There are a wide range of opportunities for studying Buddhism at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
New for 2025: MSc Buddhist Studies
We are excited to launch our new one-year (or two-year part-time) on-campus taught masters in Buddhist Studies, drawing on multi-disciplinary expertise from across the EBS network.
Thanks to the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation, Edinburgh Buddhist Studies is inviting applications for a doctoral scholarship. The scholarship, which includes a fee-waiver and a stipend, will be awarded to the best student in Buddhist Studies beginning a full-time on-campus PhD programme at the University of Edinburgh in September 2025.
Please note the application deadline has now passed.
We also welcome enquiries for postgraduate research programmes, whether Masters by research or PhD. We have no specific Buddhist Studies programme for postgraduate research, but programmes in Asian Studies, History of Art, Philosophy or Religious Studies offer the chance to specialise in Buddhist topics. Please browse members' profiles and contact appropriate individual members of the committee to chat about your project and supervision.
For PhD programs, potential applicants are expected to have two supervisors. Applicants should submit their applications to the school where their principal supervisor (or lead co-supervisor) is affiliated. It is not necessary for the assistant (or co-) supervisor to be affiliated with the same school as the principal supervisor.
Funding opportunities and application requirements can be accessed via the relevant school pages:
From The Buddha’s birthplace of Lumbini in modern day Nepal to the Tibetan Buddhist monastery of Kagyu Samye Ling in the Scottish Borders, the places where Buddhists have lived and practiced over the centuries are rich in history and alive with artefacts.
An interest in Japanese temple architecture or a yearning to discover the oases of the ancient Silk Route might lead you to History of Art at Edinburgh College of Art.
The study of religion can be approached from numerous directions. From texts and their translation and interpretation to ethnography and immersive fieldwork.
Perhaps you are interested in the modern Buddhists of California, the dynamics of Taiwanese diaspora communities, or wish to make a comparison of the two.
The School of Divinity offers it all along with a thriving community of scholars and students.
