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UW–Madison offers M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Japanese, specializing either in linguistics or in literature and culture. The program provides broad foundations and focused training in these two specialties, assuring that our graduates are amply prepared to teach and conduct research.

The linguistics specialty excels in areas such as functional linguistics, pragmatics, discourse/conversation analysis, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and language pedagogy.

The literature and culture specialty covers the classical Heian through contemporary Reiwa periods, offering a wide range of courses on fiction, poetry, drama, popular culture, visual culture, cinema, acoustic culture, and cutting-edge cross-media and avant-garde topics, particularly manga and anime.

The Japanese Program is housed in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures (ALC), along with the Chinese Program and the Asian Languages and Cultures Program. As such, students will have opportunities to interact with all faculty, staff, and graduate students affiliated with the department to examine their area of specialty in broader regional and disciplinary contexts.

Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.

Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.

Fall Deadline January 10
Spring Deadline This program does not admit in the spring.
Summer Deadline This program does not admit in the summer.
GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) Not Required.
English Proficiency Test Every applicant whose native language is not English or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English must provide an English proficiency test score and meet the Graduate School minimum requirements (https://grad.wisc.edu/apply/requirements/#english-proficiency).
Other Test(s) (e.g., GMAT, MCAT) n/a
Letters of Recommendation Required 3

Thank you for your interest in our programs. The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures (ALC) offers a graduate program in Asian Languages and CulturesChinese and Japanese.

Prior to submitting application and materials, applicants should carefully review the information regarding the program of interest and the faculty’s expertise to determine the fit between their interest and the program. To this extent, prospective applicants may contact a specific faculty to discuss their research interest prior to submitting applications.

Applicants should also review the Graduate School's admission process, Graduate School's minimum requirements, and program requirements and information prior to submitting the online application and fee. The application fee cannot be waived or refunded.

Deadlines

In order to be considered for fellowships, project assistantships, and teaching assistantships, all application materials must be in by January 10.

If you do not need any funding support, you may submit applications by April 15.

Application Process

New applicants to UW-Madison apply to programs through the Graduate School application process. Complete the online Graduate application and select the Asian Languages and Cultures (major code 596) or Chinese (major code 171) or Japanese (major code 583) program. 

If you are a currently enrolled UW-Madison graduate student and would like to add or change your current graduate program to Asian Languages and Cultures, Chinese, or Japanese, you do not need to fill out the online application. You will need to submit the following to the ALC Graduate Program Coordinator:

The applications from current UW–Madison graduate students will be reviewed every spring, together with new applications submitted.

Graduate School Resources

Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Graduate Student Costs

For tuition and living costs, please view the Cost of Attendance pageInternational applicants recommended for admission to the Graduate School are required to show sufficient funds to attend the University during the course of studies (tuition, food and housing, incidentals and health insurance) to be officially accepted by the Graduate School.

Department Resources

The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures offers financial assistance in the forms of fellowships, teaching assistantships (TAships), and project assistantships (PAships). Please make note of the deadline of January 10 for financial assistance consideration. All necessary materials including test scores must be submitted by the deadline.

If you are an international applicant and receive a fellowship, PAship or TAship, please make note that you will likely be required to show additional financial documentation to meet the minimum required for your official acceptance to the Graduate School.

Other awards & Fellowships

  • Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships: FLAS fellowships are funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the UW's National Resource Centers to assist students in acquiring foreign language and either area or international studies competencies. FLAS awards are only available for specific languages and are contingent on federal funding.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Applications by students in professional fields are encouraged. Preference will be given to applicants with a high level of academic ability and with previous language training.

Academic Year and Summer FLAS awards are two separate competitions requiring two separate and complete applications.

Complete details about FLAS at UW-Madison are available on the FLAS FAQs (your first stop) and the FLAS Languages & Coordinators pages (should you have additional questions).

  • Advanced Opportunity Fellowship (AOF): This fellowship is awarded to highly qualified underrepresented students. To be considered for AOF funding, prospective students must be new to the Graduate School and be admissible to a graduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  For further information: https://grad.wisc.edu/diversity/.
  • Project Assistantships. Availability of PAship vary from one year to another, depending on the types of projects the departmental faculty are engaged in. PAs assist faculty members’ research projects and/or respond to some programmatic needs of the department and other campus units.
  • Teaching Assistantships. Availability and types of TAship vary from one year to another, depending on the department’s curricular needs and the student enrollment. TAs will support a number of our language and culture courses, typically team-teaching with faculty members. If you are interested in being a teaching assistant in our language programs, you must submit the TA application and necessary materials (1-2 page written autobiography that refers to your prior teaching experience, letter of recommendation that speaks to your teaching experience, video recording of your teaching, if available) through the Graduate School application system by January 10.
  • Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) Awards Office: IRIS manages its own funding opportunities (Scott Kloeck-Jenson Fellowships, IRIS Graduate Fieldwork Awards, Incubator Grants), coordinates the campus component of a number of external programs (Boren Fellowships, Fulbright US Student Program, Fulbright-Hays DDRA, Luce Scholars Program), assists students, faculty, and staff in exploring funding options, and much more. Visit: https://iris.wisc.edu/funding/ for more information on awards. Contact Mark Lilleleht, Assistant Director for Awards, with questions at awards@iris.wisc.edu & 608-265-6070.
  • Other Forms of Financial Aid: Loans and some on-campus job openings are handled through the Office of Student Financial Aid. Please contact them to obtain more information.
  • Students may also obtain information from the Grants Information Center in the Memorial Library, Room 262, 728 State Street, Madison, WI 53706. Phone 608-262-3242.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements, in addition to the program requirements listed below.

Major Requirements

MODE OF INSTRUCTION

Face to Face Evening/Weekend Online Hybrid Accelerated
Yes No No No No

Mode of Instruction Definitions

Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.

Evening/Weekend: ​Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules.  Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.

Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.

Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats.  Contact the program for more specific information.

Online: These programs are offered 100% online.  Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.

CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Credit Requirement 30 credits
Minimum Residence Credit Requirement 16 credits
Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement 15 credits must be graduate-level coursework. Details can be found in the Graduate School’s Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement Policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244
Overall Graduate GPA Requirement 3.00 GPA required. This program follows the Graduate School's policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1203.
Other Grade Requirements Students must earn a B or above in all coursework taken as a graduate student.
Assessments and Examinations Japanese linguistics students are required to pass two in-class exams on Japanese Pedagogy and Japanese Linguistics; and to successfully deliver an M.A. project presentation based on a research project or a pedagogy-oriented project.

For Japanese literature/culture students, a final examination is required.
Language Requirements Advanced proficiency in modern Japanese is required.

Required COURSES

Linguistics Pathways1

Required Courses:
ASIAN 434 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics3
ASIAN 713 Teaching of Japanese as a Foreign Language3
or ASIAN 700 Teaching Asian Languages
ASIAN 775 Japanese Applied Linguistics (Repeatable)3
Additional Credits (Within ALC)9-21
The following is a list of recommended courses. Other courses may be chosen in consultation with your advisor.
Topics in Asian Studies
Lovers, Warriors and Monks: Survey of Japanese Literature
Early Modern Japanese Literature
Modern Japanese Literature
Love and Politics: The Tale of Genji
Haiku
Manga
Anime
Readings in Early Modern Japanese Literature
Readings in Modern Japanese Literature
Readings in Classical Japanese Literature
Japanese Applied Linguistics
Directed Study
Additional Credits (Outside of ALC)0-12
The following is a list of recommended courses. Other courses may be chosen in consultation with your advisor.
Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical 2
Second Language Acquisition
Language, Race, and Identity
Introduction to TESOL Methods
Topics in English Language and Linguistics
Research Methods in Applied Linguistics
Issues in Methods of Teaching French and Italian
Topics in Applied Linguistics
Contemporary Issues in Applied Spanish Linguistics
Total Credits30
1

These pathways are internal to the program and represent different curricular paths a student can follow to earn this degree. Pathway names do not appear in the Graduate School admissions application, and they will not appear on the transcript.

 
2

If you do not have sufficient linguistics background, you are encouraged to take LINGUIS/​ANTHRO  301 Introduction to Linguistics: Descriptive and Theoretical during your first semester.

  • If you had not satisfied the prerequisites for the M.A. program (the equivalent of our undergraduate major degree (http://guide.wisc.edu/undergraduate/letters-science/asian-languages-cultures/japanese-ba/#requirementstextprior to your enrollment, you need to satisfy this requirement by taking appropriate level of language courses.
  • Consult the co-advisors every semester regarding the registration of courses in the following semester. 
  • Most students take four semesters to complete the course work necessary for the MA degree, and officially earn the degree in the following summer (an exception to this schedule may be considered on a case-by-case basis).

Literature Pathway1

Japanese literature/culture students must take three graduate courses (numbered 500 or above) in literature/culture, including at least one course numbered 700 or above.

Required Courses:
ASIAN 533 Readings in Early Modern Japanese Literature3
ASIAN 563 Readings in Modern Japanese Literature3
ASIAN 573 Readings in Classical Japanese Literature3
ASIAN 763 Studies in Japanese Literature (Seminar in Japanese Literature)3
ASIAN 833 Topics in East Asian Visual Cultures3
Additional Credits (Within ALC)9-15
The following is a list of recommended courses. Other courses may be chosen in consultation with your advisor.
Topics in Asian Studies
Lovers, Warriors and Monks: Survey of Japanese Literature
Early Modern Japanese Literature
Modern Japanese Literature
Love and Politics: The Tale of Genji
Haiku
Manga
Anime
Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
Readings in Early Modern Japanese Literature
Readings in Modern Japanese Literature
Readings in Classical Japanese Literature
Teaching of Japanese as a Foreign Language
Teaching Asian Languages
Studies in Japanese Literature
Japanese Applied Linguistics
Topics in East Asian Visual Cultures
Directed Study
Additional Credits (Outside of ALC)0-6
The following is a list of recommended courses. Other courses may be chosen in consultation with your advisor.
Arts of Japan
Later Japanese Painting and Woodblock Prints
Topics in Asian Art
Japanese Ceramics and Allied Arts
Art and Religious Practice in Medieval Japan
Historiography, Theory and Methods in Visual Culture
East Asia & The U.S. Since 1899
Samurai: History and Image
Pearl Harbor & Hiroshima: Japan, the US & The Crisis in Asia
Seminar in Japanese History
Total Credits30
1

These pathways are internal to the program and represent different curricular paths a student can follow to earn this degree. Pathway names do not appear in the Graduate School admissions application, and they will not appear on the transcript.

 

Graduate School Policies

The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures provide essential information regarding general university policies. Program authority to set degree policies beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School lies with the degree program faculty. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.

Major-Specific Policies

Prior Coursework

Graduate Work from Other Institutions

With program approval, students are allowed to count no more than 9 credits of graduate coursework from other institutions. Coursework earned five or more years prior to admission to a master’s degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.

UW–Madison Undergraduate

This program follows the Graduate School's policy for Satisfying Requirements with Coursework from Undergraduate Career at UW–Madison.

UW–Madison University Special

With program approval, students are allowed to count no more than 9 credits of graduate coursework (as defined above) taken as a UW–Madison Special student. Coursework earned five or more years prior to admission to a master’s degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.

Probation

If a student’s average falls below 3.0 in a given semester, the department will decide whether the student may continue on probation. A specific plan will be arranged with dates and deadlines in place in regard to removal of probationary status.

ADVISOR / COMMITTEE

Starting fall 2018, all students are required to have two co-advisors, identified at the time of admissions. During the course of study, students meet regularly with their advisors to ensure satisfactory progress.

CREDITS PER TERM ALLOWED

15 credits

Time Limits

The maximum time for completing all M.A. requirements and passing the M.A. examination is three years.

Master’s degree students who are absent for five or more years will not be given credit for prior work.

Grievances and Appeals

These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:

Students should contact the department chair or program director with questions about grievances. They may also contact the L&S Academic Divisional Associate Deans, the L&S Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning Administration, or the L&S Director of Human Resources.

Other

The program offers limited financial assistance in the form of fellowships and teaching assistantships to candidates who are highly qualified. Applicants should consult the program website for selection criteria and application materials for assistantships.

Graduate School Resources

Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career. 

Program resources

Throughout the academic year, professional development trainings, workshops, and graduate student-organized activities take place. The Director of Graduate Studies is eager to hear from students about what interests they have for such events. 

GRADUATE SCHOOL Office of PRofessional Development

The Graduate School Office of Professional Development (OPD) coordinates, develops, and promotes learning opportunities to foster the academic, professional, and life skills of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers and scholars.

Professional development topics include Individual Development Plans, communication, mentoring, grant writing, dissertation writing, career exploration, job search strategies, and more. OPD collaborates with the Writing Center, Libraries, DoIT Software Training for Students, Delta, career centers, and others to provide a wealth of resources and events tailored to the needs of UW–Madison graduate students.

The office developed and maintains DiscoverPD, an innovative tool for UW–Madison graduate students to advance their academic and professional goals. DiscoverPD introduces nine areas (or "facets") of professional development, includes a self-assessment, and provides a customized report of areas of strength and weakness. The report comes with recommendations to help graduate students strengthen their ability within each area.

More information on campus resources for student professional development is available at Graduate Student Professional Development. Students may keep up-to-date by reading GradConnections, the weekly newsletter for graduate students, and bookmarking the Events Calendar to keep tabs on upcoming workshops of interest.

  1. Demonstrate understanding of the primary field(s) of study in a historical, comparative, and global context.
  2. Formulate ideas, concepts, designs, and/or techniques beyond the current boundaries of knowledge within the specialized field(s).
  3. Create scholarship and advance knowledge that makes a substantive contribution to the field(s).
  4. Articulate and communicate complex ideas in a clear and understandable manner to both specialized and general audience.
  5. Recognize, apply, and foster ethical and professional conduct.

Faculty & staff

Please visit the Asian Languages & Cultures website for a complete list of faculty, instructional, and academic staff.