APPROVED ; This doctoral project aims to conduct case studies of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) at three higher education institutions (HEIs) in China, Japan and the Netherlands ? three ?Expanding Circle? countries. The research focuses on how EMI in each case is approached and how the major stakeholders? (academic staff, students, administrators) perceive EMI. However, it must be pointed out this project is implementing cross case studies, rather than comparative studies defined in the field of comparative education. Furthermore, though three cases are situated in different contexts, general implications are expected to be explored to understand EMI implementations worldwide, or at least these three countries. Chapter One sets the scope and breadth of the research, beginning with an introduction to the rise of Global Englishes/World Englishes in the context of the rapid globalisation. Kachru?s Three Circles of English are elaborated. Particularly, among the Expanding Circle countries, further discussion is pursued about English and its use in China, Japan and the Netherlands. The internationalisation of higher education (HE) worldwide, a growing phenomenon driven by globalisation and the rise of Global Englishes means changes in educational policies across the globe at the national, regional and institutional levels. EMI is one of the key components of internationalisation strategies used in higher education. At the end of the chapter, the rationale, significance and goals of this research are described. The chapter concludes with a definition of EMI suitable for this study and an overview of the thesis structure. Chapter Two narrows down the scope and focus on EMI. The literature review centres on the origin, the development and the expansion of EMI in different regions of the world. Layers of its complexity are depicted through a comprehensive review of previous studies on EMI. Previous research topics are categorised at the macro level, such as EMI policies, and at the micro level, such as ...