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.

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.

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.

The application period ends 15 November 2025. Please register and apply online through the Dahlem Research School Application Portal. You can find the current 2025 Announcement here.

For admission, please see the Admission FAQs.