•  Certificeta Course in Pali for Foreign Students

Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies
University of Peradeniya
Peradeniya – Sri Lanka

I Objectives

The Certificate in Pali Course for foreign students is offered as an extension course by the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies of the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. This course is intended to cater to the needs of the following:

To provide a working knowledge of the Pali Language to foreign students who intend to pursue advanced studies in Pali Language and Literature in Theravada Buddhism.

II. Medium of Instruction

The course and the relevant examination will be conducted in the English media.

III. Entry Requirements

Senior High School certificate or an equivalent educational qualification acceptable to the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies.

IV Selection of Students

Selection of students possessing the requisite entry qualifications will be made by a Departmental Committee on a priority basis, taking into account the academic merit of the applicants.

V Duration of Course

The duration of the course will be one academic year. Total number of students contact hours will be two hundred and ten hours of lectures in the course. (Commencement dates will be determined depending upon the availability of students.)

VI Course Requirements

Students selected for the course are required to offer the following subject matters in three steps.

Step - I

Objective: To provide the ability to comprehend and construct simple Pali sentences, introducing of Pali Alphabet; pronunciation, diacritical marks for Romanization of scripts, Declension of nouns and pronouns; gender, number and cases, Numerals, Prefixes, Conjugation of verbs; tenses (present, past, future), infinitives and particles.

Step – II

Objective: To provide competence to translate and compose complex Pali passages. Intermediate Pali grammar, Compounds and Conjunctions, Tenses (imperative, optative, causatives), Idioms and Special uses of Cases, Translation of prescribed Pali passages into English and English passages into Pali and Pali composition.

Step – III

Objective: To provide competence to comprehend Pali canonical and post canonical literature. Prescribed texts from the SuttapiÊaka containing both Pali prose and verse, advance Pali grammar and syntax, Pali meter.

VII Examination and Scheme of Evaluation

Continued assessment of student performance at each step is 40% and examination at the end of each step is 60%. Candidates who complete the course obtaining an average of 50% will be awarded the Certificate in Pali Language.

VIII. Course Fee

Registration fee: US$ 10.00

Course fee: US$ 100.00