Summer course at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies

Each summer up to fifteen students from the University of Tasmania and other cooperating institutions spend one month (December-January) at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. They study a curriculum comprising an intensive introduction to Buddhist philosophy, Tibetan Buddhist Hermeneutics and Tibetan History and Culture. In addition they attend a number of incidental lectures on Tibetan politics, art history and iconography, music and medicine. This programme is taught entirely by the teaching staff of The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. The students also participate in a number of ancillary activities, including an Indian classical music concert, tours of Varanasi and travel to important Buddhist sites India, including Bodh Gaya, Raj Gir and the ruins of Nalanda University. During this time the students reside on the campus of The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. Each student will be assigned a student colleague drawn from the student body of The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies who helps in acculturation and gives a "student's eye view" of Tibetan culture. The course (HPA 276/376) is weighted at 25%. Students are assessed on the basis of intellectual journals and a final examination.

Students and staff 2007/08

Each group of students is be accompanied by two or three staff members from The University of Tasmania and/or other cooperating institutions who oversee the Australian students' programme and teach Western subjects to the students of The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. These staff members will be chosen jointly by the Tibetan and Australian administrators of the program, with attention to the curricular needs of The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies and to the availability and interest of Australian staff.

The TBSIEP organises all travel, accomodations and other essential arrangements in India, and round-trip travel from Hobart to and from Sarnath for all students travelling from Tasmania. Applications for the program are available here. Any student enrolled in a university who has completed the first year is eligible. For further information, contact Brownwyn Peters, Executive Assistant.

Postgraduate students enrolled at the University of Tasmania and University of Tasmania teaching staff are also eligible under the terms of the TBSIEP to spend up to one year in residence at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies and/or at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics pursuing their own research.

Click here for further information for participating students.

Click here for HECS information.

Applications are now being taken. Click here for application form.

Click here for a word document copy of Participant Handbook 2008/09.

Subjects Covered

• Buddhist Philosophy
• Tibetan History and Culture
• Buddhist Hermeneutics
• auxiliary lectures in related topics (including Tibetan Medicine, Art and Politics) tours of related Buddhist historical sites, and Indian and Tibetan cultural programs

Other details

• December 2008 -January 2009
• 25% Weighting
• Total cost up to AUD$4,000 (plus applicable HECS) which includes all travel costs Melbourne - Sarnath - Melbourne
• For more information or to apply, contact:
  
  Brownwyn Peters, School of Philosophy
  University of Tasmania, Private Bag 41,
  Hobart, Tas, 7001
  e-mail Bronwyn.Peters@utas.edu.au
  telephone (03) 6226 2255

Links

Five Colleges in India Program (our US exchange partners)

http://www.smith.edu/philosophy/tibet.html