The LCJ Academic Program
Lakeland College Japan offers a fully accredited Associate of Arts degree, providing the general education needs for American college students. Once finished, graduates of LCJ can transfer to schools around the world. Because of our official recognition by the Japanese Ministry of Education, LCJ graduates have the option of transferring in Japan; most, however, transfer to colleges and universities in the United States, the most popular destination being Lakeland's home campus in Wisconsin.
Because LCJ offers three terms per year, it is possible to complete an A.A. degree in 20 months. Students complete a total of 61 units, consisting of 14 required core classes and usually 7 electives. Three core courses (basic writing, reading, and math) may be swapped with electives if competency tests are passed. A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required to graduate.
| Core Courses | ||
| Writing Workshop | Reading Workshop | Knowing the Self |
| Expository Writing | Humanities I | Intermediate Algebra |
| Persuasive Writing | Public Speaking | Introduction to Biology |
| Artistic Experience1 | Societal Studies3 | Religious Studies2 |
| U.S. History I | U.S. History II | |
| Electives | ||
| Art History II | Drawing I | Two-Dimensional Design |
| Cultural Anthropology | Introduction to Sociology | Ethics |
| Principles of Macroeconomics | General Psychology | Western Religious Traditions |
| Eastern Religious Traditions | Religion in America | History of Asia |
| Intro. to Computers | US-Japan Relations | World History II |
| Majority-Minority Relations | Intro. to Mass Media | Intro. to NPOs |
| Music Theory I | Music History & Appreciation | Newspaper Practicum |
| Probability & Statistics | Pre-Calculus | Calculus I |
| Principles of Microeconomics | Accounting Principles | Logic |
| Intro. to Hospitality Mgt. | Hospitality Food & Beverage | Hosp. Human Resource Mgt. |
| Introduction to Business | Elementary Spanish I | Elementary Chinese I |
| Elementary Japanese (1 & 2) | Intermediate Japanese (1 & 2) | New Classes often added |
|
1 Course fulfilling Artistic Requirement chosen from the three courses in purple |
Credits
Most courses at LCJ meet 3 hours per week and thus earn 3 credits. Some courses, notably those with labs, meet 4 times a week. A few courses have 1 or 2 credits. Most LCJ students take about 12 credits per term. This allows graduation in five terms. Some students take more credits and graduate earlier; others take fewer courses and spend more than 5 terms to obtain an A.A. degree.
Grading
Students need to maintain a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 to graduate. The grades students obtain are assigned numbers multiplied by the number of credit hours in the courses, added together, and then divided by the total number of credits. Grading at Lakeland College is factored into the GPA as such:
| A | 4.0 |
| AB | 3.5 |
| B | 3.0 |
| BC | 2.5 |
| C | 2.0 |
| CD | 1.5 |
| D | 1.0 |
| F | 0.0 |
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Faculty Advisors
Members of the full-time faculty advise students each term on which courses they should take to finish their degree requirements in the shortest time possible. The faculty advisors guide students toward their career goals and offer advice on how to achieve those goals from an academic stance.
Graduation
Students will receive an Associate of Arts degree when they have accrued at least 61 credits, successfully completed all the required courses and maintained at least a 2.0 GPA. We have two graduation ceremonies per year – one in August and one in December – for the graduating students. Students graduating in April may attend one of the ceremonies later in the year.
Find out more about how you can enter LCJ or what documents we can provide you. You can also arrange for a visit to our campus, or apply to enter!
