MA in Japanese Studies for the Professions (MAJSP)

• Programme Code:

  72017-MJF/72017-MJP

• Mode:

  Self-financed mixed-mode

• Duration:

  Refer to Definitive Programme Document
  Normally 1.5 years, Maximum 3 years (mixed-mode full-time) with effect from 2009 cohort
  Normally 2.5 years, Maximum 5 years (mixed-mode part-time) with effect from 2009 cohort
  

• No. of Credits Required:

  30

• Student Intake:

  35

• Programme Aims:

  The aim of the programme is to equip graduates with an understanding of the concepts and skills that underlie the use of Japanese in professional contexts. These include:
  • A critical awareness of how communication functions; 
  • An improved understanding of the principal language systems of Japanese, politeness rules (keigo) and sociocultural rules for effective interaction in Japanese, particularly in multilingual contexts;
  • An effective repertoire of practical communication strategies and negotiation strategies in spoken and written Japanese (including computer-mediated communication); and
  • Research skills and writing skills that enable students to write academic essays in Japanese focusing on authentic communication in professional contexts.

• Programme Outcomes:

  To provide students with more advanced strategies for interaction in Japanese, critical/ creative thinking, deeper understanding in media literacy, and more academic rigor.

• Minimum Entrance Requirements:

• A Bachelor's degree with Honours in any discipline or the equivalent;
  AND
• Pass in the Grade Two test of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test devised by the Japan Foundation and the Association of International Education, Japan, or the equivalent;
  AND
• A minimum of one year's relevant post-qualification work experience(1).
If you hold a PgD in Japanese Studies for the Professions (with preference given to those with a Credit or Distinction), you can enter the final stage of the programme and earn an MA degree upon completion of the required credits.
(1) This requirement is waived for applicants with first degree major in Japanese Studies.

• Admission Information:

  Credit-transfer can be granted for compulsory subjects.

• Programme Officers:

  Programme Leader:
  Dr Hideaki Sugai
  Email:ctsugai@polyu.edu.hk
  Tel: 2766 7563;
  
  Programme Support:
  Ms Pheon Leung
  Email:ctpleung@polyu.edu.hk
  Tel: 2766 7454
  
  

Curriculum:


Compulsory subjects



Subject Code	Subject Nature/Title	No of Credits
CBS5070	Exploring Contemporary Japanese Society & Culture	3
The subject aims to help students to identify major concepts used to characterise Japanese society and culture. It also aims to enable the students to reflect upon sociocultural factors that cause changes to contemporary Japanese society and culture. Another purpose is to enable students to integrate and synthesise ideas and to undertake a critical analysis of current status of Japanese society and culture. Lastly, the subject aims to enable students to compare the similarities and differences among Japanese, Chinese and Western Cultures, and identify areas of possible intercultural misunderstanding. Throughout the course, the subject aims to further develop the students’ proficiency in Japanese language with respect to social variables and factors that influence its use.
CBS5073	Accessing Japanese Written Documents	3
The subject aims to: become familiar with authentic written documents collected in the multilingual workplace; become familiar with theoretical constructs in meaning negotiation in Japanese written documents in the workplace (e.g. discourse markers, conventionalized routine expressions, indirect expressions and contextualization cues); and provide students with guided practice in reading and comprehending a wide range of written document in order to interact successfully in the workplace.
CBS5088	Communicating in Japanese in Multilingual Workplaces	3
The subject aims to: help students to identify main issues in intercultural communication in Japanese; provide students with the necessary analytical skills to be able to describe and analyse a variety of authentic communication in multilingual workplaces;  enable students to reflect their own experiences in multilingual communication in English, Chinese and Japanese; train students to synthesize verbal/non-verbal features, linguistic and sociocultural features to interpret and analyze authentic interaction in Japanese; and provide students with various communication/negotiation strategies to solve communication problems in the multilingual workplace.
CBS5098	Japanese for the Media	3
This subject will provide students with basic concepts/analytic tools related to media communication and familiarise them with the cultural and social roles given to the Japanese media. It will also cover critical evaluation of media work and discuss the impact of the media on society. Students will have opportunity to analyse authentic Japanese texts in the media and use the results to create their own media production.
CBS5099	Comparative Linguistic Analysis of Japanese and Chinese	3
This subject aims to empower students in their learning of Japanese and Mandarin Chinese by helping them learn about these languages, giving them sound and solid knowledge about the fundamental function and meaning of the key linguistic systems and structures of Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. By using this functional understanding of the subject’s content as an analytical tool, students will be able to analyse texts in both languages, and based on these text analyses, they will be able to compare and contrast the two languages in terms of important and highly valued text types (genres) such as those of the media and literature. These new insights into Japanese and Mandarin Chinese based on evidence from authentic text in context will also enable students to consolidate and expand their own language capacities.



Elective subjects



Subject Code	Subject Nature/Title	No of Credits
CBS505	Research Methods in Language Studies	3
This subject aims to provide a systematic training on research methodology in language studies, which is indispensable for students wishing to conduct research on language-related study topics at postgraduate level.
CBS5075	Japanese Business Writing	3
The subject aims to help students understand various types of written texts (genre) of Japanese business writing. Students will synthesize, apply and extend the theoretical constructs to practical written tasks in the workplace, including letters, memos, proposals, faxed messages, email messages and PR materials. Through a variety of mini assignments, students will learn to interpret and produce written texts in Japanese.
CBS5090	Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language	3
The subject is aims to: provide the students with basic knowledge of (a)  the social and cultural factors which affect language use and foreign language acquisition, (b) the classroom context for foreign language learning, and (c) intercultural variation in approaches to language teaching and learning; and develop a fundamental knowledge of formal and functional linguistics, and to be able to apply them in the analysis of the Japanese language in the context of the teaching of Japanese as a foreign language (TJFL).
CBS5091	Interpreting in the Multilingual Workplace	3
This subject aims to help students to acquire fundamental oral interpreting skills and techniques required in various professional contexts in the multilingual workplace. It seeks to enable students to understand the significant issues and problems in the oral interpretation of Japanese, English and Chinese. It increases students’ understanding and awareness of the grammatical, stylistics and cultural differences in typical workplace oral communication situations and contexts related to Japanese business. Another purpose is to enable students to apply the knowledge and skills learned in this subject to other subjects on the programme and their professions through their understanding of the linguistic and cultural differences in Japanese, English and Chinese verbal communication of vari
CBS5092	Teaching Japanese for Specific Purposes	3
The subject aims to:   develop students' critical understanding of the different underlying approaches to  teaching methodology in teaching Japanese for specific purposes (JSP) courses, consisting of the teaching of reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, self-directed learning and learner autonomy; develop students' critical evaluation of  the factors and methodology involved in the planning, development, implementation, assessment, management and evaluation of a curriculum or programme of JSP courses; and provide students with major issues in multimedia technology for language teaching, the functions of computers in language teaching, with special emphasis on the teaching of JSP courses.
CBS5093	Advanced Strategies for Japanese Interaction	3
The subject aims to: help students critically synthesise, apply and extend the theoretical constructs to practical spoken and written tasks in the multilingual workplace; develop students’ skills and proficiency levels in listening, speaking, reading and writing for various social, business and professional contexts in Hong Kong; provide students with guided practice in a wide range of strategies for successful communication and interaction in the multilingual workplace; and help students develop a high degree of confidence in the use of Japanese in the various communicative situations likely to be met in social, business and professional contexts in Hong Kong and internationally.
CBS5096	Research Project for Applied Japanese Studies	6
The subject aims to provide students with an opportunity to draw on and integrate the knowledge and insights acquired in previous stages of the course to identify a research question and investigate this question in a work of independent scholarship.
CBS5100	Work Ethics Evidenced in Japanese Literature	3
This subject introduces how the work ethics of modern Japanese business culture was developed using classical literature to study the typical work ethics in different periods. It also enables students to understand the behavior and customs required for establishing business relationships by reading the classical materials and making comparisons with the social phenomena observed in modern society. Students will develop a sense of individual entrepreneurship and appreciate the idea of philanthropy by studying the historical background of famous businessmen in the past with a focus on the pre-Meiji period and the dawn of the Meiji period.
ENGL518	Research Design and Methods	3
This primary purpose of the subject is to help students explore aspects of their professional work in an acceptable manner. A secondary purpose of the subject is to provide support for students in their programme project work. The subject will take a problem-based approach to teaching and learning involving the setting of scenarios and how they might best be investigated. Fundamental concepts in research design and methods will arise as participants analyse the scenarios and seek solutions to the problems identified in the analysis.



Other recommended subjects:

http://www.cbs.polyu.edu.hk/electives.html

• Scholarship and Financial Assistance:

  Performance Scholarship shall be given to students with outstanding academic results in a given academic year at PolyU.

• Introductory leaflet:

  Please click here to view.

• Notes to Applicants 申请须知:

  Application to our postgraduate programmes could be done without any agency service. Applicants are required to apply online via the University’s website “study@polyu”: www.polyu.edu.hk/study
  Please note that all fields in the application forms should be filled. We will not consider applications that do not provide details of academic qualifications.
  申请人如欲报读本系硕士学位课程，毋须透过中介服务办理，可以直接在香港理工大学网站的「study@polyu」进行网上申请报读课程： www.polyu.edu.hk/study
  申請表上的所有項目均需填寫，學系將不會考慮沒有提供詳細學歷資料的申請表。