Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

Who is this programme for?:

The two-year language pathway is directed at students with a professional and academic interest in Japan. The intensive training in Japanese language aims at supporting students’ ability to tackle their disciplinary interests by engaging with written texts and in oral communication in Japanese.

Your chosen discipline is combined with intensive Japanese language over two years (including a period in Japan), making this programme unique in Europe.

Access to the Japanese language pathway is currently available for students with 

1. beginner, or
2. post-beginner level of proficiency.

As a point of reference for b), this would correspond to having completed Minna no Nihongo, Volumes 1 and 2 (or an equivalent text), knowledge of approximately 500 kanji, and tuition time of about 220 hours in total. The list of kanji is available here, and a sample test is available here.

Students’ proficiency levels will be assessed through a placement test during registration week (specific dates will be provided to the applicants).

Students taking MA Japanese Studies as their discipline cannot choose additional Japanese language modules from the Languages list. Please select your discipline modules from the other categories. Please also note that Special Chinese and Basic Korean can only be taken with the approval of the language teachers and MA convenor.

Students bear the costs of travel to and from Japan, as well as all living expenses (including accommodation) during the period of their stay.

May be combined with:

Anthropology

• MA Anthropological Research Methods
• MA Anthropology of Food
• MA Anthropology of Media
• MA Anthropology of Travel and Tourism
• MA Medical Anthropology
• MA Migration and Diaspora Studies
• MA Social Anthropology
• MA Social Anthropology of Development

History

• MA Historical Research Methods
• MA History

History of Art

• MA History of Art and Archaeology of East Asia

Japan and Korea

• MA Japanese Studies
• MA Korean Studies

Linguistics

• MA Linguistics

Religions and Philosophies

• MA Religions of Asia and Africa

Students must take 315 credits in total, comprised of 255 taught credits (45 of which are taught abroad as part of a Summer School) and a 60-credit dissertation in the selected discipline as outlined below.

In their first year, students on the two-year Intensive Language programmes take 60 credits of intensive language instruction and 60 credits in the discipline. During the summer, they participate in a Summer School abroad. In the second year, they take another 30 language credits as well as 60 credits in the discipline; they also complete their dissertation in the discipline.

For information on the programme structure for the four-year part-time version of the programme, please see the pdf pathway specification at the bottom of the page.

Please see the relevant web pages for information on the discipline parts of the programme.

Two Years Beginner

Year 1 (two years full time)

Language Component

Discipline Component

Students take 60 credits in the selected discipline.

Summer Abroad

Year 2 (two years full time)

Language Component

Or

Discipline Component

Students take 60 credits in the selected discipline.

Dissertation

Students complete a 60-credit dissertation in the selected discipline.

Two Years Post-Beginner

Year 1 (two years full time)

Language Component

Discipline Component

Students take 60 credits in the selected discipline.

Summer Abroad

Year 2 (two years full time)

Language Component

Discipline Component

Students take 60 credits in the selected discipline.

Dissertation

Students complete a 60-credit dissertation in the selected discipline.

Programme Specification

• Intensive Language Japanese Pathway Specification BEGINNER (pdf; 73kb)
• Intensive Language Japanese Pathway Specification POST-BEGINNER (pdf; 72kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

Contact Hours

All Masters programmes consist of 180 credits, made up of taught modules of 30 or 15 credits, taught over 10 or 20 weeks, and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which optional.

As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study, including reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. 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. At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar every week, but this does vary.

More information is on the page for each module

Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes will vary depending on the combination of courses chosen by individual students.  Learning outcomes for each course can be found under the information provided on the relevant list of postgraduate courses on the departmental page of the SOAS website.

Knowledge

• Students will acquire a comprehensive understanding of Japan’s past and present, within the parameters of the courses and disciplines chosen.
• Students will acquire an advanced understanding of the theoretical and methodological tools of the relevant disciplines.
• Students will improve their knowledge of and ability to use Japanese in their everyday life and professional career.

Intellectual (thinking) skills

• Students will learn how to assess data and evidence critically from a variety of sources and how to resolve problems of conflicting sources and conflicting interpretations.
• Students will learn to evaluate the strengths of particular disciplinary and theoretical approaches, cultivating their ability to draw on a variety of such approaches.
• Students will learn how to design and manage an independent research project, formulating the problem to be addressed, identifying the data to be analyzed, and synthesizing the findings to present well-supported conclusions.

Subject-based practical skills

• Students will learn how to read critically, to participate effectively in seminar discussions, and to present their work in both oral and written form.
• More specific skills will depend on the particular courses taken.
• Students will acquire/develop linguistic skills which will enable them to tackle written and spoken tasks in contexts relevant to them.

Transferable skills

• Students will learn how to access and evaluate electronic and other data effectively and efficiently.
• Students will learn how to solve complex problems, for example concerning economic development, historical causation, literary interpretation, or political decision-making.
• Students will learn how to communicate effectively in a variety of settings and formats.

Tuition Fees

Full details of postgraduate tuition fees can be found on the Registry's Postgraduate Tuition Fees page.

This is a Band 1 tuition fee.

Fees for 2020/21 entrants. The fees below are per academic year. Please note that fees go up each year. 2 year full-time programmes have 2 years of full-time fees - the fee in the second year will be higher than the fee for the first year (the full time fee below is for the first year only).

Scholarships

For further details and information on external scholarships visit the Scholarships section

• How to Apply
• Online Application
• Request a prospectus
• Got a question - use our enquiry form (opens a new window)
• Funding options
• English language requirements
• Tuition Fees
• Admissions Contacts