The Graduate School encourages doctoral candidates to analyze specific topics within East Asia in the fields of politics, society, economy, culture, law and history. Possible dissertation topics address concrete topics in contemporary or modern settings in Chinese, Japanese or Korean societies. Research at GEAS is not limited to the study of the three major countries in East Asia, China, Japan, and Korea. It is also interested in transnational contexts and ways in which developments in and phenomena from East Asia affect other regions of the world. The Graduate School supports doctoral candidates in developing their research projects based on their individual interests and skills with colloquia, research design and tutorials for fieldwork.

Different disciplines contribute distinctive approaches to a common range of topics. Principal Investigators at GEAS are experts in: Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, Political Science, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Human Geography, Business and Economics, Law, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Theatre and Performance Studies.