MPhil in Japanese Studies

University of Oxford

About the course

The MPhil in Japanese Studies is a two-year programme offered jointly by the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) and the Faculty of Oriental Studies that combines intensive language courses, three courses about Japan, research methods courses and a 30,000-word dissertation. Native speakers of Japanese take two additional courses about Japan.

The MPhil in Japanese Studies is designed as a two-year, six-term taught programme that comprises advanced research training focusing on developing language skills and on deepening your understanding of contemporary Japan.

It acts either as a foundation for those intending to seek employment working in Japan or with Japan, or as a preparation for further research on Japan on a doctoral programme at Oxford or elsewhere. It is taught by full-time members of the Nissan and Oriental Institutes and all the courses are designed for master's-level students.

The department does not teach Japanese for beginners but rather aims to develop your existing language skill to the level at which you can use it to conduct research about Japan. The department's courses aim to take you from a minimum of JLPT Level 3 up to and beyond Level 1.

Assessment

A range of assessment methods is used.

the research methods course is assessed on the basis of projects and tasks set in the course of teaching;
the language course is assessed through a combination of tests and quizzes set during the year and a final examination;
the courses about Japan are assessed by a three-hour written examination in English in the chosen subjects; and
a thesis of 30,000 words.

Progression to the second year is conditional on satisfactory performance in the first year.

Graduate destinations

There are three typical career courses that the department’s graduates pursue. The first is further study on discipline-based graduate programmes either in Oxford, elsewhere in the UK or overseas, including the US and Japan.

The second career pattern of the department’s graduates is to work in Japan or with Japanese employers. Recent examples include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Fuso (Daimler Trucks) and Mitsui-Sumitomo Bank. Not only Japanese native speakers but also non-native-speaker graduates obtain employment in Japan or with Japanese companies outside Japan, making full use of their enhanced Japanese language skills and social science knowledge of Japan.