Samding Dorje Phagmo Geshe (Tibetan: དགེ་བཤེས་, Wylie: dge-bshes, short for dge-ba'i bshes-gnyen, "virtuous friend"; translation of Skt.
The geshe curriculum represents an adaptation of subjects studied at Indian Buddhist monastic universities such as Nālandā.
Their schools grant the degree of ka-rabjampa ("one with unobstructed knowledge of scriptures") as well as the title Khenpo, which the Gelug tradition reserves for Abbot (Buddhism).
The course of study which prevails in Kagyu and Nyingma circles emphasizes commentary over debate, and focuses on a somewhat wider selection of classics (with accordingly less detail).
The exoteric study of Buddhism is generally organized into "five topics", listed as follows with the primary Indian source texts for each: In the Gelug school, the degree may not be earned by laypeople (though some recipients later give up their robes), or until recently by women (including nuns).
[9][10][11] The Gelug curriculum, which lasts between 12 and 40 years, centers around textual memorization and ritualized debate, and is invariably taught through the medium of the Tibetan language.