Japanese

College of Arts and Sciences

The Department of Asian Languages and Literature offers an undergraduate major and minor in Japanese, through which students develop their ability to read, write and speak Japanese and gain an understanding and appreciation of the literature, linguistics and culture associated with the language. A popular option for many undergraduates at the UW is to combine a major in Japanese with a second major from another department, such as Computer Science, Business Administration or Global and Regional Studies. Graduates of the Department go on to a wide variety of career fields such as health care, technology, government, entertainment, education, marketing and business, reflecting the indispensability of knowledge of Asian languages and cultures in our increasingly interconnected world.

Major category: Minimum requirements

Minor available

Curricular options: Linguistics, Literature

Topic: Arts

Applicant type

Freshman

Freshmen can apply to the UW to begin autumn quarter or winter quarter (U.S. applicants only)

Read more about applying to the UW as a freshman, including details for programs that provide high school students with college credit (like Running Start).


Transfer

Preparation for the major is a factor in transfer admission. Use the information below to help you prepare for this degree

Department admission information

  • You must enroll at the UW before applying to this major. Please contact the department for additional details.

This major has minimum admission requirements. Transfer students must be enrolled at the UW before applying to the major.

Minimum of 2.5 cumulative GPA is required.

A student entering the junior year without two years of the appropriate foreign language will not be able to complete the degree requirements in two years unless he or she takes accelerated courses at the UW during summer quarter.

Courses required for the major:

  • 20 credits in the language of primary concentration
  • One writing (W-prefix) course in English, with minimum grade of 2.0

Entering transfer information:

Total undergraduates: 45
Total from Washington community colleges: 15

Entering transfer GPA (from WA community colleges):

3.75 – 4.00: 9
3.50 – 3.74: 2
3.25 – 3.49: 2
3.00 – 3.24: 2
2.75 – 2.99: 0
2.50 – 2.74: 0
2.49 and below: 0



Career outcomes