Areas of Study

Indology

Indology focuses on the study of the cultural and intellectual history of South Asia from its beginnings to the present. It sees itself primarily as a linguistic and literary discipline that uses the methods of historical philology to examine the written sources of the cultures of South Asia. Sanskrit, the classical language of India, is regularly taught in the form of two-semester introductory courses. Hindi, Urdu and Kannada are currently part of the fixed range of contemporary languages. Additional courses include Bengali, Tamil and Telugu as well as various Middle Indian languages (Pāli, Ardhamāgadhī, Gāndhārī). There is also close cooperation in research and teaching with Tibetology, the Buddhist Manuscripts from Gandhāra project as well as the doctoral programme in Buddhist Studies.

Tibetology

Tibetology is dedicated to the study of the cultural, religious, and intellectual history of the Tibetan cultural sphere. Its central focus lies in the scholarly analysis of Tibetan written sources using historical and philological methods.
The foundation of the program is the study of Classical Tibetan, which is systematically taught in a two-semester introductory course. In addition, students receive an introduction to Colloquial Tibetan; further development of spoken language skills is recommended through study stays in the Tibetan cultural region.
Advanced seminars enable students to independently translate and interpret Tibetan texts from various literary genres. Introductory courses also provide fundamental knowledge of key aspects of Tibetan culture, including religious history, literature, palaeography, and art.
At LMU Munich, Tibetology is offered with a focus on Buddhist Studies. Acquiring an additional Buddhist literary language—such as Sanskrit, Pāli, Chinese, Japanese, or Mongolian—is advantageous but not mandatory. Alternatively, courses in Social and Cultural Anthropology can be attended.