The Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies (ISTB) of the University of Vienna originated on December 15, 2000, with the merging of the former Department of Indology and the former Department of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies. The merge was facilitated by the 1998 move of the two departments from separate locations in the city to adjoining premises on the newly established University Campus, the converted historical Old General Hospital of Vienna.

For more than a century, ISTB has been committed to fostering research and imparting knowledge concerning the languages and cultures of South Asia and Tibet. In these fields, it has sought to maintain the highest academic standards to provide the best possible education to our students.

On the following pages, you will find detailed information about courses offered, main research areas, ongoing and completed research projects and theses, and our publication series: the Vienna Journal of South Asian Studies (Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens, WZKS), the Vienna Studies in Tibetology and Buddhism (Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde, WSTB), and the De Nobili Research Library (Sammlung De Nobili, SDN). Get to know our team and learn about the history of the Department from the first Sanskrit lesson at the University of Vienna in 1845 to the present day.