Japanese Studies is an interdisciplinary field that includes the study of the language, culture, literature, and arts of Japan. Knowledge of Japanese culture and language is important in fields and academic disciplines such as philosophy, history, technology and news media, the arts, business, international cuisine, and tourism.
Our language courses are designed not only to develop language skills, but also to increase understanding of Japanese culture while enhancing communication skills. First-year and second-year courses aim at developing basic reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills as well as cultural awareness. The third-and fourth-year Japanese courses focus more on the development of communicative and intercultural competence.
What Japanese Studies Did for Me?
“I am originally from Elkhart, Indiana, but I moved from IUSB to IUPUI at the start of my sophomore year. I started taking Japanese classes in 2013 and I was lucky enough to study abroad at Hakuoh University in 2016. My favorite course that I took while I was a student at IUPUI has to be Japanese Translation Seminar. It was awesome to help others with their translations and hear everyone’s opinions on my own translations. The theory and techniques I learned in that class come in handy every day I work.
I work for Sunright America, we are a Toyota parts supplier that makes automotive fasteners (Nuts and bolts). My main job is to translate and interpret for the president of the company as well as the advisors from our parent company in Japan. However, I’m also in charge of tooling management, oil trials, and tooling trials for our 55 cold-forging machines. I’m very grateful to IUPUI’s Japanese program for helping to prepare me for my career after graduation. If you have a passion for learning Japanese and want to use it in your career after college, I highly recommend sticking with it and get an individualized major in Japanese! There are tons of Japanese companies around the world that are looking for native English speakers that can understand the Japanese language and culture. Good luck in your studies everybody! 頑張ってください！”
— Jake Nuzzi, ’16 B.A. Individualized Major in Japanese Studies
