Master of Arts and DML in Japanese
To become an effective teacher of Japanese, you need to know pedagogical theory—and be able to apply it.
Graduate Degree Options
Students must have a BA (or equivalent) from a regionally accredited institution and graduate-level proficiency in Japanese to be eligible.
Master of Arts in Japanese Language and Culture
Students in the Master of Arts in Japanese Language and Culture complete their graduate degree in a year and a half. Students must successfully complete an initial 6-week graduate summer session on the Middlebury, Vermont campus before establishing their candidacy for the MA degree. The second and third semester are completed online during the academic year, followed by a 6-week summer on the Middlebury, Vermont campus and final online semester.
Degree Requirements
Students enrolled in the School of Japanese master’s degree must successfully complete 12 course units including the following:
- Language Acquisition Theory
- Japanese Linguistics
- Pedagogical Technology
- Practicum
Middlebury awards one unit of graduate credit (equivalent to three semester hours) for each graduate course. All students enrolled in the master’s program have ten years to complete the degree.
| First Semester (Middlebury) | 3 course units (9 credits) | 6 weeks/summer |
| Second Semester (Online) | 2 course units (6 credits) | 15 weeks |
| Third Semester (Online) | 2 course units (6 credits) | 15 weeks |
| Fourth Semester (Middlebury) | 3 course units (9 credits) | 6 weeks/summer |
| Final Semester (Online) | 2 course units (6 credits) | 15 weeks |
Application
The application deadlines are February 1 (priority deadline) and April 30 (final deadline). In addition to the graduate application requirements, applicants must complete the master’s program application requirements and graduate faculty.
Career Outcomes
Students who earn a master’s degree in Japanese pursue rewarding careers teaching Japanese at community colleges, for international business corporations, at private K-12 institutions and charter schools. For those who seek K-12 certification at public schools, additional courses may be required.
Doctor of Modern Languages
The DML in Japanese prepares excellent language educators who want to advance the field of teaching and learning Japanese as leading educators and researchers.
Students in the DML program spend the equivalent of three semesters at the School of Japanese or in another approved program (total of 9 units). An additional three courses are taken in the form of independent study over three academic years.
The DML degree in Japanese, launched in 2024, represents a new language pedagogy track in the DML program. Language pedagogy track requirements will differ in some respects from the requirements of the traditional DML in French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. For more information, please contact the School of Japanese at japaneseschool@middlebury.edu.
Funding
Thanks to the support of generous donors including Language Schools alumni, and Middlebury’s commitment to provide an opportunity for as many students as possible, we are pleased to offer need-based financial aid and merit-based fellowships and scholarships.
Thanks to the generous donation from Mayumi and Masao Oka, we have established Tobira scholarship. Thanks also to the Japan Foundation for a grant to start the program in 2021. Please see more details on Master of Arts in Japanese Language and Culture fees and funding.