Welcome to GEAS
The Graduate School of East Asian Studies (GEAS) at Freie Universität Berlin is an interdisciplinary doctoral programme dedicated to the study of modern and contemporary East Asia. Doctoral researchers work across the social sciences — sociology, political science, history and area studies — on China, Japan and Korea, within a structured, English-language programme and an international research environment.
About GEAS
- Founded in 2011 at Freie Universität Berlin
- Focus on China, Japan and Korea
- Structured doctoral programme (Dr. phil.)
- Working language: English
- Interdisciplinary social-science research
Programme
GEAS runs a structured PhD and support programme in the social sciences and area studies of modern and contemporary East Asia. Doctoral candidates earn their degree in the department of their own discipline, supervised by a team of three advisors and a faculty mentor based in East Asia. The training combines discipline-based methods courses, research seminars and Summer Schools with a mandatory six-month fieldwork phase in China, Japan or Korea. A separate postdoctoral track continues this work for early-career researchers.
Library for the Humanities at Freie Universität Berlin
Image Credit: Bernd Wannenmacher
Application
The next application period runs from 15 September to 15 November 2026. GEAS offers a structured three-year doctoral programme with a regional focus on East Asia — China, Japan and Korea. Dissertations analyse modern or contemporary East Asia in the fields of politics, society, economy, culture, law or history.
News
Calendar
Publications
- Stassar, Nicolas (2025) | Japanese military justice against allied soldiers during the Pacific War 1941-1945. In: Maddox | Schölz | Zachmann (eds.): Military Justice, de Gruyter
- Clay, Sarah J. (“Locals Don’t Care About the Natural World”: The Making and Remaking of Ecological Space by Japanese Migrants on the Miyako Islands | In: Gökçe, Leetsch (ed.): Ecological Interdependencies. DOI: 10.1515/9783112217764-006
- Korshenko, Elena (2025) | Perpetual instability? Life cycles of new and minor parties in Japan, 2005-2016. FU Berlin Dissertation.
- Luzi, Cecilia (2025) | The gap between administration and migrants: Terminologies and experiences of urban-rural migration in Japan. In: Journal of Rural Studies Volume 113, January 2025,103500, DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103500
- Wesemann, Lena (2024) | Relics from the Past. Narratives of Human Evolution in Chinese Museums. Hildesheim: Georg Olms. DOI: 10.5771/9783487424484
- Jacobs, John Harry (2023) | Cooperation across alliance systems to manage a hegemonic ally : the case of Japan's cooperation with Europe in United States-led out-of-area operations. Berlin: Dissertation FU
- Lotti, Valeria (2022) | What women want: an analysis of cosmetic surgery and social achievements in contemporary urban China. Dissertation. Refubium
