Ph.D./Doctoral Programs (3-Year Doctoral Programs)
Graduate Program in Japanese Language and Culture
Doctoral Course Outline
This course has the ambition of nurturing in individuals a broad knowledge of, understanding of, and insight into Japanese society, culture, and cultural policies. It aims to produce individuals who are qualified to take an active role in Japanese language education on the international stage either as future leaders in Japanese language education and research, or as administrators, policy makers, or specialists.
The course is jointly run by two institutions working together in close collaboration: the Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa (JFJLI), which has a proven track record and instructional expertise in training non-native Japanese language teachers, particularly in Japanese teaching methodology and the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), a graduate-level academic research institution that studies cultural policies, particularly Japanese culture, as part of a general program of policy research. The close collaboration among these two institutions enables them to provide comprehensive and high-level education and research opportunities in Japanese language education and culture.
Course duration is normally three years of full-time study.
| Category | Course Name |
|---|---|
| Ⅰ Practice Courses (Optional Core) |
Seminar on Second Language Acquisition 1-3 |
| Seminar on Japanese Linguistics 1-3 | |
| Seminar on Contrastive Linguistics 1-3 | |
| Seminar on Educational Language Policies 1-3 | |
| Seminar on Sociolinguistics 1-3 | |
| Seminar on Japanese Culture 1-3 | |
| Seminar on Language Education Methodology 1-3 | |
| Seminar on Teacher Education Research 1-3 | |
| Special Study for Dissertation | |
| II Special Research (Core) |
Special Study in Japanese Language Education |
- Each student has an Advisory Committee that oversees his or her research. Each committee comprises three members selected from JFJLI and GRIPS.
- The Advisory Committee provides guidance to the student with regard to the choice of research topics in accordance with the student's research plans, academic record, and experience.
- The Advisory Committee also gives instruction concerning disciplines (both major and minor specializations) on which the student should focus for his or her research project. The Advisory Committee also gives advice on how the studies in these disciplines should be conducted.
- A list of faculty advisors is available at the table below.
Students may be permitted to return to their home country for the purposes of undertaking a long-term internship or conducting field research if the Advisory Committee deems these activities necessary. During their absence, students are required to maintain contact with their academic advisors in order to report the progress of their research and to receive further instructions.
Students must:
a) Earn a minimum of 12 credits through the following.
i) Seminar coursework (minimum 10 credits)
Students are required to study subjects related to their individual research themes, such as second language acquisition, Japanese language, contrastive linguistics, and sociolinguistics.
ii) Special study (2 credits)
After passing a qualifying examination, students are required to take a "Special Study in Japanese Language Education" course as a prerequisite for writing their doctoral thesis. Subjects offered as part of the master's degree coursework may be taken if necessary.
b) Receive research guidance from their Advisory Committee.
c) Undergo a preliminary evaluation of their doctoral thesis as a prerequisite to taking a final examination.
d) Pass a final examination in which they present their doctoral thesis to an evaluation committee, which interviews the student to make a final judgment of the exam.
a) In the first year, students take seminar classes (earning a minimum of 8 credits).
b) In the second year, students:
i) Take a qualifying examination that includes 1) a written examination and 2) an oral examination that focuses on their doctoral thesis proposal as well as their answers on the written examination.
• In order to sit for the examinations, students must earn a minimum of 8 seminar credits and receive approval from their Advisory Committee based on progress in research and coursework.
• Students who pass the examinations may begin writing their doctoral thesis immediately.
• Students who fail the examinations may re-take them only once, six or more months after the initial examinations.
ii) Take seminar classes (minimum 2 credits) and the special study course (2 credits).
iii) Present research results at Ph.D. candidate seminars.
c) In the third year, students submit a doctoral thesis and undergo evaluation as follows.
• For their final examination, students present their doctoral thesis to the evaluation committee.
• In their presentations, students must present the results of their original research in a precise manner, clearly establishing the accuracy, validity, and academic significance of the research.
• Students who fail their thesis examination may undergo a second evaluation. Students who fail the second evaluation will not be permitted to re-submit their doctoral thesis.
Ph.D. in Japanese Language Education
Doctoral Course Application Guidelines
| National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies | |
|---|---|
| Konno, Masahiro | Educational Policy, Life Long Learning, Cultural Policy |
| Kondoh, Aya | Japanese-Language Education, Sociolinguistics |
| The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa | |
| *Kubota, Yoshiko | Japanese-Language Education |
| *Yokoyama, Noriko | Japanese-Language Education, Teacher Education |
| *Yanashima, Fumie | Japanese-Language Education, Teacher Education, Syntactic |
| Isomura, Kazuhiro | Japanese Phonetics |
| Visiting Faculty | |
| Okazaki, Hitomi (Ochanomizu University) | Teaching Japanese as a Second Language |
| Noyama, Hiroshi (The National Institute for Japanese Language) | Japanese-Language Education, Cross-Cultural Education, Sociolinguistic, Language Policy |
| Kaneda, Tomoko (The National Institute for Japanese Language) | Japanese-Language Education, Classroom Research, Teacher Education |
| Usami, Yoh (The National Institute for Japanese Language) | Linguistics, Japanese-Language Education |
Graduate Program in Japanese Language and Culture in brief
Equips teachers of the Japanese language with the linguistics, cultural, and intellectual knowledge and skills needed to provide high-quality Japanese language education
Program Director:
Professor Masahiro Konno
Associate Director:
Associate Professor Aya Kondo
Target Group:
Japananese-language teachers abroad
Scholarships:
The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa; National Institute for Japanese Language
Career Destinations:
Leaders in 'Japanese Studies'
Degree Offered:
Ph.D. in Japanese Language Education
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