PhD programmes

Choose from a range of PhD programmes in Asian Studies and related disciplines.

Make an original, positive and lasting contribution to Asian Studies.
Complete an original body of work under the expert guidance of at least two supervisors.
Your thesis will be around 80,000 words.
Our programmes include access to skills training, including research methodologies specific to Asian Studies.
We have one the largest collections of East Asian digital resources in the UK and Europe.

Choose from four PhD programmes

Chinese PhD
East Asian Studies PhD
Japanese PhD
Korean Studies PhD

What to do before you apply for a PhD in Asian Studies

Before you formally apply for a PhD in Asian Studies through the University of Edinburgh’s online system, you are advised to acquaint yourself with the department, its staff and areas of expertise.

This will help you to identify potential supervisors and ensure that your research proposal aligns with the department's strengths, thereby enhancing your chances of being accepted.

Please do take some time to read over staff members’ profiles, research interests, and publications, to ensure that your project is something we can effectively supervise. We often have to reject candidates with strong applications because their proposed project falls outside our areas of specialisation.

The following members of Asian Studies staff supervise PhD and MSc by Research students. Follow the links to find out more about their research interests and expertise.

Staff member	Role	Research interests and expertise
Professor Natascha Gentz	Chair of Chinese Studies	Media, politics and cultural studies
Professor Dr Joachim Gentz	Chair of Chinese Philosophy and Religion	Historiography, philosophy and religion
Professor Aaron Moore	Handa Chair of Japanese-Chinese Relations	Transnational and comparative social history
Dr Daniel Hammond	Senior Lecturer in Chinese Politics and Society	Politics and society
Dr Xuelei Huang	Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies	Cinema, print culture, drama and literature in modern China
Dr Youngmi Kim	Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies	Comparative politics and international relations
Dr Yuqing Liu	Lecturer in Chinese Studies	Poetry and language culture
Dr Abigail MacBain	Lecturer in Premodern Japanese Studies	Premodern Japanese history and religion
Dr Mark McLeister	Lecturer in Chinese Studies	Anthropology, Christianity in China
Dr Helen Parker	Lecturer in Japanese	Traditional and modern Japanese literature and performing arts
Dr Chris Perkins	Senior Lecturer in Japanese	Japanese student politics; contemporary Japanese culture and society
Dr Christopher Rosenmeier	Senior lecturer in Chinese	Modern literature
Dr Holly Stephens	Lecturer in Japanese and Korean Studies	Economic history, agriculture, empire, everyday life, and the emergence of the modern state in Japan and Korea

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