Overview and entry requirements

The MA Japanese Studies and Intensive Language is a two-year full-time (or four-year part-time) programme. This MA is designed to provide intensive language training at different proficiency levels - depending on entry level - within a Masters programme in Japanese Studies

The MA Japanese Studies and Intensive Language programme allows students to:

• cultivate or further develop a basic expertise in particular aspects of Japanese Studies
• choose modules that meet their own needs, with respect to their interest in Japan and future career plans
• develop their abilities to synthesize information, to think critically, to manage a complex research project and to present results in verbal and written form
• achieve a high level of language proficiency
• master transferable language and analytical skills in order to prepare for a variety of potential future professional or research careers. 

See Japan and Korea Department

Why study Japanese and Intensive Language at SOAS

• SOAS is ranked 1st in London in the Complete University Guide 2021 for Middle Eastern and African Studies, and 6th in the UK
• ranked 8th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2021 for South Asian Studies
• SOAS is specialist in the studies of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia
• access SOAS’s comprehensive cross-regional expertise and gain an understanding of the interconnectedness of these regions in an increasingly globalised world.

Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings

Start of programme: September

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time

May be combined with:

MA Japanese Studies can be combined with the following Intensive Language pathways: 

• Japanese
• Korean

Structure

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 as outlined below.  15 credits are allocated to the core module.

In the first year, students take 60 credits of intensive language instruction, 15 credits on the core module and 45 credits in the discipline. During the summer, they participate in a Summer School abroad which gives them a further 45 credits upon successful completion.

In the second year, students take a further 30 credits in language, 60 credits in the discipline and a further 60 credits in the dissertation.

Across both years, students must choose a minimum of 45 credits of modules from List A (modules related to Japan) and a maximum of 60 credits from List B and/or List C (total of 30 credits), which includes language modules, modules related to other regions of East Asia and modules on Japan offered by other departments.

For students opting to take language acquisition modules in more than one language, a maximum of 30 credits of these can be at an introductory level.

Students will be asked to choose the module on which they will base their dissertation. The convenor of this module will usually be their dissertation supervisor. The module will usually be chosen from List A modules within the department, but after consultation with the programme convenor it may be possible to arrange for a supervisor from another department.

All modules are subject to availability.

Please see 'Programme specification' below to download the PDF pathways specifications of the four-year part-time version of the programme.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures has further information on the Intensive Language part of the programme.

Programme

Year 1 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Plus

Modules from the list below to the value of 45 credits.

Language Component

Students take 60 credits in the selected language.

Summer Abroad

Students participate in a Summer School abroad for the selected language.

Year 2 (two years full time)

Discipline Component

Modules from the list below to the value of 60 credits.

Language Component

Students take 30 credits in the selected language.

Dissertation

List A: Guided Options

Students must take a minimum of 45 credits from the list below

List B: East Asia Modules

Students may take between 30 - 60 modules from the list below

Language

List C: Guided Options

Students can take 0 to 30 credits from the list below.

Programme Specification

• MA Japanese Studies and Intensive Language Programme Specification (pdf; 204kb)

Important notice

Teaching & Learning

The MA Japanese Studies and Intensive Language programme allows students to develop in four key areas:

Knowledge

• Students will acquire a comprehensive understanding of Japan’s past and present, within the parameters of the modules and disciplines chosen, and of her connections to the wider East Asian Region through the core module.
• Students will acquire an advanced understanding of the theoretical and methodological tools of the relevant disciplines.
• Students who choose to take language will improve their knowledge of and ability to use Japanese in their everyday life and, depending on the level achieved, 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 the strengths and disciplines 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 modules taken.

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.

Through their language study, students will

• acquire/develop skills in both written and spoken language.
• develop a procedural knowledge of rules governing both oral and written linguistic usages and of multiple norms regulating intercultural communication, analytical skills (problem solving, formal operations), critical skills and creativity.
• develop the ability to engage with people or texts from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, understanding the role of different linguistic or cultural frames of reference.

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.

Tuition fees

Fees for 2021/22 entrants, per academic year (Band 3 tuition fee)

Please note that fees go up each year. Two-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 above is for the first year only).

For full details of undergraduate tuition fees, see our Registry's undergraduate tuition fees page.

Scholarships

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.

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