How do I learned Japanese

My university doesn't offer this language, and I don't want to wait until graduate school to learn it under the assumption both that I will go to graduate school and that they will offer it where I choose to go.

I'm just curious, are there any good self-study programs I could work on for a year that would allow me to be the equal of someone who studied the language for one year in high school?

Ironically, there is a study abroad program in Japan which requires some experience with the language (using the example I used above as its own example of how much) even though they do not offer classes in it.

Recommending this excellent book, a semi-technical introduction to Japanese grammar. Not for total beginners. If you never knew what masu was, or that ぬ and ん are negatives equivalent to ない, then check it out.

http://www.nihongoresources.com/media/An%20introduction%20to%20Japanese.pdf

Rikaichan is massively useful (essential, actually) if you surf Japanese sites. http://www.polarcloud.com/rikaichan/

kantango.com is for selecting and creating vocabulary lists: it imports all data from edict and allows creation of flashcards and quizzes from your lists. You can also access others' (public) lists.

If you're starting out, go grab the textbooks (Genki is probably a good bet) and vocabulary lists from one of those big Japanese learning materials torrents. And actually use them.

Finally, #japanese and #learnjapanese on Rizon are very good for asking questions and practicing. The Guide To Japanese forums (>>2) are great for asking questions, and there's a hell lot of useful discussions archived there.