Undergraduate Japanese Studies

Near the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing, Aoyama Gakuin University is a private university founded in 1949 with ~19,000 students. There are 2 campuses - Aoyama (main) Campus in Tokyo and Sagamihara Campus in Fuchinobe, Kanagawa. Aoyama has 7 departments in humanities, social sciences, business, communications, and creative studies. Sagamihara has 3 departments in science and engineering, social informatics, global studies and collaboration.

Located between Shinjuku City and the Imperial Palace, Sophia University is a private, research university of ~12,000 undergraduates founded by the Jesuits in 1912 as the first Catholic university in Japan. Students from beginner to advanced can study Japanese, choosing between the intensive track (8 hours) or non-intensive track (4 hours) of Japanese. They complete the 12 hour minimum requirement by adding courses in English from a wide range of choices. 

Waseda University has a main campus located in Shinjuku City, home to a large entertainment, business and shopping area in the heart of Tokyo. This private research university was founded in 1882 and has nearly 40,000 undergraduate students. Students can study a wide range of topics in addition to Japanese, including art history, Asian Studies, business, history, international relations, international studies, Japanese, political science, religion/theology, and sociology.

Hirakata is a city of nearly 400,000 between Osaka and Kyoto. It is located on the Yodo River and is a train ride to many interesting destinations. Kansai Gaidai University has 11,000 students and is a private university founded 1945 with a strength in foreign language studies. It is particularly known for its Asian Studies program; sstudents participating in the Asian Studies program during the spring semester can apply for Kansai Gaidai Internship Program (KGIP) for the summer. 

Just over 2 hours by bullet train from Tokyo, Kyoto is a city of 1.4 million that is considered the cultural capital of Japan with many temples, shrines, palaces, and gardens designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Ritsumeikan University's main campus was founded in 1869 and has 17,000 undergraduates. This liberal arts-oriented campus has strengths in social sciences and natural sciences, engineering. Students can enroll in a summer program or traditional exchange for a semester or year.

Osaka is a port city and commercial center of Honshu island with about 2.7 million citizens. The 16th century Osaka Castle is found alongside modern architecture and fun nightlife along the Dōtonbori canal. The "Kitchen of Japan” has many street-food areas. A private liberal arts university of 5,000 students, Osaka Gakuin University offers five different levels of Japanese languages classes. The university focuses on law, economics, and international studies, but still provides a wide array of other subjects for study in English and Japanese.