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Hamilton Lugar School of
Global and International Studies
Indiana University Bloomington
Doctoral Programs

East Asian Languages and Cultures

Research-level work on the languages and cultures of China, Japan and Korea, with an outside field of your own choosing.

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About this degree

This is the degree for people who intend to teach and research the languages and cultures of China, Japan and Korea at university level. You will read in the original, work closely with faculty on a specialism of your own, and take a second field outside the department to think with.

The department is one of the largest and most interdisciplinary of its kind in the country, with more than thirty scholars across art history, anthropology, film, gender studies, history, linguistics, literature, media studies, political science, religious studies and sociology. Doctoral cohorts are small and funded over several years. Depth in language pedagogy runs right through the faculty, which matters if you expect to teach the language as well as write about the culture.

  •  
    3
    Languages
  •  
    30+
    Faculty, across a dozen disciplines

Based on 2026 data

Who this degree is for

This is the right degree for you if:

  • You already hold a master’s in a relevant field
  • You want one East Asian language at research depth, and a second field to think with
  • You are heading for university teaching and research

Your outside field

Part of the degree sits outside the department, in a field you choose because it will sharpen your own research. These come up most often, and others can be approved.

  • Comparative literature
  • Fine arts
  • Folklore
  • History
  • Political science and religious studies

Where this degree leads

This is a degree for academic careers:

  • University teaching and research in East Asian languages, literatures and cultures
  • College-level language teaching, which the department’s depth in language pedagogy supports

Planning your Degree

  • Degree requirements
    Your required courses, what counts toward the degree, and the language and research expectations. This opens the current Graduate Bulletin. If you started in an earlier year, find that year in the archive — it is the edition that governs your degree.
  • Courses and schedules
    What is actually being taught this term, when each class meets, and where seats are still open.
  • Doctoral minors
    Every doctorate asks you to take a minor outside your own department. Explore the Hamilton Lugar minor offerings, and you are not limited to them: a minor can sit in any department at Indiana University that will host one.

Where to go next

Hamilton Lugar School

Graduate Admissions

355 North Eagleson Avenue Bloomington, IN 47405-1105