third year is spent at one of the twenty-plus Japanese universities that we have exchange programmes with. During the year in Japan you will study Japanese language as well as modules of your choice on Japan, and be able to have an important adventure in your life.

In the final year, you have the opportunity to research a topic of your choice in an Independent Study Project.

Programme Specification

• BA Japanese and... Programme Specification (pdf; 238kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

Contact Hours

All full-time undergraduate programmes consist of 120 credits per year, in modules of 60, 45, 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.

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.

Modules

Modules are taught through a combination of lectures and tutorials, usually one hour a week of each. Sometimes, one follows the other in a two-hour bloc. Sometimes, the tutorial is at a different time or on a different day than the lecture.

Lectures are led by an academic while tutorials are sessions in which students are expected to present reports and take a lead in discussions.

Depending on the size of the class, some intermediate and advanced level modules are less strictly divided between a formal lecture and a tutorial discussion, and instead, the topic is briefly introduced by the lecturer, followed by a seminar discussion. Advanced level modules, which are usually taught in one two-hour bloc, often take this format.

The assessment procedures involve coursework assignments, tests and unseen examinations. They provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the content and systems taught in lectures, tutorials and the literature.

The Independent Study Project (ISP)

These can be taken by final-year students only. Like the Special Subject dissertation, its aim is to provide an opportunity for students to conduct original historical research on their own initiative, to engage in in-depth analysis of particular subjects and to use a range of primary historical sources. It too involves no formal classes and is assessed by a single 10,000-word dissertation (including notes but excluding bibliography).

Learning Resources

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.

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

• Hitotsubashi
• International Christian University
• Keio
• Meiji University
• Ochanomizu (women only)
• Sophia
• Tokyo U. of Foreign Studies
• Waseda

Nagoya

• Nagoya
• Nanzan

Kyoto

• Doshisha
• Kyoto U. of Foreign Studies
• Ritsumeikan

Osaka

• Kansai
• Osaka U., School of Economics
• Osaka U., School of Foreign Studies

Kobe

• Kobe
• Kwansei Gakuin

Fukuoka

• Kyushu

Hokkaido

• Hokkaido U. of Education

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)

Studying this programme will provide students with competency Japanese language skills as well as intercultural awareness and understanding. Choosing to study a joint degree programme will increase the breadth of your knowledge, and will develop additional skills with which to further your studies of Japan, or to make comparative study with other areas. 

Skills gained include:

• a familiarity with the region through a combination of the study of language, literature, history, cinema, politics, economics or law
• communication and presentation skills
• analytical skills
• the ability to research, amass and order information from a variety of sources

Graduates from the Department leave SOAS not only with language and cultural expertise, but also with a portfolio of widely transferable skills which employers seek in many professional and management careers, both in business and in the public sector.

Find out more about Languages and Cultures of Japan and Korea Destinations

Graduates have gone on to work for a range of organisations including:

• Bloomberg L.P
• British High Commission
• British Council Tokyo
• Deloitte Management Consulting Ltd.
• Foreign & Commonwealth Office
• Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International
• NHK-Japan Broadcasting Corporation
• Oxford University
• The British Embassy
• The British Museum
• Wall Street Associates

Types of roles that graduates have gone on to do include:

• Financial Analyst
• Head of Production
• US Marketing Executive
• Senior Research Executive
• Director of Development and Alumni Relations
• Project Leader, Strategic Planning
• Solicitor
• Architect
• Interactive Designer
• HM Ambassador to Japan
• Freelance Japanese Translator