About the School of East Asian Studies
Background
With a history going back to 1963, the School of East Asian Studies (SEAS) is one of Europe´s leading centres of academic excellence for the study of contemporary East Asia, with research and teaching covering China, Japan and Korea. Its main focus is the business, politics, societies, cultures, economies and history of modern and contemporary East Asia.
Teaching and Research
SEAS has a long tradition of pioneering methods for the teaching of East Asian languages—namely Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Indeed, Sheffield was a pioneer of the `dual degree´ system, in which East Asian languages are taught together with the social sciences and other disciplines—an approach which is now standard throughout the UK.
Teaching and research interests at SEAS are interdisciplinary, with a strong emphasis on language. SEAS staff, all of whom are fluent in at least one East Asian language, are internationally-renowned specialists in East Asia, and bring their expertise in various fields to the wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses on offer at SEAS.
SEAS' excellence in both teaching and research has been widely acknowledged. In the 2007 National Student Survey, for instance, SEAS was ranked first in six out of seven categories (awareness, clarity and usefulness) amongst a range of Asian Studies schools and departments in the UK. In 2007, SEAS joined with the University of Leeds to establish the White Rose East Asia Centre—a £4 million project funded by the UK government. And SEAS was commended in the 2006 Independent Evaluation of Teaching for `the thematic organisation of the Chinese language programme, team organisation and resulting degree structure´.
Links with East Asia
SEAS maintains strong institutional links with partner universities in East Asia; government agencies in China, Japan, Korea and other parts of Asia; and members of the East Asian diplomatic corps in the UK. Many East Asian scholars and academics visit SEAS each year, staying for periods ranging from a few days to a year. SEAS is also the host institution for the Sheffield Confucius Institute—a body funded by the Chinese Government for the promotion of Chinese-language education.
Sheffield and its Environs
Sheffield is England's fourth largest city, with a population of around half a million. Located in north-central England, it has easy access to all parts of the UK and is only two hours to London St. Pancras (and the Eurostar connection) by train.
The city has a high proportion of green space within its boundaries and is surrounded by beautiful countryside, being situated on the edge of the Peak District, which in 1951 became Britain's first National Park.
Sheffield is a friendly place, richly deserving of its nickname as 'the largest village in England'. However, it is also a thriving city, with plenty of clubs, theatres, sporting venues, museums, and shops.