The associate in arts degree in Japanese at DVC will provide students with skills in understanding, speaking, reading and writing Japanese. The curriculum exposes students to Japanese culture and civilization and provides foundational skills in language that can apply to a broad range of international and domestic career opportunities and professions. The degree will provide lower division preparation for transfer to UC, CSU and other four year colleges and universities to earn a bachelor’s degree. The DVC Japanese major is intended for transfer. Students who intend to transfer must consult with a program advisor or counselor to ensure that the requirements for transfer to baccalaureate-granting institutions of their choice are met. Students who intend to transfer are advised to select General Education Option 2 (IGETC) or Option 3 (CSU GE). Option 1 (DVC General Education) is appropriate for those students who do not intend to transfer. Students may not take a pass/ no pass option for major courses and each of the major requirements must be completed with a “C†grade or higher. Certain courses may satisfy both major and general education requirements; however, the units are counted only once. To earn an associate in arts degree in Japanese, students must complete one of the following lists of courses. The core Japanese courses provide students with the essential grammar of the language and culture of Japan. The Kanji courses provide students with practice in Kanji characters used in writing the Japanese language.
Students completing the program will be able to...
A. comprehend a spoken dialogue in the target language.
B. identify the present, past and future tenses in a written paragraph.
C. interpret cultural behavior.
Possible career opportunities
The study of Japanese can open up opportunities in communications, foreign trade and banking, transportation, government, the Foreign Service, tourism, library services, teaching, professional translating, journalism, and all levels of education, including university teaching. Most foreign language careers require more than two years of study.
September 2025
Diablo Valley College
Pleasant Hill Campus,
321 Golf Club Road,
PLEASANT HILL,
California,
94523, United States
A student is eligible for admission if he or she has graduated from a regionally accredited high school, or is 18 years of age or older and is no longer in high school, or has passed the State of California Certificate of Proficiency Test (CHSPE) or the General Educational Development Test (GED).
English proficiency