Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München: Future of Tibetan Studies assured

Munich is one of the few universities in Europe whose curriculum includes a program of studies and research devoted to the history of the culture and religion of Tibet from the earliest times up to the present. The vacant Chair of Tibetan and Buddhism Studies at LMU can now be refilled, and the successful Bachelor of Arts program in Buddhist and South Asian Studies will continue. Moreover, students enrolled in the doctoral program on Buddhism Studies will again be able to submit doctoral theses on Tibetan topics.

This positive development has been made possible by a collaborative model, which is still quite unusual in the German university context. Together with LMU’s Executive Board, two independent organizations – the German-based Tara Foundation and the Khyentse Foundation in San Francisco – have decided to provide the financial resources necessary to ensure that the vacant Academic Chair can be refilled. LMU President Professor Bernd Huber and representatives of the two foundations have now signed a formal agreement to this effect.