<p>My D is a jr. and is interested in a Japanese/Econonomics major. We currently have a list of about 18 schools that she has been researching. Does anyone have any thoughts on a strong Japanese program (besides Hawaii)</p>
<p>bump-please? Info?</p>
<p>Well I’d highly suggest Temple, considering in addition to a Japanese program, we also have the oldest foreign university campus in Japan.</p>
<p>Carleton U</p>
<p>Lawrence University Japanese program [Lawrence</a> University Japanese Department](<a href=“http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/chja/japanese/]Lawrence”>http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/chja/japanese/)
Economics [Lawrence</a> University Economics Department](<a href=“http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/economics/index.asp]Lawrence”>http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/economics/index.asp)</p>
<p>University of Chicago is excellent in both fields.</p>
<p>In the event your D is interested in smaller schools, Earlham has a particularly strong Japanese program.</p>
<p>If anyone is going to add any schools, please elaborate… not just list schools based on hearsay. Here are some thoughts…</p>
<p>I am currently a Japanese major. I have also studied abroad there and have met quite a few Japanese majors and teachers, so I have some insight on Japanese programs. Is your daughter more interested in learning Japanese language, culture, or literature? Does she already have a background in Japanese?</p>
<p>Japanese language is usually taught by specialists at smaller schools and professors at bigger state schools. Many schools also have a large turnover rate in Japanese language teachers, so things change a lot. Also, learning the language is largely dependent on how much effort you put in it- I think teachers have a minimal effect, unless you have a really great one or really bad one.</p>
<p>The smaller liberal arts schools and smaller universities do not usually offer a big selection in Japanese culture and literature courses, and some even stop language instruction levels prematurely. So, take that into consideration.</p>
<p>It’s important to study abroad if she wants to become proficient at the language. The best programs are the summer program with Princeton and the international semester program at Nanzan. I would not recommend any Tokyo programs, for a variety of reasons.</p>
<p>The most famous university for Japanese language instruction is, without a doubt, Wisconsin-Madison. The professors there have written many of the most used textbooks for Japanese and are famous in the world of Japanese language instruction. </p>
<p>I’d advise looking at each school individually and seeing what kind of courses they offer in Japanese and Japanese culture. A good place to start would be state schools in the midwest(big 10 schools). Wisconsin and Michigan are both prestigious schools that fit your daughters criteria.</p>
<p>The best Japanese language students I met abroad were from Yale or somewhere in the midwest.</p>
<p>Middlebury is renowned for their languages, and I’m not 100% positive, but I’m pretty sure they have Japanese.</p>
<p>Monterey is known for their languages as well
I went to a language camp over the summer
and it was set up by Middlebury and Monterey</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. My D is specifically interested in the Japanese Language but also has real interest in the culture. Unfortunately, Japanese isn’t offered at her HS. She is in her 4th year of French. She has taken Japanese on her own at a Saturday school and has studied online. She is learning the spoken and written language. She is a very motivated student with an UW GPA of 4.0. She definitely has plans to study abroad.</p>
<p>look at SUNY-Albany</p>
<p>what about Georgetown</p>
<p>Georgetown! One of my good friends is taking Japanese and has amazing things to say about our department. We offer a Japanese major and the economics department here is also great.</p>
<p>Well, my recommendation is to have your daughter look at the course lists for each respective university. You’re not likely to find out about the quality of Japanese language instruction at each respective university… most will be about the same anyways.</p>
<p>Just make sure that:
- the 1st and 2nd years of language instruction are 5 days a week(this is very important)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>they offer levels past 3rd year or 4th year, if your daughter plans on becoming proficient.</p></li>
<li><p>Find out about study abroad programs. The best program for learning the Japanese language is Nanzan University in Nagoya. If the university has a partnership with Nanzan, that is a big plus. A lot of people go to Nanzan through a third party(if their university doesn’t have a partnerhsip), but it’s a bigger pain to do it this way. Other programs like sophia and wasaeda, I hear, are disorganized, and since they’re in Tokyo… students have a lot of fun but don’t learn the language as well.</p></li>
<li><p>Check out the course listings for Japanese culture classes. If they have a lot of offerings, that’s a good sign.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck in your search!</p>
<p>The University of Pennsylvania is good not just at Japanese language, but in broader fields of Japanese culture, economics, political and social studies… Super kawaii!</p>
<p>My son also has an interest in Asian studies and Japanese culture. One of the schools he has applied to is Willamette University in Oregon. Apparently the school has established what they call “Centers for Excellence,” which are intended to offer students research and internship opportunities. One of these is the Center for Asian Studies. The university also has a sister school relationship with Tokyo International University of America, which maintains a branch campus adjacent to Willamette, allowing for cross-listing of classes and opportunity to study in Japan, as well.</p>
<p>Georgetown is generally considered excellent for languages (graduates from the Walsh school have to be near fluent).</p>
<p>Thanks again for all of the replies. She is very interested in Georgetown. We did visit there and she even sat in on a Japanese class. From what I have been reading here on CC, they seem to be almost as competetitive as the ivy schools. She has also visited Penn (very close to home). Anyone know anything about George Washington’s program?</p>
<p>I’ve met GWU and Georgetown Japanese majors. This is just anecdotal information, but they were pretty average in their Japanese proficiency. The students who were really impressive were from Yale and Wisconsin; I’m guessing this had more to do with the program than the individual students, because all 10 or so from each school I met in Japan were very, very good.</p>
<p>Georgetown does seem to have a very good selection in Japanese culture courses, however.</p>