In light of the importance of foreign languages in today's international world of science, engineering, and management, the HASS Minor gives undergraduates a unique opportunity to combine a degree in science or engineering with a Minor in Japanese. The HASS Japanese Minor offers students who have already reached an intermediate level of proficiency (third semester or above) an opportunity to pursue more advanced study of Japanese language, literature, and culture. Note that Japanese I and II do not count toward the Minor.

The Minor Program in Japanese consists of six subjects, typically distributed among the following three tiers, depending on your level of language competence and the approval of the Minor Advisor. Unlike other Minor Programs in HASS, the Minor Advisor for languages at his or her discretion can approve a minor in which MIT subjects comprise a minimum of one third of the subjects in the program. However, this exception to the general HASS Minor Requirement is only allowed in those cases in which students have received transfer credits equal to a maximum of four subjects through study abroad in a country where the language of the minor is the dominant tongue. Please consult the MIT bulletin for subject offerings. You may consider Harvard or Wellesley subjects towards the minor subject to approval of the Minor Advisor.

Tier I: Two language subjects at the intermediate level:

21F.503/573 Japanese III; HASS-H (HASS-D Language Option)
21F.504 Japanese IV; HASS-H (HASS-D Language Option)

--OR—

21F.562 Intermediate Japanese I: Very Fast Track; HASS-H
21F.563 Intermediate Japanese II: Very Fast Track; HASS-H (HASS-D Language Option)

Tier II: Two language subjects at the advanced level:

21F.505/575 Japanese V; HASS-H
21F.506 Japanese VI; HASS-H

Tier III: Two subjects in Japanese literature, history, or culture, at least one of which must be a Japanese Language Option subject (JLO), i.e. 21F.590, 21F.591, 21F.592, 21F.593, or 21F.596. The Japanese Language Option subjects meet with the five subjects, 21F.027, 21F.039, 21F.063, 21F.064, and 21F.065, and include some assignments that require reading and writing in Japanese.

17.433 International Relations of East Asia; HASS-S
17.537 Politics and Policy in Contemporary Japan; HASS-S
17.543 (not 17.541) Japanese Politics and Society; HASS-S
21F.027J / 21F.590 (JLO) Asia in the Modern World: Images and Representations; HASS-H, CI-H (HASS-D, Cat. 5)
21F.030 East Asian Culture: From Zen to Pop; HASS-H
21F.039 / 21F.591 (JLO) Japanese Popular Culture; HASS-H
21F.063 / 21F.596 (JLO) Anime: Transnational Media and Culture; HASS-H
21F.064 / 21F.592 (JLO) Introduction to Japanese Culture; HASS-H (HASS-D, Cat. 4) CI-H
21F.065 / 21F.593 (JLO) Japanese Literature and Cinema; HASS-H, CI-H
21H.154 Pre-modern Japan: Earliest Times to 1868; HASS-H
21H.155 Japanese Literature and Cinema; HASS-H
21H.354 Japanese Literature and Cinema; HASS-H

Note: Students who have taken the following subjects that are no longer offered can count these subjects towards their minor:
21F.066 / 21F.594 Japan in Real Time: The Life of Today's Japanese
21F.067J / 21F.595 Asian Performance Cultures
21H.521 Ancient Japan and the Courtly Society
21H.522 Japan in the Age of the Samurai: History and Film
21H.523 History of Modern Japan: 1853-2000 HASS-D, Cat. 5
21H.546 World War II in Asia: Film, Fantasy, Fact

 

Your Japanese Minor and Your G.I.R.S.

Of the six subjects required for the minor, at most five can count toward satisfaction of the eight-subject Institute HASS Requirement. Of these five, only one can count toward the HASS Distribution requirement. You can Minor and Concentrate in the same field.

1. You may not use your junior- senior Pass/Fail option for any of your minor subjects.

2. The Minor Proposal should be on file by the end of your sophomore year, no later than two terms before you intend to graduate.

3. There is a $50 late fee if you have not filed your Minor Completion form by the third week of the semester in which you intend to graduate.

Note for students who entered MIT prior to Fall 2010:
HASS-D Language Option: Because the Institute regards competence in foreign language as a fundamental value, students may substitute one languages subject at the level III or IV (i.e., 21F.103, 21F.104, 21F.303, 21F.304, 21F.403, 21F.404, 21F.503, 21F.504, 21F.703, or 21F.704) for one HASS-D subject. The two remaining HASS-Ds may be chosen from any two of the five HASS-D categories.

Contact the Academic Administrator, Andrea Wirth, with any other questions:
awirth@mit.edu
14N-310 x3-4550

Paperwork Procedure

1. Pick up a HASS Minor Application form in 14N-305, 4-240, 7-104, or 11-120.
2. Fill it out in consultation with the Minor Advisor. Distribute copies of the application to your Major Advisor, the HASS Academic Administrator, and the FL&L main office.
3. When you complete all of your minor subjects, bring the white copy of your grade report (as well as a copy of your proposal) back to your Minor Advisor. You will need his/her signature and that of the FL&L Section Head to certify that you have completed your minor program.