Graduate School of East Asian Studies offers a structured 3-year PhD program  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 field of politics, society, economy, culture, law, or history.

Two fully funded scholarships for international candidates are available upon nomination to the DAAD-GSSP program by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Two fellowships for candidates with Chinese citizenship are available upon nomination for the cooperation of Freie Universität and the Chinese Scholarship Council through the FUB-CSC PhD scholarship program.

Successful applicants will have an above-average master’s degree in either area studies (Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies) or a discipline represented at the Graduate School (Political Science, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Business, Economics, Law, History, Cultural Studies, Humanities) with a focus on East Asia. The language of communication is English. Successful candidates will also have language skills in an East Asian Language (Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) at a level of B2 or higher.

The deadline for application is 15 November 2023. Please register and apply online at the Dahlem Research School Application Portal.

For questions on admission and the online portal, please also consult the Admission FAQ on our homepage. More info on the GEAS website