Graduate School in Asian Studies

The graduate school focuses on contemporary East and South-East Asia at a time when the region is struggling with societal, economic, and political issues of global importance. It brings together doctoral students from different disciplines within the humanities and social sciences.

The graduate school will create synergies between existing PhD programmes, provide access to experienced scholars, specialised courses and workshops, as well as run a mobility programme.

The entrenched, or resurgent, authoritarianism in many countries in the region, including in particular China, Myanmar, and Cambodia, has an impact on access and the ability to conduct research, or on certain topics, and raises difficult ethical challenges and concerns about safety. Travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic has also created the need for innovative methodologies.

The graduate school will thus put a special emphasis on training in ethical issues, flexible research design, and digital methods.The graduate school will be led by a coordinator and a programme committee consisting of representatives of the different Swedish partner institutions. In addition, the school will establish an advisory board with representatives from similar schools in Europe and Asia.

At a time when in-depth knowledge about Asia is more important than ever, the graduate school will strengthen competence among future generations of researchers and further collaboration among different institutions in Sweden and beyond.