MA Modern Languages and Cultures

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2027, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MA (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £16,600
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £31,400

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

• Learn more about - student finance options for UK students .
• Learn more about - fees and finance for international students .
• Graduates of The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University can receive a 10% discount on their master's degree tuition fees as part of our Manchester Alumni Loyalty Discount scheme.

This course unit is for advanced learners of Japanese. It aims to develop students’ proficiency in accurate understanding of advanced Japanese texts, as well as in discussion and writing in Japanese. Furthermore, the course advances students’ knowledge of Japan, enabling them to get to grips with the perspectives of Japanese authors. During the course, students read unedited Japanese texts on a range of topics. They make oral presentations in Japanese about the texts studied and engage in discussion of the texts and the issues raised in them, also in Japanese. Classes will also translate selected text sections. In addition, the classes will focus on developing students’ abilities to write natural and accurate Japanese. Students will be able to use the vocabulary they have acquired through reading in oral and written work, thus advancing their language abilities in an integrated way.

·         To develop students’ proficiency in accurate understanding of advanced Japanese written texts, including proficiency in translating such texts into English.

·         To develop students’ proficiency in advanced spoken Japanese through oral presentation and class discussion in Japanese.

·         To develop students’ proficiency in writing Japanese.

To develop students’ understanding of a range of important aspects of modern Japanese culture and society through engaging with key works by Japanese authors.

Between two and five topics are covered each semester, with between one and four weeks being devoted to any given topic. Topics covered in recent years have included precarious and casual employment; school non-attendance; social withdrawal; gender; childrearing; nuclear issues. The above should be considered representative examples, as topics may change from year to year.

By the end of the course unit, you will have:

·         Acquired knowledge and understanding of native Japanese perspectives on a range of major issues related to modern Japanese society and culture.

·         Demonstrated in-depth knowledge and understanding of native Japanese perspectives on one of these issues, along with the ability to critically assess these perspectives in relation to one another.

On completion of this unit, successful participants will have further developed their abilities to:

• think and argue critically and coherently
• present information and arguments in a clear and cogent manner, both orally and in writing

On completion of this unit, successful participants will:

• be able to demonstrate accurate understanding of advanced, unedited Japanese texts
• have acquired the ability to make a fluent and coherent oral presentation in Japanese about a topic of advanced difficulty
• have developed skills for oral discussion in Japanese
• be able to write discursive texts in natural and accurate Japanese on topics of advanced difficulty

On completion of this unit, successful participants will have further developed their abilities to:

• work independently
• think and argue critically and coherently
• present information and arguments in a clear and cogent manner, both orally and in writing
• appreciate, understand and critically appraise other societies and cultures

Oral and/or written comments on formative (practice) oral presentations; written comments on essay and written texts for presentations; global feedback on assignments, delivered orally in class; comments made during class discussion regarding the relevance and coherence of student participation in discussion; feedback on student comprehension and translation in class. Feedback will be returned within the time limits specified in the relevant Faculty and SALC feedback policies. Students are also welcome to come to see the teacher to discuss their essay assignments and comments on them, on the understanding that this de-anonymises the marking.

RECOMMENDED READING

A topic list will be supplied at the start of the course, when copies of specified texts and recommended readings for each topic will be supplied by the tutors. The following works are indicative general works that should be consulted to gain an overall perspective on the course.

Kosugi Reiko. 2003. Furiit¿ to iu ikikata. Keis¿ Shob¿.

Sait¿ Tamaki. 1998. Shakai-teki hikikomori – owaranai shishunki. PHP Shinsho.

Okuchi Keiko. 2005. Fut¿k¿ to iu ikikata. NHK Books.

Hirota Teruyuki. 1999. Nihonjin no shitsuke wa suitai shita ka. K¿dansha Gendai Shinsho.

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