专业详情

The MSc in Japanese Studies is intended to be both a stand-alone course for those seeking to improve their language skills and an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of modern Japan. It is taught by full-time members of the Nissan(within the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies) and the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and all the courses are designed for master’s-level students.

The department does not teach Japanese language for beginners. However, it does offer language teaching which will equip you to do research about Japan. The levels range from JLPT Level 3 up to and beyond Level 1.

The course acts as either a foundation for those intending to seek employment working in Japan or with Japan, or as a preparation for further research on Japan either on the follow-on MPhil course or on a doctoral programme at Oxford or elsewhere. It is taught over three terms.

There are five components to the MSc degree:

  • a core course on research methods
  • two courses about Japan chosen from the following options (please note that not all options may be offered every year):
    • Modern Translational History of Japan
    • Japanese Linguistics (The History and Structure of Japanese)(There are prerequisites to study this option)
    • Modern Japanese Literature
    • Texts in Modern Japanese Literature
    • Japanese Politics: Domestic Institutions and International Relations
    • Economy and Business of Japan
    • Japanese Social Anthropology
    • Sociology of Japanese Society
    • Classical Japanese Literature
    • Classical Japanese Language (There are prerequisites to studying this option)
    • Texts in Japanese Linguistics (There are prerequisites to studying this option)
    • Classical Japanese Texts (There are prerequisites to studying this option)
  • the Japanese language course or, if you have native speaker language competence, a further course about Japan
  • a dissertation of 12,000 words.

The courses about Japan have been designed for students at the graduate level and most students will be on the Japanese studies programme. Some courses may also be taken by students who are studying elsewhere in the university. For example, the course on Japanese politics is an option for both students in Japanese studies and students on the MPhil in Politics (Comparative Government).