Why Study Japanese?

Japan is the:

• 2nd largest economic superpower 
• 3rd largest U.S. trading partner after Canada and Mexico 
• 2nd largest consumer market 
• 10th most populous country in the world

Japan is home to:

• the most famous animation, graphic artists, computer games 
• traditional and modern martial arts 
• the world’s first novel written in the 10th century 
• 1,000 year old classical theatre tradition 
• calligraphy, wood-block prints, origami 
• digital consumer goods
• the most nutritious diet and longest longevity

What will you Study?

To minor in Japanese, students study two courses at the Intermediate level and four courses at the Advanced level, one of which is taught in English. The capstone is an independent study where students fuse their major and minor by creating puppet plays with local elementary schools, video production, websites, manga, animation, language learning software, research papers on comparative finance, media, calligraphy, etc.

Japanese Courses
Japanese Language courses up to Advanced Level:

• JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Prep
• Studies in Japanese Language
• Summer Intensive Immersion

Content courses:

• Anime in Japanese Pop Culture
• Business and Culture in Japan
• Japanese Film and Drama
• Japanese Civilization and Culture

Our Teaching Philosophy

• revel in the diversity of our students 
• extract the potential of each student 
• use various teaching styles to insure the success of our students 
• dedicate ourselves to openness to questions and issues 
• compare our cultures with student cultures so we all develop a deeper understanding of ourselves and others
• create a family-like environment to motivate each other

Study Abroad in Japan

In the last 10 years, over 100 UNC Charlotte students have studied at 5 Japanese universities which made exchange agreement of study abroad students with UNC Charlotte and 5 other different universities in Japan. They have received approximately $400,000 in scholarships to make their dreams come true. 

What do our Minors Major In?

Japanese minors are well-rounded. Just some of their majors take them all over campus:

• International Studies • Animation
• International Finance • Biology
• Graphic Design • English
• Religious Studies • German
• Anthropology • Spanish
• Criminal Justice • Sociology
• Accounting • Architecture
• Computer Science • History
• International Business • MIS

Messages from our Minors

• Japanese is a visual language which makes it great for art majors! The pottery of ancient Japan is one of the oldest in the world. Fans of pop culture should definitely check out Japanese.
  --Talia, Junior, Art Major Charlotte Independence H.S.
• Learning Japanese is the best way to understand international trends. Japan is a leading country in the world. It also reflects the thinking of Korea and China.
  --Hyung-il, Senior, Computer Science Major, Seoul, Korea
• There are fun classes, and it’s not hard, either. Anyone who is interested in Japan should take these courses.
  --Erica, Sophomore, Business Major, Morris Catholic H.S., N.J.
• I’ve been interested in Japan since I was little. I love these classes. After I started to learn Japanese, I wanted to learn more and more. The teachers are great. The classes are fun and interesting.
  --Angel, Sophomore, Graphic Design major, Concord H.S., N.C.
• Japanese is great to take because it is fun and enjoyable. I was interested in non-European cultures. Learning their language is a great insight into their culture.
  --Steve, Junior, Computer Science Major, Pennsylvania

For more information, contact:
Japanese staff
Department of Languages and Culture Studies
UNC Charlotte
9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223
Ph: (704) 687-8782