Japanese
A.A. Degree Arts, Communication & Humanities · Bakersfield College · 2026-2027 Catalog
Japanese Associate of Arts
The Associate in Arts in Japanese degree provides a linguistic study of the language and an in-depth look into the culture of the Japanese world. The objective of the program is to provide students with opportunities to obtain an AA degree in Japanese, transfer to a four-year college, and achieve their academic goals. The AA degree is designed to provide students with multiple career pathways such as teaching, working for corporations, business entities, and non-profit organizations, among others, both in the U.S. and in Japan. Upon completion of graduation requirements and the required degree courses with at least a “C” or “P” grade in each course, the student will be eligible for an Associate of Arts degree.
Program Learning Outcomes
1. Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be able to speak, applying appropriate grammatical forms as well as vocabulary appropriate to the level of those students who are seeking an AA degree in Japanese.
2. Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be able to examine spoken Japanese as evident in response through prepared dialogues and presentations as well as impromptu conversations with other students and the professor.
3. Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be able to construct and apply appropriate grammatical forms as well as culturally appropriate vocabulary in writing in a mixture of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji characters at the level of those students who are seeking an AA degree in Japanese.
4. Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be able to critique reading comprehension of informal and formal written texts in a mixture of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji characters, including informal letters or short essays as well as short news articles from Japan.
5. Upon successful completion of the program, the student will be able to evaluate and explore aspects of behavior, attitudes, and customs of Japan and other Asian speaking countries.
Program Requirements
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese Associate of Arts: Complete all of the following | 19-20 | |
| Core Courses: Complete all of the following | 16 | |
| JAPN B1 | Japanese I | 4 |
| JAPN B2 | Japanese II | 4 |
| JAPN B3 | Japanese III | 4 |
| JAPN B4 | Japanese IV | 4 |
| List A | 3-4 | |
| ANTH B2 | Introduction to Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| ART B38 | Survey of Art – Asian Art | 3 |
| ASL B1 | American Sign Language 1 | 4 |
| ASL B2 | American Sign Language 2 | 4 |
| COMM B6 | Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| HIST B2 | History of World (Since 1650) | 3 |
| PHIL B7 | Introduction to Logic | 3 |
| PHIL B37 | Introduction to the World Religions | 3 |
| POLS B3 | International Politics | 3 |
| SOCI B45 | Sociology of Race and Ethnicity | 3 |
| SPAN B1 | Elementary Spanish I | 4 |
| SPAN B2 | Elementary Spanish II | 4 |