Japanese Studies PhD
The history of Japanese Studies at Cambridge goes back to 1947 and for the first 40 years the numbers of undergraduates and graduate students alike in the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies were small. Nevertheless, over the years a number of PhDs have been awarded which have subsequently been turned into influential and highly-regarded books:
Sargent's 'The Japanese Family Storehouse'
McEwan's 'The Political Writings of Ogyu Sorai'
Bowring's 'Mori Ogai and the Modernization of Japan'
Recently the numbers have been rising steadily and there is now a growing band of students working on PhD dissertations. Recent topics have included the work of Abe Jiro, Yosano Akiko and The Tale of Genji, the theoretical writings of Zenchiku, the imperial navy and politics, the defence lobby in Japan in the 1950s, and Shinto and Buddhism in the early Meiji period.
As a minimum requirement, if you are hoping to do PhD work at Cambridge you will need to satisfy the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies that you have a strong foundation in the Japanese language and a clear idea of the research you propose to undertake. The doctorate is not a 'taught course'. It goes without saying that the topic should be in a subject area which a member of staff can realistically supervise, but all enquiries are welcome and students are advised to write in the first instance to discuss their research proposal. Formal application is made to the Board of Graduate Studies, which then passes the papers to the Degree Committee of the Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies for their recommendation. Students who are accepted are assigned to one of the Cambridge colleges, which can usually provide some accommodation as well as the society of graduate students in other disciplines.
The PhD degree involves writing a thesis which should not exceed 80,000 words exclusive of footnotes and bibliography but subject to an overall word limit of 100,000 words exclusive of bibliography and meeting a residence requirement of not less than six terms (two academic years in effect) in Cambridge.
As a graduate student you are allocated a supervisor, whose job it is to meet regularly with you and to monitor your progress. At the end of your first year of research you are required to submit a PhD Progress Examination. This usually consists of two long essays, one of a bibliographical nature and the other a substantial piece of work based on the first year's research. Once you have passed the PhD Progress Examination you are formally registered for the PhD degree.
The second and third years are spent in research and writing, and it is expected that, come the end of your third year, you will be in the final stages of preparing your dissertation. It should be emphasized that there is no course work at any stage: you are expected to devote your time to research in your chosen field. It is for this reason that the period of time spent acquiring a PhD at Cambridge is comparatively short. It goes without saying that the various members of staff, not only your supervisor, are happy to lend their expertise and to give what advice they can.
