School of EducationWaseda University

Overview

The Department of Japanese Language and Literature aims to train junior high school and senior high school Japanese teachers with a high level of knowledge of Japanese language and literature and a rich humanity, and to foster human resources capable of working in multiple fields throughout society.  In order to achieve these goals, the Department offers a variety of specialist courses in Japanese language and literature (covering the Jodai Period, Chuko Period, medieval, early modern, modern and contemporary periods) and Japanese language teaching courses. To supplement these courses, the Department also offers courses that aim to provide basic skills in classical Chinese literature, and basic courses in Japanese language education.  By allowing students to sit a diverse range of specialist courses from the first year in the fields of Japanese literature, Japanese language and Chinese literature, the curriculum is designed to allow a high level of specialization at an early stage.

Graduates go on to work in a variety of different careers, including as junior high school and senior high school teachers, librarians and museum curators, as well as a variety of different roles in industry, including mass media, such as newspapers, broadcasters and publishing houses.  Many students also aim to become researchers and specialists and go on to study at Waseda University’s graduate schools (including the Graduate School of Education, Graduate School of Teacher Education, Graduate School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and the Graduate School of Japanese Applied Linguistics).

Please see the Department of Japanese Language and Literature website for more details.

Characteristics

• There is an outstanding lineup of teaching staff, covering all periods and fields.
• A wide variety of students’ interests is catered to thanks to the diverse curriculum design.
• Excellent instruction and advice can be expected no matter what theme is selected for the fourth year graduation thesis.
• The well-developed curriculum caters to a wide variety of students’ interests.
• High value is given to creating opportunities for inter-student and student-teacher communication.