Master Degree Programs

Programs running under Faculty of Buddhist Studies (Master’s Degree Programs)

Mahayan Buddhism

“Mahāyāna” also knowm as great vehicle refers to the path of the  Bodhisattva seeking complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is also called “Bodhisattvayāna”, or the “Bodhisattva Vehicle. The Mahāyāna tradition is the major tradition of Buddhism existing at present and its main philosophy is emptiness and mind only theory. The master’s degree program in Mahayan Buddhism was introduced by LBU to extend its insights to Nepalese as well as foreign people.

The course of Mahayan Buddhism based on semester system meets the requirements of studies by concentrating on the Mahāyāna (both Sūtra and Tantra) Buddhist philosophy and Traditional Mahayana Buddhism of Nepalmandala. It also includes Buddhist history, Buddhist Arts, Iconography, Epigraphy, Architecture, Archaeology etc. It lays a special emphasis on in-depth study on Mahayana Sanskrit Buddhist Literature. In addition, it includes the courses such as world religion and its philosophy, Buddhism in East Asia, Buddhist Tourism in Nepal etc. Furthermore, it enhances the deeper understanding of students and offers skills, knowledge, and competency in academic research and practices.

This course also includes the life of Śākyamuni Buddha, his three turning the wheel of Laws through Mahayana perspectives and the significant development of Traditional Mahayana Buddhism in Nepalmandala. It also provides fundamental ideas, meaning, techniques and philosophy in Buddhist Art, Iconography and Rituals through Mahayana point of views.

This course is designed with an aim to produce the competent human resource in the field of Mahayana Buddhism

Buddhism and Himalayan Studies

The various Buddhist communities of the Himalayan regions of Nepal have been preserving ancient Buddhist traditions including practice, tenets and artifacts which are very popular and famous in the world. The heritage of Himalayan Buddhism is also important to preserve and conserve historical national treasures. Thus, the course of Himalayan studies is significant not only within Nepal but also to gain a broader scope of transnational research and practice. Realizing this, LBU introduced the Master in Buddhism and Himalayan Studies. The course consists of theoretical discourse, spiritual practices, philosophy, scripts and languages heritage conservation, traditional architecture including selected important ancient and medieval monuments relating to Buddhism and the communities concerned with this great religious and cultural tradition. Besides, it included numerous new emerging theoretical, practical and technical courses required for better understanding of studies of humanities in general and Buddhism. The study of Buddhism and heritage conservation on a historical, empirical, theoretical and hermeneutic ground has become an important national responsibility for Nepalese academia today.

Master in Buddhism and Himalayan studies intends to train students in two different streams. Stream A focuses on Buddhist history, culture, philosophy and languages of Himalayan region. Stream B has its focus in cultural heritage conservation ad traditional architecture. This course also includes verities of theoretical and methodological approaches with a strong emphasis on practical knowledge and skills effectively implemented by conducting different field based research. The course specifically aims at dealing with Buddhist monumental heritages located in Kathmandu valley, various Himalayan regions of Nepal, India and Bhutan.

Theravada Buddhism

Theravāda ” the School of the Elders” is the most commonly accepted name of oldest extant school of Buddhism. The name Theravāda derives from Sthāvirīya, one of the early Buddhist schools from which Theravādins trace their school’s descent. The Sthaviranikāya emerged from the first schism in the Buddhist sangha “Community”. According to its adherents’ accounts, the Theravāda school derives from the Vibhajjavāda “doctrine of analysis” group, which was a division of the Sthāvirīya.

The core teachings of Theravāda Buddhist doctrine, contained in the Pali Tipiṭaka, are the middle path, the four noble truths, the noble eightfold path, three marks of existence and dependent origination. In order to explore core Buddhist value of Theravada Buddhism and its tradition in Nepal,  LBU introduces Master’s degree program in Theravada Buddhism which meets the requirements of studies by concentrating on the core studies of Theravada Buddhism based on Pali Tripitaka. It also includes basic knowledge of Buddhist history, philosophy and literature, historicity of Theravada Buddhism. Besides, it includes fundamental insights of Theravada Buddhism in Nepal and decline and revival of Buddhism in Nepal and India. 

Buddhism and Peace Studies

The course of Peace studies identifies and analyses violent and non violent   behaviours. It is an interdisciplinary subject and solution of conflicts by peaceful means of Buddha’s teachings.  Buddha had delivered such types of several teachings on materialistic and psychological causes of conflicts and their resolution for promotion of peace. This study fundamentally focused on teachings of peace delivered by the Buddha in his life time. This program also includes the courses such as History of Buddhism, Buddhist Philosophy, Literature as well as conflict analysis and resolution.

Process of involvement in the Programs

Eligibility for Admission:

Students from any discipline having passed Bachelor Degree or its equivalent from any recognized universities are eligible to apply for admission in Master’s degree program. Eligible candidates may apply to LBU by filling out an application form available at the Central Campus in Lumbini or affiliated Campus or an appropriate application form available online. Admission to the program will take place in a yearly basis. To be eligible for the program, the candidate needs to appear for a written entrance examination followed by an interview. The maximum number of candidates for Master’s degree program in Buddhism yearly is set to 40 students per class.

Admission Procedures:

Students shall be selected for admission on the basis of merit, as decided by performance in the written entrance test and oral interview.

Entrance Examination:

Students should face a written examination of one hour for admission. The entrance examination carries 100 marks for objective type questions.

Duration of the Program:

The course based on the semester system extends over a period of two years. There will be two semesters in a year. In total, Master’ Degree program consists of 4 semesters of class work and research work.

Medium of Instruction

The language of instruction, supervision and evaluation in the Master of Arts programs will be English as well as Nepali. Students are required to make presentations, submit assignments and sit for examinations as per the evaluation criteria specified in the course syllabus.

Teaching Methods:

The teaching methods consist of lectures, discussion sessions, oral and written presentations, audio-visual aids, term papers, seminar papers, book reviews and field visits. Each professor will follow a method of teaching and provide appropriate material at hand.

Class Attendance:

Generally, students are required to have a minimum of 70 percent attendance to appear in End Term Examination of the University. Students who fail in the internal examination shall be disqualified to appear in the End Term Examination conducted by the University. For fieldwork, report writing and internships, students must visit the specific field as required for evaluation. 

Examination:

Each course will be evaluated against 50 marks. Its marks are divided into 60:40 percent. The students should appear in the term end examination to be held by the University for 60 percent marks. The pass marks in each subject will be 50 percent.

The question pattern or division of marks for the semester end examination will be as follows:

S.N.	Group	Question pattern	No.of Question	Ans. only	Full Marks	Marks in one group
1	A	Critical Evaluation	2	1	1×10	10
2	B	Descriptive and Analytical	3	2	2×10	20
3	C	Short Answer	6	4	4×6	24
4	D	Multiple Choice (objective)	12	All	12×0.5	6
		Total Marks				60

Internal Evaluation:

Each course carries 100 evaluation marks, out of which the internal examination carries 40 marks (40 percent). The internal evaluation will be based on constant monitoring of the supervisor and the teachers using specified tools. The class professor will be responsible for conducting the internal assessment. Generally speaking, marks will be assigned as follows even though some courses may have a different assignment and grading policy to be followed in that course.  The 40 percent marks evaluation will be categorized as follows:

Evaluation methods	Marks
Attendance	5
Mid-Term Examination	15
Term papers/ research papers/writing assignments	10
Oral Presentation/ discussion participation/debate	10
Total Marks	40

Faculty members:

LBU will hire well-qualified professors to teach the courses and provide research supervision to the students. Faculty members with a higher degree prior teaching and professional experience will be given priority.

Subject Committee:

The Dean of Faculty of the Buddhist Studies constitutes a Subject Committee of distinguished scholars from the field of Master’s Program in consultation with concerned authorities. This group will meet periodically to provide oversight on the preparation of detailed syllabi and other related matters.

Graduation:

To pass from the Master’s degree program, students must complete a minimum number of required courses with a total of 60 credits, with not less than 50 marks (or a B-) in each course. A cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of at least (B) i.e. 3.0 is required for graduation. The University will convert all numerical grades into letter grades based on an approved conversion method.

Academic Calendar:

Academic Calendar is displayed one and half months before beginning the admission. In general, the Master’s program starts in the month of January.