East Asian Studies PhDs

PhD study in East Asian Studies

Tomorrow's leading academic or a practitioner with specialist expertise on East Asia?

Either way, Sheffield will help you to realise your ambition as a full-time, part-time, or remote location PhD student. We provide unrivalled social science and humanities-based research training, quality research opportunities, as well as high standards of physical infrastructure including online access to vernacular newspapers and databases.

Our high-quality teaching team and excellent research environment are what led the Higher Educational Funding Council for England to designate our taught programmes as 'excellent' - the highest accolade given and for our researchers to be nominated for awards on a regular basis.

We are now one of the leading centres for the study of East Asia in the UK. 

Research topics

Our research topics are constantly responding to developments in the disciplines, as well as to the dynamic changes in the region.

East Asia's complex histories, diverse cultures, and differing political systems make it a fascinating and significant area of study.  Its growing economic power and geopolitical influence also make research  on the region an important pathway to employment. Our work combines disciplinary academic knowledge on theory and methodology with analysis of dynamic and changing real-world issues of culture, politics, and society. Our research seeks to explain contemporary social issues and contribute to deeper understanding of one of the world's most rapidly growing and dynamic regions. 

Our students rate our teaching the highest of any East Asia Studies department in the UK, and 91% of our PhD students in our 2023 postgraduate student survey rated our research culture as positive or very positive (none rated it as negative). Our graduates also have a first class track record in the job market.  

We are driven by research-led teaching and a passion that linking academic knowledge to real life issues helps us understand societies, cultures, and politics across East Asia. Studying East Asia will prepare you for a career in one of the world's most exciting regions. Researching East Asia is more than just a career option; it is a chance for you to understand and contribute new knowledge on the diverse cultural traditions and lived experience of more than 30% of the world's population. By researching how people in China, Japan and Korea see the world and the world sees them, you will develop deep cultural knowledge and comparative skills of analysis that will contribute to your development as an individual. 

We supervise dissertations across a wide range of disciplines, including politics, international relations, political economy, business and economy, demographics, sociology, culture and film, language and literature, and modern history.

Our geographical focus spans Japan, China, the Korean peninsula, and East Asia as a region. The topic of your dissertation can be thematic, country specific or regional.

Interdisciplinary and interdepartmental supervision is also available for students wishing to pursue research involving another part of the world or involving other disciplines.

We are particularly keen to receive applications in the areas covered by our research clusters:

Politics, Economy and International Relations of East Asia

• Professor Hugo Dobson: Japan; International relations; Global governance; Politics
• Dr Yu Chen: China; Urbanisation; Migration; Labour market development; Housing
• Dr Sarah Son: North and South Korea, international relations, identity, nationalism, peace-building, human rights, migration, multiculturalism, contemporary politics and society of North and South Korea, discourse analysis
• Dr Zhong Zhang: Chinese corporate governance; Chinese economy and business; Chinese (business) law; the rule of law, law and finance, law and economic development in China.
• Dr Peter Matanle: Japan; Social and cultural geography of East Asian development; Demography and Environment; Sociology/Geography of Work and Employment
• Dr Christina Maags: political economy, multi-level governance and local policy implementation in the People’s Republic of China, particularly in the field of ageing and heritage.
• Dr Saori Shibata: Japan’s political economy, including the changing nature of work, the digital economy and how Japan’s model of capitalism is transforming
• Dr Fumihito Gotoh: Japanese and East Asian politics, International Political Economics, Comparative capitalisms (particularly between Anglo-American countries, Japan and China), Globalization and resistance, Politics of finance and technology, Credit markets and credit rating agencies
• Dr David Tobin: uses discourse analysis and ethnographic methods to explore the relationship between identity and security in global politics, specialising in contemporary China and Uyghurs.

Sustainable East Asia

• Dr Yu Chen: China; Urbanisation; Migration; Labour market development; Housing
• Dr Peter Matanle: Japan; Social and cultural geography of East Asian development; Demography and Environment; Sociology/Geography of Work and Employment
• Dr Jamie Coates: cultural anthropology of China and Japan, literary, film and media studies, geography, history, psychology, sociology and international relations, mobility studies, heritage studies. (currently not taking on students for 25/26 intake)

Gender Research Cluster

• Professor Jennifer Coates: Japan, media, gender, ethnography and film studies
• Dr Sarah Son: North and South Korea, international relations, identity, nationalism, peace-building, human rights, migration, multiculturalism, contemporary politics and society of North and South Korea, discourse analysis
• Dr Saori Shibata: Japan’s political economy, including the changing nature of work, the digital economy and how Japan’s model of capitalism is transforming
• Professor Kate Taylor-Jones:  film studies, history, gender and sexuality studies, media studies, visual culture and critical theory. PhD by Practice
• Dr Mark Pendleton: modern and contemporary East Asian history, cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies (primarily Japan)

Critical Ethnography in East Asia

• Dr Jamie Coates: cultural anthropology of China and Japan, literary, film and media studies, geography, history, psychology, sociology and international relations, mobility studies, heritage studies. (currently not taking on students for 25/26 intake)
• Professor Jennifer Coates: Japan, media, gender, ethnography and film studies
• Dr Mike Prentice:  organisations, work, labour, digital platforms, South Korea, language, sociolinguistics, communication, genre
• Dr David Tobin: uses discourse analysis and ethnographic methods to explore the relationship between identity and security in global politics, specialising in contemporary China and Uyghurs.

Media, Text and Sound in East Asia

• Dr Hannah Chang
• Dr Martyn Smith
• Dr Mark Pendleton: modern and contemporary East Asian history, cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies (primarily Japan)
• Dr Jamie Coates: cultural anthropology of China and Japan, literary, film and media studies, geography, history, psychology, sociology and international relations, mobility studies, heritage studies.
• Dr Nozomi Uematsu:
• Professor Kate Taylor-Jones: film studies, history, gender and sexuality studies, media studies, visual culture and critical theory; PhD by practice.
• Professor Jennifer Coates: Japan, media, gender, ethnography and film studies

Degree programmes

The Sheffield degree

The Sheffield degree is a 3.5 year research degree of normal registration. As such, it is flexible, with the opportunity to audit graduate courses, participate in language training, and develop broader transferable skills.

We are recognised as a dedicated centre for scholarships offered by the Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Other funding is available though the Sasakawa and Daiwa Foundations as well as the China Scholarships Council. We also have a number of internal university schemes for supporting doctoral research.

From 2024/25, the School of East Asian Studies is also delighted to offer a PhD by Practice, to recognise the growing range of creative and applied research approaches in East Asian Studies. This has three paths, all of which require the combination of a practical component with a written thesis of a shorter length than a standard PhD. The practice-based output can take the form of:

• a portfolio or substantial single piece of original work in a specific aspect of creative East Asian Studies practice (e.g. film, performance, writing, score, exhibition, audio or video);
• completion of a set of applied research outputs emerging from substantial experience in a non-governmental or government body related to East Asia; or
• a substantial original annotated translation from East Asian language source material.

Please contact seas-pgradmin@sheffield.ac.uk if you would like more information about the PhD by Practice, or discuss directly with your proposed supervisor. 

Double degree programmes

The Graduate School of East Asian Studies at Sheffield University and the Graduate School of Law at Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan), run a highly successful ‘double degree’ PhD programme.

This innovative cross-national programme equips students with the skills needed to compete in the globalized market for academic and other skilled jobs.

The ‘double brand’ of Sheffield and Tohoku has proven attractive to both students and employers. Doctoral researchers who have been awarded their PhDs are now employed at prestigious universities in Denmark, Germany and Japan.

The Tohoku double degree programme is a three-year doctoral programme offering international access to a stimulating interdisciplinary research environment with Japan's highest ranked university in the THE World University Rankings 2020.

Sheffield doctoral researchers participating in the Double Degree Programme spend the first and third years of their degree here in Sheffield, and their second year as doctoral candidates at Tohoku University.

Upon successful completion of their third year of studies, students will be conferred a PhD degree by both universities on the basis of the same doctoral thesis, usually written in English, and a joint oral examination.

Funding

As part of the Joint PhD programme, the two universities waive the fees of doctoral researchers during their enrolment at the partner university. Students who register at Sheffield for the double degree will not pay fees to Tohoku during the period of their registration.

The universities of Tohoku and Sheffield award scholarships open to international competition. Currently the value of the scholarship (stipend as Research Assistant) for the period at Tohoku is about 130,000 Yen per month and an annual research grant of up to 100,000 Yen.

All students from Sheffield have so far been successful in their application for the Tohoku scholarship and annual research grant, based on their high-quality and clearly defined PhD projects.

Eligibility

Students in the first year of the PhD in the School of East Asian Studies whose research interests are in a field related to the History, Politics, Society, Law, and Economics of Japan and East Asia.

Applications to this programme are only open to current students in their first year of study with us. If you are interested in this opportunity please speak to your supervisor.

Scholarships

ESRC White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP)

The WRDTP is a collaboration between the universities of Sheffield, York, Leeds, Bradford, Hull, Manchester Metropolitan and Sheffield Hallam.  It offers a range of social sciences studentships within seven thematic interdisciplinary training pathways:

• Cities, Environment, and Liveability (CEL)
• Security, Conflict, and Justice (SCJ)
• Education, Childhood, and Youth (ECY)
• Data, Communication, and New Technologies (DCT)
• Wellbeing, Health, and Communities (WHC)
• Sustainable Growth, Management, and Economic Productivity (SMP)
• Civil Society, Development, and Democracy (CDD)

All scholarships are available as a +3 (PhD) or a 1+3 (Masters and PhD), in combination with the MA Social Research. This route ensures students meet ESRC training benchmarks for social research methods.

Full scholarship detail and eligibility criteria

Initial enquiries should be made directly to us.

AHRC White Rose College of the Arts and Humanities

The White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities (WRoCAH) will be offering at least 48 PhD studentships starting in October 2025 at Leeds, Sheffield and York, through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTP2) scheme.

Students can make only one application for funding through the Open Competition Studentships scheme. Projects are welcome from all faculties (not just Arts and Humanities), so long as the research falls within the remit of the AHRC.

The studentship application form and details of how to apply are available from the WRoCAH website.

To be eligible for funding, applicants for WRoCAH AHRC Studentships must have applied for a PhD programme at one of Leeds, Sheffield or York.

Sasakawa Japanese Studies Postgraduate Studentship Programme

The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation's Japanese Studies Postgraduate Studentship Programme was designed to support the development of Japanese studies in the UK.

Scholarships are worth £15,000 and intended to be used for one year's study at either taught postgraduate or research postgraduate level.

In order to be considered for a Sasakawa scholarship, send a letter of application by 5 January 2025 to Megan Morris explaining why you wish to be considered and why you think you are a good candidate.  You must be doing a PhD in the School of East Asian studies at the University of Sheffield in order to be eligible.

China Scholarship Council  - this is currently not available for 2025 entry

PhD Scholarships in Korean Studies

The Centre for Korean Studies at the University of Sheffield is offering a scholarship for PhD research conducted on Korea, at the UK home fee rate.

We seek highly motivated individuals who have strong academic results at masters level and who are committed to original and high-quality research in the field of Korean studies, broadly defined.

Applications are open to students of any nationality. The scholarship covers the value of the UK tuition fee for 3 years of a PhD Programme from 2024 to 2027.

Non-UK students receive a partial fee waiver to the value of UK tuition fees. The scholarship must commence in October 2025 and will last for 3.5 years.

The deadline for applications is Sunday 5 January 2025. This deadline corresponds with the deadline for all other scholarship applications in the School of East Asian Studies.

Interested applicants should first contact a member of the University of Sheffield Korean Studies team at cks@sheffield.ac.uk with a draft proposal well ahead of the application deadline (ideally by November 2024) in order to assess the suitability of their research topic for supervision and to refine the proposal together with a proposed supervisor.

After completing the above step, to apply for the scholarship, you should make an application via the University of Sheffield online application system by Sunday 5 January, 2025. Do not submit an application via email or to individual members of staff.

For further information or advice regarding any of these scholarships please contact us on seas-pgradmin@sheffield.ac.uk