The Department of Japanese Studies at ELTE University is the oldest such institution in Hungarian higher education, and has offered major programmes in Japanese since 1986. Our department is unique in Hungary, being the only institution providing Japanese studies at every level: BA, MA and PhD. The main focus of our BA programme is the Japanese language, taught by our native language instructors. Besides language training, we offer classes in different areas of Japanese studies, including culture, history, literature and linguistics. Students taking our MA course are able to deepen their understanding in small-group seminars concentrating on narrower research fields, while doctorate students are encouraged to pursue their own research interests with guidance from teachers on our PhD programme.

History

Language education in Japanese at Eötvös Loránd University started back in the 1930s and continued after the war in the 1950s within the Department of Chinese and East Asian Studies. 

As an individual educational programme at university level, the Japanese major started in 1986. In the beginning, the programme was a so-called “B major”, which means that students who had already been offered a place at the university could apply for a one-year-long basic training programme, and after completing it, could become Japanese major students. In 1994, Japanese became an “A major”, i.e. students were permitted to start their university studies within the framework of Japanese Studies from the very beginning. 

In 1996, the programme was accorded independent status, and an Academic Group for Japanese Studies was established. This later became the Department of Japanese Studies. The department’s PhD programme was launched in 2006, from which year onwards our students could study in separate bachelor and master programmes within the Bologna framework. In 2009, three times as many people applied as had done previously, and this number continues to rise.

Education

At BA level (three years), Japanese can be chosen within the BA in Oriental Languages and Cultures. Potential students must specify their choice when they apply. 

The Japanese BA can also be completed as a minor. For students with another major, a programme of 50 credits in Japanese studies enables them to master modern Japanese and the basics of Japanese culture. 

After obtaining a BA, students can continue their studies with a two-year MA in Japanese studies, which includes both modern Japanese language and cultural studies, as well as classical fields such as philology, linguistics and the history of ideas. 

ELTE students taking the Japanese major have established a long tradition of good results in examinations for Japanese scholarships and national student competitions, and doctoral students have been very successful in winning research scholarships awarded by our partner institutions in Japan. 

After obtaining an MA, those with scholarly ambitions can enrol for a PhD programme in Japanese Studies (four years), where they can concentrate on their scholarly research and obtain their doctorate.

Main research fields at the department

Full-time lecturers of the department conduct research in the fields of: Japanese History, Japanese Art, Literature, History of Thought, History of Martial Arts, Cultural Anthropology and Folklore Studies. 

Through our international co-operation with institutions abroad, every year several guest professors provide intensive courses and lectures on various Japan-related topics.