This year, a record 174 Tibetan Buddhist nuns from seven nunneries in India and Nepal are taking various levels of the four-year Geshema exams. The Geshema degree is the highest level of training in the Gelug tradition and is equivalent to a PhD in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. The degree was only formally opened to women in 2012.

The 2026 exams are being held at Geden Choeling Nunnery, the oldest nunnery in Dharamsala. Nuns travelled to Geden Choeling in late June to begin the one-month final study period before the exams begin on July 21st.

This year’s seven participating nunneries are Dolma Ling, Geden Choeling, Jamyang Choeling, Thukje Choeling, Kopan, Jangchup Choeling, and Jangsemling. The record 174 nuns are split as follows:

• 63 nuns are taking the first of the four-year exams
• 46 nuns are in the 2nd year
• 32 in the 3rd year, and
• 33 nuns are taking their 4th and final year of exams.

Wish Them Luck!

You can send the nuns a message of good luck and support using this form or by scanning the QR code below. We will gather together all your good wishes, print them out, and post them at the exam venue for all the nuns to see. The 2026 exams run from July 21st to August 17th, so send your good luck message today!

It’s Another Record Year!

The number of nuns pursuing the highest degree in their tradition has more than tripled since 2019. The degree was only formally opened to women in 2012. Ten years ago, in 2016, the first Tibetan Buddhist nuns earned their Geshema degrees. That historic occasion was a dream come true for the 20 pioneering nuns, most of whom were illiterate when they escaped from Tibet.

As the number of nuns pursuing higher studies increases, we are struggling to keep up with the rising costs associated with the exams and higher study programs, including food and transport. In the spring of 2026, we created the Higher Studies for Nuns Fund with the goal of making both the Geshema exam process AND the Tantric Studies program eventually self-sustaining. Donate here.

The Geshemas are inspiring and paving the way for other nuns to follow in their footsteps. The degree makes them eligible to assume various leadership roles in their monastic and lay communities reserved for degree holders and hence previously not open to women. For instance, last year, a Geshema became the principal of Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute, home to over 300 nuns.

The 2026 Geshema exams are taking place against the backdrop of China’s sinister new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, which took effect on July 1st. This draconian law “legislating the erasure of Tibetans as a Tibetan identity, as a Tibetan culture, as a Tibetan language,” according to representatives of the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamsala, India. They warn of a cultural genocide.

The new law mandates that all children be taught Mandarin before kindergarten and through the end of high school. Previously, Tibetan children could study most of the curriculum in Tibetan.His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s representative in London, England wrote, “The survival and identity of any people depends fundamentally on the preservation of their language… With Tibetan children in Tibet being denied the right to learn their own language, we are approaching a critical threshold that threatens our existence as a distinct people in the world.”

The nuns you are supporting through the Tibetan Nuns Project are helping to preserve Tibet’s unique religion, language, and culture, all under severe pressure inside Tibet. Thank you for helping the nuns!

Some Facts About the Geshema Degree

• The Geshema degree is comparable to a doctorate in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.
• It is the highest level of training in the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
• The Geshema degree is the same as the Geshe degree for monks. The ending “ma” marks it as referring to a woman.
• Until recently, this highest degree could only be earned by monks.
• In 2011, a German nun, Kelsang Wangmo, who spent 21 years training in India, became the first woman to receive the Geshe degree. This was before the Geshema degree process was approved in 2012.
• The historic decision to confer the Geshema degree to Tibetan Buddhist nuns was announced in 2012 by the Department of Religion and Culture of the Tibetan Administration, following a meeting of representatives from six major nunneries, the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, and the Tibetan Nuns Project.
• Candidates for the Geshema degree are examined on the entirety of their 17-year course of study of the Five Great Canonical Texts.
• To qualify to begin the Geshema process, nuns must score 75% or above in their studies to be eligible to sit for the Geshema exams.
• On December 22, 2016, His Holiness the Dalai Lama awarded 20 Tibetan Buddhist nuns with Geshema degrees at a special graduation ceremony held at Drepung Monastery in Mundgod, South India.

The Geshema Exam Process

To be eligible to take their Geshema exams, the nuns must first complete at least 17 years of study. The Geshema examination process is rigorous. It involves four years of written and debate exams as well as the completion and defense of a thesis.

Each year, the nuns preparing to sit various levels of the examinations gather together for one month of final exam preparations and then at least 12 days of exams. The exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

Gathering in one place gives the nuns an opportunity to learn from different styles of teaching, questioning, and debate. Practising with nuns from various backgrounds helps strengthen their knowledge and better prepares them for the examinations.

Ani Dawa Choetso, a 4th-year Geshema student from Dolma Ling Nunnery, has been studying at Dolma Ling since 2000. She said that preparations are now in full swing. As this is her final year of the Geshema examination, she feels much more confident and excited compared to when she first appeared for the exams.

The Number of Geshema Graduates

A German nun, Kelsang Wangmo, graduated in 2011 with a Geshe degree, before the Geshema degree process was opened to women.

In 2012, a historic decision was made to allow Tibetan Buddhist nuns the opportunity to take examinations for the Geshe degree, known for women as the Geshema degree.

Here’s a list of the Geshema graduations since the formal approval in 2012:

• 2016: 20 nuns became Geshemas
• 2017: 6 nuns graduated as Geshemas
• 2018: 10 nuns became Geshemas
• 2019: 7 nuns graduated at the end of November
• 2020: exams cancelled due to the pandemic
• 2021: exams cancelled due to the pandemic
• 2022: 10 nuns became Geshemas
• 2023: 7 nuns graduated
• 2024: 13 nuns graduated as Geshemas at the 7th convocation ceremony
• 2025: 47 nuns graduated in Bodh Gaya

This brings the total number of Geshemas to 120 to the end of 2025. In the summer of 2026, 33 nuns are taking their fourth and final year exams and, all being well, will graduate in November 2026.