It typically suits:

• Students planning to pursue further research in Buddhist Studies, which may involve at a subsequent stage the acquisition of a doctoral degree and a career in higher education.
• Students willing to pursue a career or professional activity, for which advanced knowledge of Buddhism as a global cultural force is essential.
• Students who wish to pursue the academic study of religions as a complement to their personal experience and commitments.
• Students from traditionally Buddhist countries, willing to broaden their knowledge of Buddhism as a global religion, and to be introduced to an academic approach that is characterised both by its critical distance and by its empathy.

Structure

Students must complete 120 credits of MA taught modules in addition to the compulsory dissertation (60 credits) as outlined below.

Students may be allowed to study for the MA on a part-time basis:

The part-time MA may be taken over two years, in which case the student takes two 30 credits (or equivalent 15 credits) in the first year, and two 30 credits (or equivalent 15 credits) and the dissertation in the second year.

Alternatively, it can be taken over three years in which case the student can distribute the 120 credits evenly in each of the three years. The dissertation can be written in year two or three, but it is strongly recommended that this be undertaken in the final year of the degree. It must be submitted in September of the year in which the student registers for it.

Note to part-time students: Modules not listed as running, are likely to run in the next academic year.

For more information, please contact the programme convener.

Dissertation in Buddhist Studies

Taught Component

• Critical Concepts in Buddhist Studies

and

• Module(s) to be selected from List A with a total value of 30 credits.

and

• Module to be selected from List A or B with a total value of 15 credits.

and

• Module(s) to be selected from List A, B or C with a total value of 30 credits.

and

• Module(s) from the Open Options to the value of 30 credits (subject to convenor approval).

List A

• Buddhism in Tibet
• Buddhist Meditation in India and Tibet
• Chinese Religious Texts: A Reading Seminar
• Chinese Buddhism in the Pre-Modern Period
• East Asian Buddhist Thought
• Imag(in)ing Buddhahood in South Asia (1)
• Imag(in)ing Buddhahood in South Asia (2)
• Religious Practice in Japan: Texts, Rituals and Believers

List B

• The Great Tradition of Taoism
• The Origins and Development of Yoga in Ancient India

List C

• Languages
  • Japanese 1 A (PG)
  • Japanese 1 B (PG)
  • Japanese 2 (PG)
  • Japanese 3 (PG)
  • Japanese 4 (PG)
  • Japanese 5 (PG)
  • Burmese Language 1 A (PG)
  • Burmese Language 1 B (PG)
  • Burmese Language 2 (PG)
  • Korean 1 A (PG)
  • Korean 1 B (PG)
  • Intermediate Korean (PG)
  • Advanced Korean Readings (PG)
  • Tibetan (Classical) 1 A
  • Tibetan (Classical) 1 B
  • Nepali Language 1 A (PG)
  • Nepali Language 1 B (PG)
  • Nepali Language 2 (PG)
  • Prakrit Language 1 (PG)
  • Sanskrit Language 1 A (PG)
  • Sanskrit Language 1 B (PG)
  • Sanskrit Language 2 (PG)
  • Chinese 1 A (PG)
  • Chinese 1 B (PG)
  • Chinese 2 (PG)
  • Chinese 3 (PG)
  • Chinese 4 (PG)
  • Reading Classical and Literary Chinese (PG)
  • Thai Language 1 A (PG)
  • Thai Language 1 B (PG)
  • Thai Language 2 (PG)
  • Thai Language 3 (PG)
  • Vietnamese Language 1 A (PG)
  • Vietnamese Language 1 B (PG)
  • Vietnamese Language 2 (PG)
• Relevant modules in other departments
  • The Indian Temple
  • Buddhist and Hindu Art of the Maritime Silk Route
  • Buddhist Art in a Cosmopolitan Environment: Gandharan Art and its Heritage
  • Critical Themes in Tibetan Art
  • Tibetan Buddhist Monuments in Context
  • The Figure of the Buddha: Theory, Practice and the Making of Buddhist Art History
  • Aspects of Music and Religion in South East Asia

Important notice

The information on the programme page reflects the intended programme structure against the given academic session.