Winter School in Buddhist Textual Scholarship 2026

Chiang Mai, 2-9 March 2026

The Winter School in Buddhist Textual Scholarship is an intensive teaching program organized jointly by academics of the École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE–PSL, Paris) and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU); sponsored by the Khyentse Foundation. It is offered to international postgraduate students carrying out research in the domain of Buddhist Studies, and will provide a solid grounding into philology, codicology, and epigraphy. Its focus will be on primary sources transmitted across the Buddhist world, with close consideration of their material dimension, their contexts of production, and their socio-religious functions. The course will introduce students to fieldwork and will allow them to hone their broader methodological approach as well as the skills specific to their area of research. The Winter School has a transregional dimension, with lecturers specializing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, China and Tibet.
The Winter School is organized by Gregory Kourilsky (EFEO), Costantino Moretti (EFEO), Marta Sernesi (EPHE & LMU) and Vincent Tournier (LMU).

The 3rd edition of the Winter School will be held from March 2 to 9, 2026 at the EFEO center in Chiang Mai (Thailand). Tuition, lodging and lunch are free of charge.

Students interested in participating in the 3rd Winter School are invited to consult the details of the program from 24 November 2025 and to complete the online application form, available via the flyer of this event.

The deadline for applications is 5 December 2025 (11:59 PM, Paris time). Admissions will be announced on 16 December 2025.