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Japanese Studies and History

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

typically including History or Classical Civilisation

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15,P:0

Award of Access to HE Diploma in a relevant subject, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 30 at Distinction (to include History units), and 15 at Merit

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

33

typically with 5 in Higher Level History

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H2,H2,H2,H3,H3

typically including History or Classical Civilisation

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DD

+ A at A Level typically in History or Classical Civilisation

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

in a relevant subject + B at A Level typically in History or Classical Civilisation

Scottish Advanced Higher

B

typically in History + AABBB in Scottish Highers

Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)

B

+ AB at A Level typically including History or Classical Civilisation

UCAS Tariff

48-128

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

History

Japanese studies

Complex, unique, endlessly fascinating, Japan embraces modernity and technology while maintaining its rich traditional culture. To truly understand Japan, you have to experience it. You have to immerse yourself in it.

We teach Japanese intensively, from scratch. You will study the phonetic scripts (kana) from the outset, picking up the 2000 Sino-Japanese characters (kanji) over the course of your degree.

The history side of your course covers past societies from the Roman to the Modern period. Outside the seminar room, you'll work on projects that bring history to life, like our student-run New Histories blog and WikiAmerica.

You will spend your third year studying at one of our partner universities in Japan. More than just a chance to put what you've learned into practice, this year is an experience you won't forget.

Energised and inspired, you'll return to Sheffield for your final year. The language training continues, now at a more advanced level. Supervised by an academic, you'll research and write a dissertation on a topic of your choice.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
International
£22,680
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Sheffield

Department:

East Asian Studies

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

78%
History
73%
Japanese studies

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

History

Teaching and learning

90%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
73%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
91%
IT resources
84%
Course specific equipment and facilities
67%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
48%
Male students
52%
Female students
97%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

Asian studies

Teaching and learning

76%
Staff make the subject interesting
79%
Staff are good at explaining things
75%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
76%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

78%
Library resources
95%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
54%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

81%
UK students
19%
International students
42%
Male students
58%
Female students
84%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

History

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,777
med
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
59%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

16%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
10%
Other elementary services occupations
8%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

History is a very popular subject (although numbers have fallen of late) — in 2015, over 10,000 UK students graduated in a history-related course. Obviously, there aren't 11,000 jobs as historians available every year, but history is a good, flexible degree that allows graduates to go into a wide range of different jobs, and consequently history graduates have an unemployment rate comparable to the national graduate average. Many — probably most — jobs for graduates don't ask for a particular degree to go into them and history graduates are well set to take advantage. That's why so many go into jobs in the finance industry, human resources, marketing, PR and events management, as well as the more obvious roles in education, welfare and the arts. Around one in five history graduates went into further study last year. History and teaching were the most popular further study subjects for history graduates, but law, journalism, and politics were also popular postgraduate courses.

Asian studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,800
low
Average annual salary
89%
low
Employed or in further education
64%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

32%
Teaching and educational professionals
12%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
9%
Customer service occupations

In 2015, only 150 students graduated from the UK with degrees in Japanese, so anyone studying the subject will get a very rare qualification — so take that into consideration when drawing conclusions from the data above. This subject does seem to have a higher unemployment rate than the average, but this may be more to do with the very small number of graduates than any lack of demand for the degree. A third of graduates went to work abroad, and those working in the UK tended to be in London and in jobs in business and the media. Employers rate graduates who have more than one language, but you'll need to have them as part of a whole package of good skills.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

History

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£24k

£24k

£30k

£30k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Asian studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£19k

£19k

£23k

£23k

£29k

£29k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here