Japanese Studies
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Japanese is a complex and fascinating language through which you can access and comprehend the rich culture of a country that plays a considerable role in the international community, and that constitutes the world’s third largest economy. Japanese Studies at Cambridge brings together a vibrant community of students, graduate students and scholars. Your instructors are internationally distinguished in their fields and care deeply about delivering the best possible education tailored to you as individuals.
By choosing to pursue Japanese Studies with us at Cambridge, you will:
- master the Japanese language to an advanced level rarely offered in other centres of higher education
- develop in-depth understanding of Japan within the wider East Asian region
- develop transferable skills that are highly sought-after by employers and lead to a successful career
Most of all, our Japanese Studies programme teaches you to think innovatively and develop the flexibility to relate to diverse cultures, both necessary skills for becoming an invaluable asset in the world.
Required subjects for entry
We welcome students from a wide range of backgrounds.
No previous knowledge of Japanese is required to study with us.
We do not require any specific subject at A-level. Many of our students join our programme having studied languages at A-level but others join with all STEM subjects. But make sure that language learning is for you, as it forms an important part of your training in Japanese Studies. Of course we welcome students who have studied Japanese at GCSE and at A-Levels. But this is by no means a requirement.
Our programme is not suitable for native speakers of Japanese.
From 2027-28 we will have an intermediate pathway designed for those with some Japanese. Read more below.
Find out how to apply
In your UCAS application do tell us about your passion for Japan: its language and its culture. Many applicants ask about what they should read. Follow your interests. Read widely. Listen to podcasts. Watch documentaries. All this will inform your interest in Japanese Studies and help you articulate it in your application.
Book recommendations (in the making):
Japanese literature
..more to come
*NEW * Do you already have some Japanese?
Starting in 2027-28, our intermediate pathway in Japanese Studies might be for you!
This is a bespoke pathway designed for students who join our undergraduate programme with a level of Japanese that is above what is expected in the first year, but below what is expected in the second year.
You may have studied Japanese at A-level. You may have studied it on your own. You may be a heritage student with competence in some, but not all, areas of the Japanese language (e.g. conversational Japanese only).
There is no special application for this pathway. You just need to apply through the normal application process. You may wish to indicate in your application why you think this pathway is for you.
In your first week of the first year you will be asked to sit a placement test. This is run by our language teachers. The placement test is designed to assess your skills in writing and speaking Japanese. The results of the placement test will give an indication as to whether this pathway might be the right choice for you.
After the placement test, the language teachers will liaise with you as well as with your Director of Studies and the Undergraduate coordinator to agree on the best way forward for you.
If the intermediate pathway does not suit your level, you will join the standard pathway.
In the first year you will join second-year students in their core language papers while taking a Special Japanese Language Option that is designed especially for the intermediate pathway. Alongside language learning, you will take Introduction with East Asian Studies together with the first-year students.
In the second year you will continue your language learning with a second Special Japanese Language Option and with two terms of classical Japanese. Alongside language learning, you can choose any of the content modules that are available to our second-year students.
In the third year you go to your Year Abroad and in the fourth year you join the fourth-year cohort on the standard pathway, which operates at an advanced level of Japanese.
An overview of our course
Our course (‘Tripos’) is unique for combining intensive and fast-paced study of the Japanese language with the chance to specialise in specific areas of Japan according to your own interests. Lectures and seminars are combined with personalised supervisions to create a catered form of education that empowers each of you as active learners while providing caring support and thoughtful guidance.
First year (Part IA): Gaining solid grounding
The focus in the first year is on language learning. You will devote roughly 75 percent of your time to the study of all aspects of Japanese. By the third term you will have already acquired the skills that will enable you to read real world texts. While developing a solid grounding in the language, you will study Japanese history and culture within the context of the wider East Asian region.
Second year (Part IB): Going deeper and broader
Language classes in the second year take you through intermediate to early-advanced Japanese. Meanwhile you further your studies in a variety of disciplines, including Japanese history, literature, society, politics, visual culture and pre-modern Japanese. You can also choose from cultural papers in Chinese Studies and a cross-departmental paper on East Asian media and popular culture. With the help of your instructors, you will start identifying the area and topic that you wish to research for your undergraduate dissertation.
Third year: Year abroad
You are required to spend at least 8 months in your third year studying Japanese in Japan. This is an excellent opportunity to experience life in Japan first hand, while honing your language skills.
Students normally study at a Japanese University. Several options include:
- Doshisha University (Kyoto)
- Hitotsubashi University (Tokyo)
- Kanazawa University (in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan)
Many students are successful in securing the generous MEXT Undergraduate Scholarship in Japanese Studies, offered by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). This gives you the opportunity to study at other Universities (recent examples include Kyoto University, Keio University, Waseda University, Sophia University, Hokkaido University, Osaka University, among others).
Internships
Our students have access to several exciting and unique internships during the summer vacations and/or during the Year Abroad. These internships offer you invaluable working experience while practicing your Japanese, as well as opportunities to connect with companies that have a genuine interest in hiring our graduates.
Fourth year (Part II): Generating knowledge
Your Japanese is so advanced that you can now read and discuss a variety of sources. Japanese language is still taught with the aim of preparing you for professional Japanese-speaking environments. You can also choose from a range of elective papers through which to gain a deeper understanding of the disciplines that interest you. Your dissertation now comes together in an original piece of writing that opens new horizons in the field of Japanese Studies.
Beyond your time at Cambridge
We keep regular contact with our alumni who have established rewarding careers in a wide range of professions around the world, these include: teaching, translating, interpreting, banking, academia, publicity, journalism, diplomacy, business, popular culture and many, many more.
Combination with Chinese Studies
Under exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the Faculty Board, Japanese Studies can be combined with Chinese Studies. The combination starts after the first two years (Part IA), during which you focus entirely on Japanese Studies. If you are allowed to combine, in the third year you do not go to the Year Abroad in Japan and you start Chinese Studies in Cambridge, joining the first-year cohort. In the fourth and last year you proceed to the study of fourth-year Japanese and continue learning second-year Chinese. At the end of the combination pathway, students acquire intermediate knowledge of their second language while advancing their knowledge of the first language and taking further cultural papers.
