Welcome to the Japanese Studies
Program at Michigan State University!
We appreciate your interest in our program and look forward to
meeting you.
Students who have previously studied Japanese and wish to enroll
in a course above JPN 101 (first-year Japanese, first semester) must take the
placement test. The Japanese Studies Program will administer the placement
test online. Please take a close look at the schedule below and mark your
calendars.
Before Fall 2025
1. Student Information Survey
Fill out this survey (linked) by
Saturday, August 16 (11:59 PM
EDT).
If you are having difficulty accessing the survey link, copy and
paste the following address into your web browser: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_08sldRc9mPDAQMC
Once you complete the survey, you should receive an
invitation for the Japanese online written placement test
shortly.
2. Online written placement test
Take the written placement test (approximately 60-90 minutes) by Sunday,
August 17 (11:59 PM EDT).
You must complete the test in one session and cannot retake it once
it is completed. When you do not take the test on time, your placement in an
intended course is not guaranteed.
After the test, you will receive an email with the test result and
a tentative recommendation for which Japanese language courses to enroll
in. Your results will be forwarded to Dr. Ben Davis, JPN major advisor,
who will tentatively enroll in the recommended class. Please
allow 2-3 business days for this process to be completed.
3. Oral interview by Zoom
If you pass the online written placement test, an individual oral
interview will be scheduled (approximately 10-15 minutes) via Zoom, with a
corresponding invitation emailed to you in mid-August. A Japanese
language faculty member will assess your listening and speaking skills and give
a final placement test result. Please note that some students may not pass the
interview, even though they have passed the online written test.
Please contact the Japanese Studies Program (japanese@msu.edu) if you
experience the following:
· You submitted the
student survey but didn’t receive the link for the online written test.
· You took the online
written test and passed the intended course but were not tentatively enrolled
in the recommended course.
· You took the online
written test and passed the intended course but were not invited for the oral
interview.
· You need to reschedule
your oral interview. Only those with a legitimate reason (e.g., illness) can
reschedule it.
· You have questions
about the result of your placement test.
· You have trouble
registering for a JPN course.
· Any other questions
about the Japanese courses and the program
· Any technical issues
Please keep in mind, however, that during the summer it may take
longer than usual to respond to emails.
We look forward to welcoming you to our program!
MSU Japanese Studies Program