<p>I'm pretty sure UC Berkeley and UCLA are at the top but chances are I'll be going to UCI, UCSB, or UCD. Which UC's have the best programs to major in Japanese?</p>
<p>can anyone help?</p>
<p>Look at which of those three have Asian Studies or something similiar to that. Chances are, if the school has that it should have decent Japanese. If anything, Irvine is considered the "Asian School" so I would hope that they would have a good program</p>
<p>My roommate here at UCI is a Japanese major.</p>
<p>Check out the program at San Diego State.</p>
<p>San Diego State isn't a UC.</p>
<p>The best way to determine which school is the "best" for any particular major is to do your own research. Start with each school's web site. How many faculty teach the subject (in this case Japanese) you want to study? What are their backrounds and educations? How many classes and up to what level are classes taught? If you want to major in Japanese, you want classes that go beyond the intermediate level and you probably would also want a fair number of classes that delve into subjects like conversational japanese, literature, culture. But don't just look at what's in the catalog - find out how many courses are typically offered each semester (some schools have many more courses in their catalog than are ever offered in the average semester). More importantly, how quickly do those classes fill up (Japanese is particularly popular these days). How large are the classes? How many are taught by teaching assistants and if teaching assistants are used, are they native speakers? What special resources does each department offer (i.e., a library of japanese books or films)? What type of study abroad programs does the department directly sponsor? How many undergraduate majors does the department have (the more majors, the more likely that upper level classes will be offered at adequate levels). Obviously, much of this won't be found on the web site, you'll need to visit, talk to the professors, maybe some students. If you can't visit, you can at least email a few of the professors and ask some of these questions. Good luck.</p>
<p>I heard that UC Irvine has a good Japanese program, but I'm not sure if that information is completely credible or not.</p>
<p>I'm not considering being a Japanese major (even though I speak Japanese), but I know that if I were considering going into that field, I would try to find a school with both a good Japanese program and a good foreign exchange program. I think the best way to learn Japanese is through totally emersing yourself in Japanese culture.. and JAPAN, so...</p>
<p>I know San Diego State isn't a UC, but if OP is interested in a specialized program such as Japanese, perhaps he or she should expand his horizons. I know a fellow who received a BA in Japanese history from Berkeley and he is doing grad work in Japanese at SDSU. </p>
<p>The question is--which is more important--UC or Japanese?</p>
<p>Again, do your own research. Don't just rely on suggestions here - you already know which schools you will be applying to - just start digging for information and make your own comparisons and decisions. As you gather information, you will start to see which schools are stronger and why.</p>
<p>Ellemenope, Good point. In fact, some of the strongest programs in Japanese are at surprising places: University of Hawaii (Manoa), Earlham College (Indiana), University of OIregon, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, University of Pittsburg, Pacific University (Oregon)...among others.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions! Looks like I still have to do a lot of research but this has definitely helped. If anyone else has suggestions please reply.</p>