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Japanese Education Abroad Guide

Commercial alley with cherry trees and lanterns, photo by Natalie Sesselman

Quick Facts

  • JPNS majors/minors typically go abroad junior year
  • Japanese language learners typically go abroad after they have completed JPNS 2110 and 2120. 
  • The most common degree requirements taken abroad are upper-division JPNS electives, certain Gen Ed classes, and general elective hours
  • Use the Course Approvals List to find programs that offer courses approved for the credit you need
CU Boulder Education Abroad offers over 400 programs in over 70 countries! You can go abroad for a semester, year, 2-12 weeks in the summer, or even winter break. Going abroad is strongly encouraged by the Asian Languages and Civilizations Department. Use the following information as a general guideline to plan your time abroad, and connect with your academic advisor as well. Work with Education Abroad advisors to get more details on how to get started, and discuss your program options, and next steps. 

 

Planning and When to Go

  • First-year: Start progression with the Japanese language sequence courses as soon as you can. 
  • Sophomore: Continue with your language progression and take the A&S Gen Ed courses that are more difficult to fulfill abroad. 
  • Junior: Go abroad! Going abroad during your junior year allows you plenty of variety in your choices of classes. Plan on taking JPNS electives, A&S Gen Eds, and various other requirements. 
  • Senior: Work closely with your Japanese departmental academic advisor to ensure that you can get all of your requirements completed.

    Be sure that you know when the credits may be transcripted, as this can delay your official graduation date.

What Kind of Credit Can You Earn Abroad?

Usually Doable Tricky Probably Not
General Electives  A&S Gen Ed JPNS A&S Gen Ed A&S Gen Ed JPNS
Overall credit hours  Arts and Humanities, Natural Science (Non-Lab), Social Sciences Upper-division JPNS electives Global Diversity Natural Science (Lab), Written Communication JPNS language direct equivalencies*

General Advice for Japanese Language Students Going Abroad

  • The Japanese department does not pre-approve language classes. However, if you place into the appropriate language level classes while abroad (and pass them) you'll likely progress to the next level in your language studies. Talk to your Japanese departmental advisor for more information.
  • While abroad, it's important that you focus on all four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in order to be successful upon return. 

Suggested Programs

Use these links to find programs that may be a good match for you and your course needs.
   

Additional Resources

Photo by Natalie Sesselman
Last Updated June 2024