NOTE: SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, like COVID-19, SIT may have to modify programs. Visit the SIT website for more details.
Learn about Tibetan and Himalayan politics and religion and the issues faced by communities in exile.
WHY STUDY TIBETAN AND HIMALAYAN COMMUNITIES IN NEPAL?
The dynamics of Tibet and the Himalaya span from ancient times to the present day. Discover the history of the region’s border tensions, religious belief systems and politics. Learn about the Tibetan Government in Exile; CIA intervention in Tibet; the Dalai Lama and his Middle Way approach; negotiations with China; and human rights in Tibet. Spend six weeks in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital and home to a significant Tibetan exile community. Study Tibetan medicine, symbolism, music, art, meditation and retreat. Explore the shamanistic features of the indigenous Tibetan religion, Bön, at an institute halfway up a mountain on the valley’s periphery. Listen to a lecture by an Ayurvedic doctor in the old town. Meet the caretaker of an ancient pagoda shrine. Take a high-altitude trek to isolated Tibetan communities and stay with rural families. Learn Tibetan and traditional Tibetan tutorials characteristic of spiritual training in Buddhist text recitation, and choose to learn Nepali. Conduct independent field study or gain professional skills in an intercultural internship.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Explore Tibetan and Himalayan society, geopolitics, religion, and arts.
- Trek the high Himalayas to meet with remote Tibetan communities.
- Learn about traditional Tibetan civilizations, politics and Buddhist history.
- Live with a host family in Kathmandu; learn the Tibetan language and Nepali.
Please visit the
SIT Study Abroad website for details on the
program courses (including syllabi), educational excursions, and housing.
KEY TOPICS OF STUDY
- Complexities of the Tibetan and Himalayan border tensions
- Traditional Tibetan civilizations, politics and Buddhist history
- Shifting belief systems of Tibet and the Himalaya
- Urgent issues of exile in Tibetan and Himalayan communities
- Issues specific to women in exile
- The Tibetanization of Himalayan cultures
MONEY MATTERS
Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor.
SIT tuition and room and board fees include the following:
- All educational costs, including educational excursions
- All accommodations and meals for the full program duration
- Transportation to and from the airport, and on all educational excursions
- Health and accident insurance
SCHOLARSHIPS
- SIT awards nearly $1.6 million in scholarships and grants annually.
- All scholarships and grants are need-based.
- Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000 for semester programs.
- Contact the financial aid and/or study abroad office(s) at your college or university to learn if your school’s scholarships and grants and federal and state aid programs can be applied to an SIT Study Abroad program.
CONTACT SIT STUDY ABROAD
IMPORTANT APPLICATION DEADLINE INFORMATION:
SIT programs may be competitive and fill before the application deadline date.
If you are planning to study abroad with SIT, it is in your best interest to apply for Gustavus approval as early as you can, and well prior to the internal Gustavus application deadlines (March 1 for Fall and Sept. 15 for Spring), and some SIT programs may be full by then.