DePaul University offers a major and a minor in Japanese Studies and a minor in Japanese Language. The Japanese Studies program is an interdisciplinary program, focusing on Japanese language, literature, history, art, religions, culture, political science or business. Faculty members are specialists in various fields of Japanese Studies.
DePaul University is an ideal urban site to learn the Japanese language and culture with a variety of courses, an excellent exchange program, and various cultural activities.
Major and Minor Programs
Major in Japanese Studies (13 courses total)
Minor in Japanese Studies (5 courses total)
Minor in Japanese Language (5 courses total)
To see courses in Japanese language and literature offered through the Department of Modern Languages, select "Courses" from the top menu.
The following departments also offer these courses for the Japanese Studies program:
Our exchange program gives you a great opportunity to stay and study in Japan for one quarter during autumn, at Kansai Gaidai (Kansai Foreign Language University), located in Osaka, Japan. Orientations are organized during winter and spring quarters to introduce and discuss the program. Scholarships are available. For more information, contact the Study Abroad Office (choose "Study Abroad" from bottom menu).
Library Resources
You can find a variety of Japanese magazines, books, dictionaries and movies/videos in Richardson Library on the Lincoln Park campus. The two most popular magazines for learners of Japanese, Mangajin and Nihongo Journal (with audio tapes) are available there.
To search for Japan-related books, magazines and videos, use the .
Selected Japanese Materials Available at DePaul LPC Library
Conversation Partners
The Japanese Conversation Partner Program gives DePaul students an opportunity to interact with Japanese foreign students (native speakers of Japanese). Each student is assigned a Japanese foreign student conversation partner and gets together on an individual basis outside of class.
To Japanese international students at DePaul
If you are a native Japanese speaker and interested in participating in our conversation partner program (as a native speaeker of Japanese), please download and return our application form.
Japan Club
A student organization, Japan Club, organizes events and activities to promote understanding and interaction between American students and Japanese international students. For more information, send a message to Ms. Kay IP.
Activities
Many other activities and events are organized, including visits to Japanese companies in Chicago, summer internships, lectures and Japanese Movie Nights, etc. Check Japan Club web site, too.
Projects and Events
Discover Chicago!
Advanced students in Japanese have initiated their own web site in Japanese, Discover Chicago. The site offers interesting information and ideas about Chicago and DePaul University.
Java Kanji Flashcard 500
The Java Kanji Flashcard 500 is a web kanji reference/practice program developed at DePaul University with the support from the Japan Foundation and DePaul QIC grants. The program is designed based on the first 500 high frequency kanji characters. For more information, visit our demo version web site Java Kanji Flashcard 500 or read Shinbun Denshi Media no Kanji
Japanese E-mail Project
DePaul students of Japanese have been exchanging Japanese e-mail with native Japanese college/grad students in Nagoya University, using Eudora-J in Mac computers.
The 50th Japan America Student Conference (JASC)
DePaul University hosted the 50th Japan America Student Conference (JASC) in the summer of 1998 as one of the three US institutes. The JASC is a 64 year-old non-profit, educational and cultural exchange program for university students from the US and Japan. Each year (except during World War II), 60-80 American and Japanese college students from different universities participate and discuss a variety of issues about Japan and the US, such as economic development, human rights, environment, mass media, etc. The conference is organized and managed by the students and the participants spend a month living, studying and traveling together in the US or Japan (see the attached JASC information). Many alumni of the JASC have become distinguished members of business, academic and governmental organizations in their respective societies. Kiichi Miyazawa, as one example, became to Prime Minister of Japan, after having participated in the 1939 and 1949 JASC Conference. For general information email JASC
Computer Resources
We use computers extensively in Japanese language instruction, especially in advanced courses. Word-processing and instructional programs are available on Mac/PC computers at SAC Computer Lab and McGaw Language Lab in Lincoln Park Campus.
In our Japanese e-mail exchange project, each student is assigned a corresponding Japanese college student in Japan and exchange messages in Japanese regularly. Articles about the e-mailproject have been featured in the Chicago Sun Times newspaper, DePaul Newsline and Nichi-Bei Journal.
Useful WWW sites & Newsgroups for Japanese Instruction
Mailing Lists
To subscribe to an electronic mailing list, send mail to the mailserver address with no subject and the words "SUBSCRIBE (your name)" in the body of the message. You will receive instructions by email from the mailing list server.