[KS] CfA | 2026 PhD studentships at Graduate School of East Asian Studies (GEAS), Freie Universität Berlin

[GEAS Events]

++apologies for crossposting++



The Graduate School of East Asian Studies (GEAS) at Freie Universität Berlin will admit up to 9 doctoral candidates to its PhD program "East Asian Studies" again in 2026.

The application period starts on 15 September 2025. Deadline for submissions: 15 November 2025.

GEAS offers a structured 3-year doctoral program within a 4-year PhD process, with a regional focus on East Asia (China, Japan, Korea). Doctoral dissertations at GEAS are expected to analyze modern or contemporary East Asia in the fields of politics, society, economy, culture, law or history.

Eligibility

Successful applicants will have an above-average master's degree in either area studies (Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies) or in a discipline represented at the Graduate School with a focus on East Asia (Political Science, History, Cultural Studies, Humanities, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Business, Economics, Law, Transregional Studies). While applicants are not expected to contact potential supervisors prior to their application, they are strongly encouraged to review the profiles of GEAS members to ensure the compatibility of their project with supervisors' research profiles.

The language of communication is English (C1). Successful candidates will also have language skills in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean at a level of B2 or higher. Applicants who have native language skills in either English or one of the East Asian languages are expected to demonstrate language skills in another modern foreign language at level B2 or higher.

Scholarship Availability

The Graduate School offers nine places for doctoral researchers with external funding (e.g., a scholarship or fellowship from a recognized funding organisation). Applicants who do not yet have external funding are required to apply for funding at the same time as they apply for the doctoral program in September/October 2025. Two candidates with Chinese citizenship can be nominated by the Graduate School for funding through the cooperation of Freie Universität and the Chinese Scholarship Council (FUB-CSC) in March 2026. Additionally, three outstanding candidates can be nominated for a 6-month Starting Grant from the graduate school in 2026.

Further Information

The next application period starts 15 September 2025 and ends 15 November 2025. Please register and apply online through the Dahlem Research School Application Portal<http://www.drs.fu-berlin.de/>. Please do not send applications via email or mail.

For questions about admission and the online portal, please refer to the Admission FAQ on our homepage at http://www.geas.fu-berlin.de/application/faq/index.html.

For guidance on writing a research proposal, please visit http://www.geas.fu-berlin.de/application/Proposal/index.html.

The screening process will take place from December 2025 to March 2026. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed via video conference in February/March 2026. Successful candidates will be notified of their acceptance to the program by March/April 2026.

A place in the program is contingent upon admission to the relevant PhD procedure in the chosen subject at Freie Universität Berlin after being accepted to GEAS. Notifications for university admission will begin in June/July 2026.

For additional information on the application process and submission requirements, feel free to contact us at application at geas.fu-berlin.de<mailto:application at geas.fu-berlin.de>.
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