Masters degrees in East Asian Society & Culture analyse the politics, economics, media and culture of the East Asia region, focusing on China, Japan and Korea.
These courses are normally interdisciplinary, asking students to find parallels and contrasts between different countries, topics and institutions. Some programmes may also involve a language element, giving you the chance to learn an East Asian language.
Related subject areas include East Asian Languages & Literature, East Asian History and Pacific Asian Studies.
Students gain expertise on East Asian contemporary history, politics and societies and learn social science research methods to become area specialists on East Asia. East Asian languages are studied as part of the degree to support students’ acquisition of knowledge and Master’s thesis research.
Students in the Programme have good opportunities for student exchange in East Asian universities as well as to receive East Asian study and research scholarships. The Programme provides expertise to enter international public, private and third sector professions. Students also become qualified to apply to PhD programmes and to pursue an academic career.
The Centre for East Asian Studies specializes in research on contemporary East Asian societies, with special focus on various manifestations of civil societies in China, North and South Korea and Japan. For China, academic staff conducts research, for example, on disaster management, social movements and protest, urban governance, and environmental issues. For South Korea, on popular culture and social movements, as well as on South Korean foreign aid. For North Korea, on social and economic transformation. For Japan, on social movements and civic society.
The research by the academic staff is directly reflected in the Master’s programme: students get up-to-date teaching on topical issues and societal and political developments in East Asian societies. Students also receive individual thesis supervision firmly anchored in the East Asia expertise of the teaching staff.
Students conduct independent research on their chosen topic and write a Master’s Thesis (40 ECTS). This trains students to apply social science methods, carry out research, analyse research data, present their findings orally and in writing, be engaged in argumentation and debate, and communicate their research findings in accordance with scientific standards.
Examples of thesis topics:
Check out the complete list of Master’s theses written by our graduates from the programme’s webpages
Students in the Master’s Degree Programme in East Asian Studies have very good study exchange opportunities in the People’s Republic of China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, in the partner universities of the University of Turku.
It is common that students spend one or even two academic terms abroad during their second year in the Programme and also conduct field research for their Master’s thesis during that time.
Students of the Programme also have a chance to study for one year in the Master of China Studies programme at the Zhejiang University in China as part of their Master’s Programme in Turku.
In this Master’s Degree Programme, you will gain in-depth knowledge on contemporary East Asian societies.
You will learn:
Those graduating from the Master’s Degree Programme in East Asian Studies find employment in public, private and third sector jobs, such as in diplomatic service, international organisations, and companies where knowledge on East Asia and dynamic regions is in demand.
Graduates of the Programme are eligible to apply to the doctoral programmes at the University of Turku and other universities in the fields of social sciences and East Asian studies.
This course offers comprehensive training addressing both international political issues and media trends in East Asia.
You will learn about major international and domestic political trends in the region, while developing a comprehensive knowledge about the role media plays in these developments.
Our graduates hold influential positions in business, government, the arts and academia. Some of them are journalists, television producers, interpreters and translators. Others are city brokers and analysts. They work for organisations such as the BBC World Service, BNP Paribas, British Council, British Museum, Deloitte, HarperCollins, Jaguar Land Rover, Lloyds Banking Group, Nintendo, Siemens, Sony, Toyota and the World Food Programme.
We are one of Europe’s leading centres for the study of China, Japan and Korea. We have links with partner universities in East Asia that support our dynamic research culture. Our academics bring theories, methods and findings from their research to their teaching.
All three of our interdisciplinary research clusters inform what we teach. They are: East Asian Text and Culture; Movements, Economy and Development in East Asia; Power, Cooperation and Competition in East Asia.
The Sheffield Confucius Institute, which was named Global Confucius Institute of the year in 2015, explores Chinese language and culture. The Institute offers many opportunities for students to get involved in its activities which will help enhance their learning and deepen their cultural understanding of China.
You’ll learn how to research and analyse, manage projects, write reports and give effective presentations. You will also have the opportunity to take language modules in Chinese, Japanese or Korean if you wish. Your in-depth knowledge of East Asian countries and your understanding of the region will give you an edge in the careers market.
Our postgrads have their own study space and IT facilities at the Sir Sze-yuen Chung Resource Centre. The University’s libraries have an extensive selection of texts and online resources in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
You can study a shorter course for a Postgraduate Certificate (four months, 60 credits) or Postgraduate Diploma (nine months, 120 credits). You’ll need 180 credits to get a Masters degree, including 60 credits from your extended project.
Choose from a range of modules which may include:
There are lectures and small-group seminars. You’re assessed on your essays, exams, presentations and an extended project.
The last 20 years have been a period of transition for Japan.
The abrupt end in the early 1990s of Japan’s seemingly unstoppable economic growth plunged the nation into two decades of recession, which has in turn brought to the fore a range of social and political issues accumulated since the Second World War.
The end of Japanese economic superiority also coincided with the end of the Cold War, an event that brought about new regional and global dynamics, and with them new security challenges.
Meanwhile, Japanese culture has experienced a renaissance, with Japan recognised worldwide as a centre of global ‘cool’, and Japanese cultural products continuing to find new markets and influence new demographics worldwide.
The overall picture is of a rapidly changing nation in the vanguard of post-industrial societies — fascinating not only for its rich traditional heritage and diversity, but also for what its recent experience can tell us about world trends.
Understanding such complexity requires an interdisciplinary approach, and we offer you the opportunity to explore Japanese history, international relations, politics, religion, and arts, and help you see the connections between them.
Using Japanese source materials in tandem with the extensive English language literature on Japan, we will help you build upon and develop your own interests, focus on the aspects of Japan that fascinate you, and support you as you carry out your own original research project.
By the end of the programme you will have acquired specialist skills and knowledge that mark you out as an expert on Japan, and the confidence to apply those skills in industry, academia or beyond.
The programme is taught through a combination of seminars and tutorials. You will take one compulsory and four option courses, as well as a compulsory research skills and methods course. After two semesters of taught courses you will conduct your own research for your dissertation.
Compulsory courses:
Option courses may include:
Students who follow the programme will:
Those with previous experience in Japanese language learning will have the opportunity to develop the necessary linguistic skills to conduct research in defined areas within Japanese Studies by retrieving, selecting, translating and assimilating information from Japanese sources.
The flexibility of focus this programme offers makes it an ideal foundation for advanced study, potentially leading to an academic career. Teaching or curatorship roles in cultural institutions are alternative career pathways
The transferable skills you gain in communication, project management and presentation will prove a valuable asset to employers in any field.
The master’s programme in Asian Studies at Leiden University offers an outstanding qualification from one of the leading centres for Asian studies in Europe.
The Asian Studies master's programme offers one-year specialisations on East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the History, Arts and Culture of Asia and the Politics, Society and Economy of Asia and two-year specialisations on China, Japan, Korea.
Expertise on Asia at Leiden University is internationally renowned and spans the whole of Asia. Small classes give you direct and regular contact with your lecturers. You will learn from some of Europe's best scholars in the field, many of whom are at the leading edge of Asia-related research.
With an expansive curriculum and flexible programme formats, you may tailor the curriculum to reflect your interests or career ambitions. You can choose to focus on a language and a single country, or on a specific discipline and region. You can also choose from a broad range of electives.
During your studies you will have the opportunity to develop your fluency in a classical or modern language. You also have the option of taking an intensive modern Indonesian language course.
All of the Asian Studies programmes make the most of Leiden University's world-class resources, including its famous collections of Asian artifacts.
On this course we focus on business practices and systems in East Asia, namely China, Japan and Korea.
You’ll develop a thorough understanding of the Asian business environment and how it is shaped by domestic and social change, globalisation and political developments.
Through optional modules you will have the opportunity to focus your studies on one particular East Asian country if you wish or keep your knowledge broad depending on your interests and career goals.
Our graduates hold influential positions in business, government, the arts and academia. Some of them are journalists, television producers, interpreters and translators. Others are city brokers and analysts. They work for organisations such as the BBC World Service, BNP Paribas, British Council, British Museum, Deloitte, HarperCollins, Jaguar Land Rover, Lloyds Banking Group, Nintendo, Siemens, Sony, Toyota and the World Food Programme.
We are one of Europe’s leading centres for the study of China, Japan and Korea. We have links with partner universities in East Asia that support our dynamic research culture. Our academics bring theories, methods and findings from their research to their teaching.
All three of our interdisciplinary research clusters inform what we teach. They are: East Asian Text and Culture; Movements, Economy and Development in East Asia; Power, Cooperation and Competition in East Asia.
The Sheffield Confucius Institute, which was named Global Confucius Institute of the year in 2015, explores Chinese language and culture. The Institute offers many opportunities for students to get involved in its activities which will help enhance their learning and deepen their cultural understanding of China.
You’ll learn how to research and analyse, manage projects, write reports and give effective presentations. You will also have the opportunity to take language modules in Chinese, Japanese or Korean if you wish. Your in-depth knowledge of East Asian countries and your understanding of the region will give you an edge in the careers market.
Our postgrads have their own study space and IT facilities at the Sir Sze-yuen Chung Resource Centre. The University’s libraries have an extensive selection of texts and online resources in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
You can study a shorter course for a Postgraduate Certificate (four months, 60 credits) or Postgraduate Diploma (nine months, 120 credits). You’ll need 180 credits to get a Masters degree, including 60 credits from your extended project.
hoose from a range of optional modules which may include:
There are lectures and small-group seminars. You’ll be assessed on your essays, exams, presentations and an extended project.
How will East Asia accommodate the rise of a more economically and militarily assertive China? Is the US declining as a superpower in the region, or will it maintain its regional dominance? Does Japan still have designs upon regional economic leadership, and will it come to play a bigger military role in the region? How does a ‘non-state’ conduct international relations?
Our MA in International Politics and East Asia gives you the opportunity to approach and answer these questions from a disciplinary basis. This is not a traditional area studies course on East Asia, but rather a disciplinary degree that focuses on the region for its case studies and thus offers unique advantages: strong disciplinary expertise combined with genuine regional expertise. East Asia’s emergence as the most dynamic region in the global political economy continues despite a series of crises since the early 1990s. If anything, the crises reinvigorated the study of the international relations and political economy of East Asia. Instead of just focusing on business and economics, the crises highlighted the politics of international economic relations, the impact of globalisation on the region and existing development paradigms, and the need for greater regional cooperation to cope with future economic shocks.
Our IPEA programme is one of the leading postgraduate programmes of its kind. We have among the greatest concentration of disciplinary based East Asia experts in the UK and Europe, and we are home to the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation, researching issues of Asia-Pacific and East Asian regionalism
East Asia’s emergence as the most dynamic region in the global political economy continues despite a series of crises since the early 1990s. If anything, the crises reinvigorated the study of the international relations and political economy of East Asia. Instead of just focusing on business and economics, the crises highlighted the politics of international economic relations, the social, political, and security consequences of economic crises, the impact of globalisation on the region and existing development paradigms, and the need for greater regional cooperation to cope with future economic shocks. At the same time, the region has been faced with a series of major crises and challenges in the political and security dimensions, which are demanding of greater study by students of international relations.
