Welcome to the Japanese Language Program at Columbia University! You are at the right place to start your language study at Columbia. Whether your motivation to learn Japanese is for watching Kimetsu no Yaiba, or playing Nintendo Switch, or reading Haruki Murakami, with us, you will gain plurilingual competence. With this, you will be able to utilize your Japanese as a precious resource together with your unique background and interests in order to satisfy your goals. You can also enjoy exploring the rich traditions and contemporary culture and society of Japan.

The program offers 5 different levels of Japanese courses from beginning to super-advanced. You will work on carefully-chosen multimodal materials and engage in a variety of meaningful, authentic activities and projects. It enables you not only to acquire practical language skills, but also intercultural communication skills and literacies, which will help you carry out social activities in a rapidly changing world. There are also courses focusing on specific purposes such as Business Japanese, Scholarly Reading, and JLPT preparatory courses. Through the practical language training and the specialized content learning, you will be able to acquire proficiency in Japanese and the global competency necessary to achieve your future aspirations.

Taking courses in Japanese will allow you to fulfill the language requirement at Columbia. 

Please check the Columbia Directory of Classes for the latest information on course offerings. Search for “Japanese.”