Dr. Welter is Professor and Head in the Department of East Asian Studies. He has established a reputation as a leading expert in the academic study of Chan (Zen) Buddhist texts and Chinese Buddhism during the transition from the Tang (late medieval) to the Song (early modern) dynasties (9th-11th centuries). His areas of specialty include Chan/Zen Buddhism; East Asian Buddhism & Culture; Buddhist-State Relations; Literati Buddhism; and Chinese and Japanese Intellectual History.

He is currently leading a project funded by the Khyentse Foundation on Buddhist Culture in the Hangzhou Region of China and its impact throughout East Asia.