From time to time there are questions posted to the forum regarding degree programs in Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, etc. There are a few programs that get mentioned such as the Masters degree program at the University of Sunderland and others that have slipped my mind. It is notable that while some of these programs are accredited, most are not. Nonetheless, I believe they are all of good quality and not at all "millish." Also, some are DL but most are not (hence the "Off-Topic" thread) I invite others to post their contributions as well ( a comprehensive list in one thread can be useful to those searching the archives). Masters degree in Eastern Classics St. John's College (Sante Fe) http://www.stjohnscollege.edu Master's degrees in: Buddhist Studies Applied Meditation Studies Won Institute of Graduate Studies http://www.woninstitute.org Correspondence courses that "parallel a monastic geshe degree" The Asian Classics Institute http://acidharma.org Online Masters degrees in Creative Writing (MFA) Transpersonal Psychology TP (Ecopsychology) Contemplative Education Certificate programs Naropa University http://www.naropa.edu/distance/programs.htm Masters degree in Buddhist Studies The Institute of Buddhist Studies Graduate Theological Union http://www.gtu.edu For those who are adventurous and driven: 'Spiritual seekers for enrollment in a tuition-free Buddhist University in Arizona" No tuition and (maybe) no dorm-space. (oh, to be 20 again) http://www.diamondmtn.org Post-Qualification MA in Buddhist Psychotherapy Karuna Institute (validated by Middlesex University [UK]) http://www.karuna-institute.co.uk If anyone investigates and discovers any of these to be bogus, please post it here. Jack
Jack has posted a good list of degree granting Buddhist studies programs. I would add Dharma Realm Buddhist University to his list. It's CA-approved and won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a sincere effort and its dean is Ronald Epstein, one of my former professors at SF State. Its primary feature is that it is part of a large Buddhist monastery and many of its faculty and students are monastics. Its curriculum is rather unique, even for American Buddhist universities, wih things like a Ceremony and Ritual department, a Vinaya Studies deparment (open only to monks), Sutra Studies and Shastra Studies and so on. No DL. http://www.drba.org/drbu/ I have posted before about University of the West, which offers a Ph.D. in Religious Studies with one of the most extensive lineups of Buddhist studies courses in the United States. It's currently a WASC candidate. http://www.uwest.edu/ But if we are going to be talking conventional non-DL RA graduate programs, there are a number of options such as Berkeley, Hawaii and Columbia. Here's an article from Tricycle, the Buddhist magazine, about how to choose a Buddhist studies graduate program. It includes an annotated listing giving strengths, specialties and prominent professors: http://www.tricycle.com/new.php?p=articles&id=15 If we are going to be talking programs that don't offer degrees or university credit, there are quite a few DL options, ranging from beginning courses to some very sophisticated things indeed. Here is a Thai wat in England that offers a 3-year English language DL version of the Thailand government mandated course of study required of all Thai Buddhist monks. They say, "This course is validated by the Department of Religious Affairs and will lead to certification from the Department and signed by the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand." The price is nominal and intended only to cover expenses, 50 British pounds a year for the whole program, including books. It's open to non-monastics. http://www.watthaiuk.com/watthai_uk/Courses/Buddhist%20Studies%20on%20line.htm Another serious non-credit, non-degree offering is Nalandabodhi, which offers what appears to be a legitimate four year Vajrayana program. Tuition once again appears to be nominal, $65/year. There are examinations that must be passed in order to progress. http://www.nalandabodhi.org/study.homestudy.html Graduates can go on to the equivalent of graduate study at the Nitartha Institute. This program operates at a very high academic level and many of your fellow students will be university professors and the like. I have heard that Naropa gives its students graduate-level RA university credit for attending this. The goal is to reproduce the basic curriculum of a shedra, a Tibetan monastic university, in Western form. Short residency, courses meet physically for one month each summer. These people are also busy translating Buddhist texts from Tibetan to English. http://www.nitarthainstitute.org/curriculum_overview.html Ashoka University is new and doesn't offer credit or degrees. It only has a few classes at present (all of them DL), but is rolling out more. Cost is low. What's particularly noteworthy about this thing is their all-star lineup of teachers: http://www.ashokaedu.net/teachers.htm The Tibetan Language Institute http://www.tibetanlanguage.org/ Learn Sanskrit: http://www.americansanskrit.com/athome/athome.html Britain's Amida Trust for Socially Engaged Buddhism offers a DL certificate program in Buddhist psychology: http://www.amidatrust.com/dl.htm Vipassana meditation DL course: http://www.vipassana.com/course/intro.php Rigpa Tibetan meditation DL course: http://www.rigpa.org/Courses/DiscNatMind.html Something called Wildmind offers an online meditation course: http://www.wildmind.org/ Dharmavastu offers a FWBO oriented introductory Buddhism course by DL, based on Sangharakshita's books. http://www.dharmavastu.org/explore.html Cyber-Shedra Distance Learning Program http://namdrolingmt.org/CyberShedra/CyberShedra.html
The Buddhist organization where my wife teaches offers two fairly comprehensive distance learning courses on the nature of mind. Based on the amount of time she spends with her students (there are 20 or more teachers), it would appear to be very thorough. www.rigpa.org (Rigpa was established by Sogyal Rinpoche, author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, with 1.5 million copies in print.)