The information on this page is accurate for students entering the programme in 2024/25 or before. For students entering the programme from September 2025 or after, you can find the details of your programme: BA Arabic and Japanese(For students entering from September 2025 onwards)
This programme equips students with the linguistic skills needed to understand a range of written, spoken and broadcast material in Japanese and Arabic, and the ability to communicate effectively with Arabic and Japanese speakers. The deliberately modern bias of the programme aims to produce graduates with an all-round proficiency in both languages, along with a range of transferable skills and insights.
Students begin both languages from scratch (although there is provision for those with some prior learning of Arabic or Japanese) and follow an intensive language programme in their first year. The second year is spent at a university in Japan, and the third year is spent in an Arabic-speaking country. This compulsory period of residence abroad provides students with the unique opportunity to develop language skills in a rich and varied context of use, while engaging with other cultures and societies, thereby fostering intercultural awareness and pluricultural competence, self-reliance and flexibility.
Students return to Leeds in their fourth year to follow advanced upper-level language and non-language modules in both subjects. By the final year of the programme students should be able to interpret relevant material in a wider sense, fitting it into the broader social, political, economic and cultural context of present-day Japan, and the Arab World.
Students are expected to graduate with a strong command of both Arabic and Japanese, enriched by immersive experiences in both linguistic regions, and a nuanced understanding of their diverse historical and cultural contexts. Throughout the programme, students will develop valuable interpretative, analytical and digital skills, as well as becoming confident researchers. Students will demonstrate these qualities when they undertake a Final Year Project on a topic of their choice in one of the language subjects they study.
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
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Students will be required to study the following compulsory modules
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARAB1001 | Beginning Arabic 1 | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARAB1002 | Beginning Arabic 2 | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | PFP |
| ARAB1171 | Studying the Middle East and North Africa | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| EAST1252 | Modern Japan | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) |
Students with no prior knowledge of Japanese will be required to study the following modules
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAST1210 | Basic Japanese Language (1) | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| EAST1220 | Basic Japanese Language (2) | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | PFP |
Students with prior knowledge of Japanese will, subject to a placement test, be required to study the following modules
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAST1280 | Intermediate Japanese (1) | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| EAST1281 | Intermediate Japanese (2) | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | PFP |
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
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Students will spend the second year of their programme in Japan.
Students will be required to study the following compulsory module:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MODL9500 | LCS Year Abroad | 120 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | PFP |
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
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Students will spend the third year of their programme in an Arabic-speaking country.
Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory module:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MODL9501 | LCS Year Abroad 2 | 120 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | PFP |
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
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Students will be required to study the following compulsory modules:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARAB2010 | Advanced Arabic Grammar and Translation | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| ARAB2020 | Essential Skills in Practical Arabic | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | PFP |
| EAST2719 | Japanese 2: Pre-Advanced Communication Skills 1 | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| EAST2720 | Japanese 2: Pre-Advanced Communication Skills 2 | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | PFP |
Students will be required to study 20 credits from the following list of optional modules:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARAB2066 | Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| ARAB2091 | Arab Media, Politics and Society | 20 | ||
| ARAB2181 | Cultures of the Arab Middle East and North Africa | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARAB2190 | Global Jihad: From the Taliban to ISIS | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| ARAB2310 | Modern Middle Eastern History | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| ARAB2312 | Islamic Law: Authority, Continuity and Change | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.
Students will be required to study 20 credits from the following optional modules:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAST2007 | Japan's International Relations | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| EAST2025 | Global Korea in Context: Sociocultural and Political Dynamics | 20 | Not running in 202526 | |
| EAST2480 | Japanese Development Assistance in a Globalising World | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| EAST2714 | Death in Japanese Society and Culture | 20 | Not running in 202526 | |
| EAST2715 | Japanese Cinema in the World | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| EAST2716 | Nature and Technology in Japan: Cultural Images | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable
Students are required to take a minimum of 40 credits in each subject. Overall, students must take 100 credits across their two subjects. All students must take 40 credits as a Final Year Project module, which can be taken in - and count towards - either of their two subjects (EITHER Japanese OR Arabic). The remaining 20 credits should be taken in either of the named subjects or taken as MODL or Discovery modules.
Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARAB3020 | Advanced Skills in Arabic Language | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | PFP |
| EAST3285 | Japanese 3: Advanced Communication Skills | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | PFP |
| MODL3050 | Final Year Project | 40 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | PFP |
Students who take their FYP in Japanese are required to take a minimum of 20 credits and may take up to 40 credits from the following list of optional modules. Students who take their FYP in Arabic may take up to 20 credits from the following list of optional modules
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARAB3072 | Islam and Modernity | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARAB3090 | The Qur’an and the Hadith: Muslim Scriptural Sources | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| ARAB3110 | Middle Eastern Politics: Regimes, Societies and Conflict | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARAB3888 | Advanced Media Arabic: Translation Skills in Text Typology | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) |
Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.
Students who take their FYP in Arabic are required to take a minimum of 20 credits and may take up to 40 credits from the following list of optional modules (from Basket 1 AND Basket 2). Students who take their FYP in Japanese may take up to 20 credits from the following list of optional modules (from EITHER Basket 1 OR Basket 2).
Basket 1:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAST3018 | Death in Japanese Society and Culture | 20 | Not running in 202526 | |
| EAST3156 | Nature and Technology in Japan: Cultural Images | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| EAST3271 | East Asia's Regional Political Economy | 20 | Not running in 202526 | |
| EAST3525 | Globalising China and the Developing World | 20 | Not running in 202526 |
Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.
Basket 2:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EAST3016 | East Asian Performing Arts | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| EAST3017 | Japan-Korea Relations in the Shadow of Empire | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| EAST3252 | Modern Japanese History | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| EAST3286 | Advanced Japanese in Context: Culture and Identity | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| EAST3287 | Advanced Japanese in Context 5: Japanese Diplomacy and Foreign Policy in Historical Context | 20 | Not running in 202526 | |
| EAST3350 | Japanese Cinema in the World | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.
Students may study up to 20 credits from the following optional modules:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MODL3200 | Representing the Holocaust: Transgression and the Taboo | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| MODL3410 | Contemporary World Literature | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| MODL3600 | Material Cultures and Cultures of Consumption | 20 | Not running in 202526 | |
| MODL3610 | Adventures of the Imagination: Crime and the Fantastic Across Continents | 20 | Not running in 202526 | |
| MODL3620 | Decolonial Approaches | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| MODL3630 | Social Movements across Cultures | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| MODL3650 | Minoritised Languages, Dialects and Cultures from Past to Present | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| MODL3800 | Linguists into Schools | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) |
Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.
Students may take up to 20 credits of discovery modules
Last updated: 21/07/2025 17:00:44
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team