Any advice which colleges in the US have a good Japanese program?

I have basically nothing other than major related courses left. I either want to teach or translate/interpret. I don’t really mind either one, but I know I want a degree in Japanese language and literature. With that said, I was hoping I could get some community feedback for which colleges have nice programs for Japanese.

I have been studying on my own already and have taken courses in Japanese at my current college.

I’m sorry if this isn’t exactly the appropriate subreddit for this.

Edit: To clarify, I’m looking for advice or suggestions for a 4 year BA in Japanese language/lit to be used for teaching or translation/interpretation. I’m not at the masters level yet.

8 comments
  1. Could you clarify, are you looking for a college with a 4 year BA in Japanese Language/Lit, or are you looking for additional programs (either Masters or summer programs) that would allow you to learn translation and interpretation in greater detail?

  2. It may be of no aid, as I am also searching pretty hard for the same type of education. However, the best I have observed in regards to a physical college is located in Seattle with Washington State University. That being said, I stopped looking into it as it’s too far away for me to attend. So online college has been what I looked into, and the only place I have found with Japanese offers Asian studies as a minor, and that’s at Oegeon State University.

    I’m also curious, so I’ll keep an eye on this thread.

  3. U Hawaii Manoa, Stanford, U Michigan, and Middlebury College all come to mind.

    *EDIT: forgot UCLA and UC Davis.

  4. University of Wisconsin is known for having really strong East Asian language programs (and less commonly taught languages in general). I went to this reception thing at the Japanese consulate in Houston and I was talking to a professor there from Rice and when I mentioned that I went to UW his immediate reaction was “they have a fantastic Japanese program.” (I did not actually study Japanese in college). I think it’s changed since when I was in school, but when I was there, Japanese 101 was a 6 credit course — you had class 7 times a week. Small group speaking focused discussion sections every day and then grammar focused lectures twice a week, meaning you had Japanese class twice in one day some days.

    That said though, are you sure a second bachelor’s is the best path, rather than say, going to language school in Japan? If you’ve done the research and are sure it’s what you want to do then go for it, but just wanted to ask since a second bachelor’s is a big financial commitment

  5. I don’t know about prestige but University of Maryland has a Japanese Major at the very least.

  6. UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Hawaii at Manoa are some with really good Japanese programs.

  7. In no particular order.

    Brigham Young University

    Columbia University

    Harvard University

    Princeton University

    Stanford University

    University of California, Berkeley

    University of California, Los Angeles

    University of Chicago

    University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

    University of Michigan

    University of Washington

    Yale University

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    Washington University in St. Louis

  8. Tufts in Boston may still have an active teaching licensure program, as does Stony Brook in New York.

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