1.
Faculty of Letters; Faculty of Humanities; School of Humanities
A division of a university dedicated to the study of literature, linguistics, philosophy, history, and related humanistic fields. In Japan, the 文学部 is one of the oldest faculties in traditional universities and typically covers language and literature (both Japanese and foreign), philosophy, psychology, history, and area studies.
彼女は文学部の学生だ。
She is a student in the Faculty of Letters.
文学部では哲学や歴史も学べる。
In the Faculty of Letters you can also study subjects like philosophy and history.
京都大学の文学部に合格するために三年間勉強した。
I studied for three years to get accepted into the Faculty of Letters at Kyoto University.
文学部は就職に不利だと言われることもあるが、実際は進路が幅広い。
People sometimes say the Faculty of Letters is a disadvantage for job hunting, but in reality its graduates have a wide range of career paths.
Compound of 文学 ('literature; letters') and 学部 ('faculty; department'). Despite the name, a 文学部 covers much more than literature: it is the umbrella 'humanities' division of most Japanese universities.
TYPICAL DEPARTMENTS (within a 文学部):
- 国文学: Japanese literature
- 英文学: English literature
- 言語学: linguistics
- 哲学: philosophy
- 歴史学 / 史学: history
- 心理学: psychology (at some universities)
- 社会学: sociology (at some universities)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 文学部に入る / 文学部に進む: to enter the Faculty of Letters
- 文学部出身: a graduate of the Faculty of Letters
- 文学部の学生: a student in the Faculty of Letters
- 文学部を卒業する: to graduate from the Faculty of Letters
- 文学部長: dean of the Faculty of Letters
USAGE:
- Often rendered in English as 'Faculty of Letters,' but 'Faculty of Humanities' or 'School of Humanities' is also common depending on the university's official translation.
- Frequently contrasted with 'practical' faculties such as 経済学部 ('Economics'), 法学部 ('Law'), or 工学部 ('Engineering'). There is a cultural stereotype that 文学部 students are less 'employable,' which is a frequent topic in 就活 ('job hunting') commentary.
- At some universities the 文学部 has been renamed to 人文学部 or 人文社会学部 to reflect its broader scope.
RELATED FACULTIES:
- 法学部: Faculty of Law
- 経済学部: Faculty of Economics
- 理学部: Faculty of Science
- 工学部: Faculty of Engineering
- 医学部: Faculty of Medicine
- 教育学部: Faculty of Education