Japanese Studies | University of Manchester

Course summary

Our PhD Japanese Studies programme will enable you to carry out a piece of significant, original research at a department that focuses on modern and contemporary Japan. Japanese Studies was established at Manchester in 2007. It has now developed a large undergraduate programme with an expanding graduate cluster. We offer supervision of postgraduate research projects connected to the broader issues of gender, education, religion, society and history. In particular, we offer specialist supervision on:

mass culture;
subcultural formations and cultural production;
contemporary and modern religious organisations and movements;
modern medical, educational and cultural history;
gender and women in culture;
medicine, reproduction, and society.

We support anthropological, sociological, textual and gender and cultural studies approaches. There is a focus on cross-disciplinary research and co-supervision where we explore the relationship of research in Japanese Studies with other disciplines.

Entry requirements

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Fees and funding

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Course options

Sponsorship information

There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.

To apply for University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered. The deadline for most internal competitions, including AHRC NWCDTP and School of Arts, Languages and Cultures studentships is 13 January 2025.

All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting the funding application form and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below.

You will need to be nominated by your proposed supervisor for a number of our scholarships. Therefore, we highly recommend you discuss these funding opportunities with your supervisor first, so they can advise on your suitability and ensure you meet nomination deadlines.

For more funding information, visit our funding page or use our funding database to search for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.