Graduate Program in Japanese Linguistics

Welcome

Our Japanese program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is one of the few programs in the US that offer both MA and Ph.D. degrees in Japanese linguistics. With three professors who specialize in various subfields of Japanese linguistics, our program is particularly strong in areas such as functional linguistics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, conversation analysis, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and language pedagogy. We aim at producing future educators/researchers of Japanese language and linguistics who have balanced training in both teaching and research.

Advantages of studying in this program include the following:

  • Interdisciplinary Curriculum: This campus promotes dynamic interdisciplinary collaborations among faculty and students, who share interests in structures, use, and teaching and learning of languages.  In addition to the core courses offered in our program, students in our program are encouraged to take related courses in other departments. Our students regularly work with faculty affiliated with the Doctoral Program in Second Language AcquisitionDepartment of Linguistics, or English Language and Linguistics.
  • Teaching Assistantship: The program also offers teaching assistantships, which provide graduate students financial support as well as on-the-job training opportunities.  We consider the integration of theory and practice to be critical for our graduate students’ professional development.
  • Well-established Undergraduate Japanese Language Program: Our undergraduate program is known for its rigor and high standards. Our faculty members are involved in the development of textbooks and other instructional materials, which are widely used in the US and overseas. Graduate assistants will have opportunities to learn from, or contribute to, such exciting new developments.
  • National and International Events: The UW-Madison regularly hosts a number of regional, national and international conferences and workshops in related fields.  Students have frequent opportunities to learn from distinguished scholars from all over the world who are invited to our campus as guest speakers.

We are looking forward to your inquiries and applications.

Naomi F. Geyer, Associate Professor
Junko Mori, Professor