Many newly dedicated learners of Japanese (those who want to go beyond a passing interest) often want to earn a formal degree in the Japanese Language. Some who are returning from time in Japan are looking for Master’s or Doctoral programs. Where are these programs? In this post I’ll show you how to access the Japan Foundation’s world wide survey results for Japanese courses.
When I was a newly inspired learner, I wanted to attend a college that had a Japanese language program, however my parents restricted me to attending a college within my home state of Nebraska. My freshman year at Nebraska Wesleyan University was the first year the institution offered a Japanese Language course and eventually a minor. My high school counselor knew my passion for the Japanese language and she facilitated the introduction to the NWU campus recruiter. I was fortunate to be one of three freshmen allowed into the program that initial year as it had been set aside for upperclassmen only.
How many schools have Japanese language programs?
The Japan Foundation is a Japanese government sponsored agency through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that is dedicated to building and developing friendship and mutual understanding between Japan and the world. It sponsors many events and programs for the arts and cultural exchange, Japanese language education, and research. In the fall of 2021 it released the results of its Survey Report on Japanese-Language Education Abroad 2018.(Copyright Japan Foundation). This report lists MOST of the Japanese language education programs known around the world. There are some programs that were not included in the survey due to various reasons. So while this is an amazing resource, it may not have 100% of the world institutions teaching Japanese…. but it is close.
Some Search Results of formal Japanese Language Programs:
High Schools Teaching Japanese
Australia: 1 see note below
Canada: 55
UK:93
US: 572
Colleges with Japanese Courses
Australia: 26
Canada: 45
UK: 49
US: 568
Japanese Teacher Programs
Australia: 10
Canada: 2
UK: 2
US: 52
Colleges with Japanese Majors
Australia: 20
Canada: 55
UK: 15
US: 572
Universities with MA in Japanese
Australia: 6
Canada: 7
UK: 10
US: 55
Universities with PhD in Japanese
Australia: 6
Canada: 3
UK: 10
US: 28
*I do not agree with this statistic for Australia. With over 1000 primary school and over 700 middle schools teaching Japanese, the number of HS teaching Japanese is much higher. However the only school listed is the International School of Japanese. There must be a reason for this reporting but I’m not sure what it is
Where do you get the list Japanese language programs?
To use the Survey Report on Japanese-Language Education Abroad 2018:
- Select the country/countries you want to study in. You can even narrow this by state/province and city.
- Select the educational level and type of program
- You can narrow your search further by selecting only programs with native teachers, or by the type of degree.
The search results page will provide you with the institution, department name, contact information and more.
You can export your search results to excel to make collecting your school data easier.
If you found this information helpful in your search for a language program, please leave a comment below and subscribe for more tips on Japanese language learning strategies. Please share this post with friends who are also looking for language programs.
Created by editing the “Survey Report on Japanese–Language Education Abroad”(the Japan Foundation)
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