Program Overview
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Location: Candelaria 0190
Email: HSS@unco.edu
Website: www.unco.edu/hss/world-languages-cultures
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of four parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- University-Wide Credits
- Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) Credits
*For Educator licensure majors, PTEP coursework counts towards the minimum of nine upper-division UNC credits (300-400).
Program Description:
The program in Asian Studies prepares individuals who have a broad understanding of Asia as a region, and in-depth understanding of a particular region of Asia through the study of the languages, history, literatures, arts, and cultures of Asia. The Japanese K-12 Teaching Concentration program builds competency in language, culture, literature, and history through a range of interdisciplinary courses. Upon completion of this course of study, students will have a highly individualized but broad familiarity with the region, and will also understand the history and culture of Asia, and how this history and the various Asian cultures affect its current dynamics. Students will also have linguistic competency in Japanese, and be able to teach Japanese and Japanese culture to students.
The program fosters knowledge and study of international, specifically Asian, issues, as well as national and local diversity by inclusion of courses on the Asian Diaspora. Courses in Asian civilizations, literature, and history train students in Asian culture, and develop their cultural competence. Because the program encourages study abroad to one of UNC’s direct exchange partner institutions in Asian countries, this program prepares student to work effectively with diverse populations.
The program’s extracurricular activities encourage cultural consciousness and communication skills while developing leadership, organizational, and professional abilities. Participation is optional. Activities include language immersion weekend, regular Japanese Language Club meetings, World Language Day, and Lunar New Year Celebration.
Program Admission Requirement:
- Students must be in good academic standing
- Advising and advisor’s signature are required each semester before registration
Program Requirements:
- Students must achieve a rating of Intermediate-high in Japanese demonstrated through an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI).
- In accordance with University Policies, coursework earned more than 10 years prior to the date of matriculation to UNC may not be used to satisfy any major or minor requirements. Any exception to this policy is at the discretion of the academic program.
PTEP Program Requirements:
Teacher candidates who complete an approved content degree and the UNC professional teacher education program, as well as pass the appropriate Colorado Department of Education designated PRAXIS exam (if applicable), will be eligible for recommendation from UNC for a Colorado Department of Education teaching license.
If you are seeking licensure in your program area, the following items are required to complete your program.
- Completion of Application for Initial Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #1 (Enrollment in this checkpoint will result in a one-time program fee, assessed to student accounts to pay for assessment software. This checkpoint will also require an out-of-pocket payment - to the chosen approved vendor - to obtain a fingerprint background check, which is required by the Colorado Department of Education.)
- Completion of Full Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #2
- Completion of Application for Student Teaching – referred to as Checkpoint #3
- Completion of content specific PRAXIS test prior to Student Teaching
- Candidates may not take extra courses with Student Teaching without prior approval from the Program Coordinator and the STE Director.
- All PTEP Field Experiences and methods courses need to be successfully completed prior to Student Teaching.
- Student Teaching outside the supervision of UNC Faculty may or may not be approved.
- Teacher Candidates will not be placed in a school where they were once students or where they have a close relative attending and/or working.
- Teacher education and educator preparation licensure programs do not accept Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) or field based courses that are more than ten years old. PLEASE NOTE: Teacher Candidates have the right to petition this policy at the discretion of the program coordinator.
Please work with your content advisor to determine when these requirements will be completed throughout your program.
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the 33 required major credits.
Any additional coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
JAPN 201 Intermediate Japanese I and CHIN 216 Masterpieces in Chinese Literature are recommended to fulfill both the Arts & Humanities and International Studies requirements and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
HIST 113 Asian Civilizations II: From 1500 to the Present is recommended to fulfill the LAC History requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
ASIA 116 State, Society and Culture in Contemporary Asia is recommended to fulfill both the LAC Social & Behavioral Sciences and International Studies requirements and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 33 credits
Take all of the following courses:
| CHIN 216 | Masterpieces in Chinese LiteratureLAA2LAIS | 3 |
| HIST 113 | Asian Civilizations II: From 1500 to the PresentLAH1 | 3 |
| HIST 311 | History of Japan | 3 |
| JAPN 116 | Contemporary Japan | 3 |
| | or | |
| ASIA 116 | State, Society, and Culture in Contemporary AsiaLAB3LAIS | 3 |
| JAPN 201 | Intermediate Japanese ILAA4LAIS | 3 |
| JAPN 202 | Intermediate Japanese IILAA4LAIS | 3 |
| JAPN 301 | Japan and the Japanese I | 3 |
| JAPN 422 | Directed Studies | 1- 4 |
| JAPN 450 | Japanese Literature | 3 |
Choose 6 credits from the following courses:
WLC 296 and WLC 395 must focus on Japan or be taught in Japanese, and may be taken for credit only when approved by the Japanese faculty advisor.
JAPN 407 and JAPN 450 are repeatable up to 9 credits.
3. Required PTEP — 38 credits
Phase I (5 credits taken concurrently)
| EDFE 170 | Introduction to Field Based Experience | 1- 3 |
| EDF 366 | Conceptions of Schooling: Context and Process | 3 |
Phase II (8 credits taken concurrently)
| EDFE 270 | Field Based Experience | 2 |
| EDSE 360 | Adaptation, Modification, and Integration of Curriculum for the Secondary Exceptional Learner | 3 |
| PSY 347 | Educational Psychology for Elementary Teachers | 3 |
| | or | |
| PSY 349 | Educational Psychology for Secondary Teachers | 3 |
Phase III (11 credits taken concurrently)
| ECLD 340 | Academic Language/Literacy Development in the Content Areas at the Secondary Level | 3 |
| ECLD 360 | Second Language Acquisition | 3 |
| EDFE 370 | Advanced Field Based Experience | 1- 3 |
| WLC 441 | Methods of Teaching World Languages in K-12 | 3 |
Phase IV (14 credits)
4. University Wide Credits —18 credits*
Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for this degree at UNC; for this degree, it would typically be 18 credits.
*Note: Students who apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum and the major requirements will have an increased number of university wide electives to apply to this degree. See your advisor for details.
Program Notes
A 2.5 grade point average is required before students may see approval for full admission to the Secondary Professional Teacher Education Program and to be recommended for teacher licensure.
In order to obtain approval for a student teaching assignment, a Japanese K-12 teaching major must have obtained a grade of (3.0) or better in WLC 441 and have successfully passed the ACTFL OPI oral proficiency exam. (Consult advisor).
Teaching Skills are developed through advising and consultation with program faculty, through WLC 441 and JAPN 422, and through the courses in the Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP).
In order to be recommend for a teacher licensure, a 2.5 grade point average is required at the completion of the program in those courses that count towards the major and that were taken at UNC.