Future Students

Japanese

Japan is one of Australia's largest trading partners and many of our graduates travel and work in Japan. UWA's Japanese language program caters for beginners and for students who have studied Japanese to TEE level or equivalent. If you enrol in Japanese you will have the opportunity to do your third level of language study in Japan for credit to your degree.

UWA has exchange agreements with the Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Himeji Dokkyo University in Hyogo, and Sophia University in Tokyo.

You can study Japanese within the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) or the Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies). This includes combined courses which include these degrees. (Note that students who are native-speakers of Japanese, or who have had a substantial part of their education in Japanese, are not currently admitted to the Japanese program.)

It is possible to study a Diploma of Modern Languages concurrently with UWA undergraduate courses that do not otherwise allow language study. If you would like to study a Diploma of Modern Languages you must meet the University’s entry requirements for the degree you plan to study. After being admitted to the Faculty concerned you may then apply to the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences for entry to the Diploma with the approval of your home Faculty.

The Japanese program offers a Japanese major as well as a fourth-year honours program. Japanese is taught in two streams, one for beginners and the other for those who have done TEE Japanese (Second Language) or equivalent.

Beginner’s level units cover basic language and communication skills with reference to everyday situations in Japan such as greetings, self-introduction, hobbies, and eating out.

Intermediate level units cover more advanced language skills including letter writing, comprehending basic texts and expressing ideas about familiar social topics.

Advanced and Specialist level units allow you to develop a wide range of language skills including translation in the context of contemporary social and cultural issues.

Students of Japanese are strongly encouraged to enrol in units on Japanese culture and society offered by Asian Studies. These units deal with such topics as contemporary social and cultural issues as well as Japan’s relations with the Asia Pacific region. Additional units on the Japanese economy and Japanese economic history are available in the Business School.

Career opportunities

Graduates of the Japanese program at UWA have been much in demand, particularly those with in-country experience. Recent job offers include federal and state government departments and a wide range of organisations in private industry as well as community organisations. The combination of Japanese with a major in a discipline (such as anthropology, economics, geography, history, industrial relations and politics) is becoming particularly attractive to employers.