Name
WANG, Lizhou
Degree
Ph.D. (Higher Education)
HP (URL)
Email: wang.lizhou[a]aoni.waseda.jp
Personal website: www.Lizhouwang.com
ORCID: 0000-0003-4761-9591
Google Scholar Page: Lizhou Wang
Japan Researcher Profile: https://researchmap.jp/wanglizhou
Waseda University Researcher Database: https://w-rdb.waseda.jp/html/100004352_en.html
JSPS KAKENHI project: https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-25K17029
Status
Assistant Professor
Research Topic
Sociology of Education, International Higher Education, Knowledge Diplomacy, University Strategy, and Regional Cooperation in East Asia
I study the politics and governance of global knowledge relations, focusing on how universities and scholars navigate cooperation, competition, and inequality amid geopolitical change. My research examines how geopolitical tensions, power asymmetries, and institutional interests shape the production and circulation of knowledge across borders.
My current JSPS-funded project examines how universities in China, Japan, and South Korea sustain cooperation through knowledge diplomacy amid geopolitical tensions and knowledge security concerns. Related work explores the internationalization of higher education, academic mobility, and talent policy, with attention to institutional strategies and individual sense-making.
Education and Academic Employment
Education
| 2023 | Ph.D. Higher Education, Boston College, USA |
| 2019 | M.Ed. International Education Policy, Harvard University, USA |
| 2014 | M.Sc. in Contemporary Chinese Studies, University of Oxford, UK. |
| 2013 | B.A. in Economics and Government, cum laude, Smith College, USA. |
Academic Employment
| 2025-Present | Assistant Professor, Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, Japan |
| 2024-2025 | Lecturer, Global Education Center, Waseda University, Japan |
| 2023-2025 | Research Associate, Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo, Japan. |
| 2019-2023 | Research and Teaching Assistant, Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, USA. |
Fields of Research Interests
International higher education, international relations, sociology of education, educational psychology
Monthly Spotlight
Across Borders: From Personal Mobility to Knowledge Diplomacy in Northeast Asia
Academic Publications
*For a complete list, please see Google Scholar Profile and Japan Researcher Profile
Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
- Wang, L., Choi, E., Shimmi, Y., & de Wit, H. (2026). Collaboration and competition in Northeast Asia: How flagship universities produce knowledge diplomacy under geopolitical pressure. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2026.2702163
- Wang, L., & Oldac, Y. (2026). Stronger together: 25 years of knowledge production in Northeast Asia. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-026-01633-1
- Wang, L., & de Wit, H. (2026). Geopolitics and international higher education: Concepts, knowledge diplomacy and security policies, and future agenda. Higher Education Forum, 23, 63–79. https://doi.org/10.15027/0002041836
- Wang, L. (2026). Paradox of success: Intersectional inequalities and habitus clivé of Asian women in elite Western academia. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2026.2630216
- Wang, L., DeLaquil, T., de Wit, H., & Collier, K. M. (2026). The alternative education pathway to higher education in non-Anglophone contexts: Themes and implications from a systematic scoping review on IBDP. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 56(5), 665–684. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2024.2429828
- de Wit, H., & Wang, L. (2025). Internationalisation of higher education: Its conceptual evolution as a process, intended aims, and unintended effects in the global and European context. European Journal of Education Policy and Practice, 1(3), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.5117/EJEP2025.3.001.DEWI
Edited Books
- Wang, L., Altbach, P. G., & de Wit, H. (Eds.). (2025). International dimensions and trends in higher education in troubled times: Insights from key global publications 2018–2023 in International Higher Education. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004713901
- de Wit, H., Minaeva, E., & Wang, L. (Eds.). (2022). International student recruitment and mobility in non-Anglophone countries: Theories, themes, and patterns. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003217923
Other Interests
Gardening, spending time in nature, reading, popular culture, and science fiction.
Current Teaching
- Waseda University Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies: International Higher Education
- Waseda University School of Political Science and Economics: Global Higher Education, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Affiliated Academic Organizations / Societies
- Intercultural Education Society of Japan (IESJ).
- Japan Comparative Education Society (JCES).
- Higher Education Research Association (HERA).
Awards
- 2023: Early-Stage Scholar Presentation Grant, WES–Center for International Higher Education Summer Institute, USA.
- 2021: Paper of the Year Award, Online Teaching and Learning SIG, American Educational Research Association (AERA), USA.
- 2018–2019: Graduate Merit Scholarship, Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA.
- 2013–2014: Departmental Merit Scholarship, University of Oxford, UK.
- 2010–2013: Dean’s List, Smith College, USA.
- 2013: Inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha, National Political Science Honor Society, USA.
