Elementary Tibetan
Time: Monday–Friday 9:00–10:00 a.m.
Location: Powell Library Media Lab (270 Powell Library)
Instructor: Jann Ronis (UC Berkeley)
Elementary Tibetan (1A/1B) is a beginning Tibetan class developing basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in modern Tibetan (Lhasa dialect). The course also helps students begin to acquire competence in relevant Tibetan cultural issues.
Tibetan literature has an uninterrupted history of at least 1300 years. It includes a vast corpus of indigenous works of great value for the academic study of literary genres, religious praxis, state formation, and the development of canonical systems. Modern Tibetan is spoken by a population of approximately six million people in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, in other Tibetan cultural regions of China, and in the Tibetan diaspora (with speakers concentrated in India and Nepal, but found increasingly in Europe and North America). With the recent opening of Tibet to foreign travel and research, knowledge of modern Tibetan has become essential for students of any aspect of the region.
This course is offered via distance learning from UC Berkeley. It is open to UCLA undergraduates and graduate students, who can take it for UC credit. There are no prerequisites.
Enrollment is via the UC Intercampus Exchange Program. Term start and end dates are adjusted to accommodate UC Berkeley’s semester system, though the fall start date coincides with UCLA’s fall quarter. The course continues in winter. Students will receive 7.5 quarter units per semester/15 units for the year. UCLA students must be enrolled in at least 12 units at UCLA to take this course. Students should not be enrolled in UCLA courses during the time that Tibetan class is being offered, or their applications will not be approved.
View the UC Berkeley course listing.
If you are interested in enrolling in this course, please sign up by contacting Magda Yamamoto at myamamoto@international.ucla.edu as soon as possible. Provide your name, student status (grad or undergrad), and major.
Please observe the following procedure to enroll:
Graduate Students
Consult with the Graduate Advising Office in your department regarding your eligibility to participate in the Intercampus Exchange Program. If eligible, complete the Intercampus Exchange Program Application. Under “Proposed Courses for the Term, Host Campus,” list the following:
Course #: 24721
Subject: Tibetan 1A
Units: 5 semester units (7.5 quarter units)
Obtain approval of your departmental chair and submit the form to the Graduate Division in person at 1255 Murphy Hall or via email academicservices@grad.ucla.edu. Submit copies of the form to your Graduate Advising office and to Magda Yamamoto (myamamoto@international.ucla.edu).
Undergraduate Students
Print out and complete the Undergraduate Application for Simultaneous UC Enrollment. Under “Specific reasons for participating in Simultaneous UC Enrollment,” write that you want to enroll in a Tibetan language course that is not offered at UCLA. Under “Proposed Courses for the Term, Host Campus”, list the following:
Course #: 24721
Subject: Tibetan
Catalog #: 1A
Units: 5 semester units (7.5 quarter units)
Bring the form to your counseling unit (CAC, AAP, Honors, or Athletics). Also send a copy of the form to Magda Yamamoto (myamamoto@international.ucla.edu).
Intensive Readings in Tibetan
Time: Monday and Wednesday 10:00–11:30 a.m. (starts Wednesday, August 24)
Location: To be determined
Instructor: Jann Ronis (UC Berkeley)
Tibetan 110A is an intensive introduction to reading classical Tibetan literature. Following an introduction to basic grammar, the course moves quickly into selected readings from Buddhist texts in Tibetan. It typically builds on basic skills acquired in 1A-1B (elementary Tibetan), though with consent it may be taken independently.
Tibetan literature has an uninterrupted history of at least 1300 years. It includes a vast corpus of indigenous works of great value for the academic study of literary genres, religious praxis, state formation, and the development of canonical systems. Classical Tibetan is duly famous as the medium for the largest, and most accurate, body of translations of Buddhist texts from India, the majority of which are lost in the original Indian languages. In addition to being essential for the study of Tibetan history, literature, art and religion, classical Tibetan is of scholarly value for the study of South Asian culture and history, Chinese history, and historical linguistics.
This course is offered via distance learning from UC Berkeley and follows Berkeley’s fall semester schedule (August 24 through December 16). It is open to UCLA undergraduates and graduate students, who can take it for UC credit. There are no prerequisites. Enrollment is via the UC Intercampus Exchange Program. The course continues in winter. Students will receive 7.5 quarter units per semester/15 units for the year. Auditing may be possible with the instructor’s permission.
View the UC Berkeley course listing.
If you wish to enroll in this course, please contact the instructor directly (
jann.ronis@berkeley.edu) and include information about your previous coursework in Tibetan language. Also email Magda Yamamoto (
myamamoto@international.ucla.edu) with your name, student status (grad or undergrad).
Please observe the following procedure to enroll:
Graduate Students
Consult with the Graduate Advising Office in your department regarding your eligibility to participate in the Intercampus Exchange Program. If eligible, complete the Intercampus Exchange Program Application. Under “Proposed Courses for the Term, Host Campus,” list the following:
Course #: 33336
Subject: Tibetan 110A
Units: 4 semester units (6 quarter units)
Obtain approval of your departmental chair and submit the form to the Graduate Division in person at 1255 Murphy Hall or via email academicservices@grad.ucla.edu. Submit copies of the form to your Graduate Advising office and to Magda Yamamoto (myamamoto@international.ucla.edu).
Undergraduate Students
Print out and complete the Undergraduate Application for Simultaneous UC Enrollment. Under “Specific reasons for participating in Simultaneous UC Enrollment,” write that you want to enroll in a Tibetan language course that is not offered at UCLA. Under “Proposed Courses for the Term, Host Campus”, list the following:
Course #: 33336
Subject: Tibetan
Catalog #: 110A
Units: 4 semester units (6 quarter units)
Bring the form to your counseling unit (CAC, AAP, Honors, or Athletics). Also send a copy of the form to Magda Yamamoto (myamamoto@international.ucla.edu).
Questions? Please contact Aaron Miller, Assistant Director, UCLA Asia Institute: armiller@international.ucla.edu.
Published: Thursday, July 21, 2016