Skip to main content
School of Modern Languages

Call for applications: PhD workshop in Japanese Studies

A PhD workshop in Japanese Studies will be held alongside the BAJS 2025 50th Anniversary Conference.

Date: 2-3 September 2025

The aim of the workshop is to enable PhD candidates to present their work to and gain discipline-specific feedback on their projects from senior scholars in Japanese studies. The workshop will comprise a mix of presentations, in-depth small-group discussions, and networking opportunities.

We invite PhD candidates working on Japan-related topics to apply.

Up to twenty applicants will be selected to participate in the PhD workshop. Attendance is free of charge.  We expect to be able to offer successful applicants 3-nights’ accommodation in university halls of residence, as well as a modest contribution to travel expenses. To take part in the workshop, participants must be members of BAJS. We encourage participants to also attend the BAJS 2025 conference.

To apply, please send the following material in a single pdf file by 6 May 2025 to :

  • Title
  • Long abstract (approx. 1,000 words) describing your research questions and methods, as well as any preliminary findings if available.
  • Letter of motivation (1 page max)
  • Short CV (2 pages max)

Applications are welcome from PhD candidates who have completed at least one year of their program. Priority will be given to those who are not presenting at the BAJS 2025 conference.

We expect to notify successful applicants by mid-May. Selected applicants will be required to submit a writing sample of 5,000 words by 1 August 2025. These writing samples will form basis of small-group discussions. Those who do not submit a writing sample by the deadline will be withdrawn from the workshop.

The workshop is generously funded by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.