jonwd@milton.u.washington.edu (Jon Wiederspan) (12/06/90)
The University of Washington is currently developing the curriculum for an InterCollegiate MS/MSE Program in Engineering and Technical Japanese. We are now accepting applications for students to begin in Fall, 1991. The program will offer students to earn both a Master's in any Engineering or Science field (Bioengineering, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, etc) and develop advanced reading and communication skills in Technical Japanese. Students must have the equivalent of two years previous Japanese-language instruction. We feel that this program will be a desirable option for many students and ask that you post the enclosed brochure to comp.research.japan and anywhere else that may be applicable. Thank you. P.S. Replies by e-mail should be directed to: jonwd@milton.u.washington.edu until further notice. ****************************************** ****** Technical Japanese Program ****** ****************************************** Background For nearly a decade, Japan has been a world leader and a tough competitor in technology, in areas such as electrical engineering, computer science, materials science, and bioengineering. She is now a repository of a wealth of technical information, information which is vital to the continued success of American science and technology. At present, however, the majority of American scientists and engineers are greatly disadvantaged. Unlike our Japanese counterparts, we lack the language skills necessary to access Japanese technical information either from written documents or by direct communication at work sites. Only recently have we realized that to maintain our place with Japan as both competitor and collaborator, proficiency in technical Japanese is imperative. In response to the national need for engineers and scientists with a practical knowledge of Japanese, the College of Engineering at the University of Washington has established a technical Japanese program, the first program of this kind in the U.S. Program Goal The goal of the Technical Japanese Program is to produce graduates with Master's degrees in engineering (MSE) or science (MS) who have a working proficiency in technical Japanese. Successful graduates of the program will be able to read current technical literature in Japanese and work effectively with Japanese engineers and scientists in a Japanese research or business environment. =============== Program Features ================================= --> MSE or MS degree in the following subject areas: Aeronautics & Astronautics Electrical Engineering Bioengineering Industrial Engineering Civil Engineering Materials Science & Engineering Chemical Engineering Materials Science & Engineering Computer Science & Engineering Technical Communication --> Courses in Technical Japanese --> Courses in Technical Communication --> Training in a computer-based instructional lab equipped with state-of-the-art bilingual workstations --> Industrial summer internships in Japan --> Individual study with Japanese Engineering faculty --> Student fellowships ============= Admission Requirements =============================== --> A bachelor's degree in engineering or science --> Two years of college-level Japanese or equivalent (Applicants will take a Japanese proficiency test to demonstrate their current language skills) --> Any admission requirements specific to the area of engineering specialty ============ Graduation Requirements ================================ The engineering or science course work requirements for the program are the same as those for any MSE or MS degree. The program permits students to obtain a graduate degree in their chosen specialty. The requirements for graduation are: ==> Completion of 24 credits of graduate course work in the student's chosen specialty, including 3 credits of Independent Study with a Japanese-speaking member of the Engineering faculty; ==> Completion of 18 credits of course work in Technical Japanese; ==> Completion of 6 credits of graduate course work in Technical Communication; ==> Completion of 3 credits of industrial internship in Japan. =========== Faculty and Staff ======================================== The Program is supported by members of the College of Engineering, the Department of Asian Languages and Literature, and the Language Learning Center. =========== Sources of Support ======================================= Donald E. Petersen, former Chairman of the Board of the Ford Motor Company and a graduate of the University of Washington's College of Engineering, personally endowed the Technical Japanese Program. Additional support has been provided by private and public sources including: Industrial Consortium Pledges: Ford Motor Company SEH America Corporation Honda Motor Company Weyerhauser Company Mazda Corporation Xerox Corporation Industrial Summer Internship in Japan: Mitsubishi Technical Roundtable Kobe University Companies Kyoto University Kajima Corporation Tohoku University Komatsu Ltd Tokyo Institute of Kyocera Corporation Technology Sony Corporation University of Tokyo ************************ Do you know that... ************************ ==>The University of Washington has the only technical Japanese program endorsed by both the state and the federal governments. ==>An engineering degree from the University of Washington is one of the four American engineering degrees preferred by the University of Tokyo and by the Tokyo Institute of Technology for the Monbusho (Japanese Ministry of Education) scholarships. ==>The University of Washington is one of the nation's leading research universities. It has consistently ranked first among all public universities in the amount of federal research grants awarded annually. In the year of 1989-90 the University ranked fifth among all universities in the amount of corporate support it received. ==>Most departments in the University of Washington's College of Engineering have a native Japanese faculty member. ==>The State of Washington and the University of Washingon have long historic and economic ties with Asia, particularly with Japan. ********************************************************* ********************************************************* Inquiries For further information, please contact: Attn: Bill Horton Technical Japanese Program (Michio Tsutsui, Director) Department of Technical Communication College of Engineering 14 Loew Hall, FH-40 University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195 (206) 543-2567