Doctorate.

Option 1: Doctorate means the beginning or start of something.
Option 2: A doctorate is somebody who operates on you at the hospital.
Option 3: A doctorate is a high-level of university degree.

In recent years, more and more foreigners have come to the University of Tibet to learn the ethnic language. They are from the U.S., and increasingly from other countries of Europe, Africa and Oceania.

Puchung Tsering is a thirty-eight-year-old Tibetologist, who was born in Xigaze prefecture.

Four years ago, Puchung came to the University of Tibet and began to teach the Tibetan language. Many foreigners, as well as Chinese students, have since come to learn the language from him.

Katarina Turpeinen from Finland is one of the twenty-one students who attend Puchung's International Summer Course. She says though she had studied Tibetan language for almost two years in the University of Helsinki, it is still quite necessary to come to Tibet, where there is a fruitful environment for language learning. 
"My main reason for coming here was to learn to speak Tibetan language properly, fluently. I am interested in Tibetan culture and Buddhism and I am in the process of becoming a Tibetologist."

Puchung also teaches Tibetan history and culture. He uses the classic Tibetan fiction -- The Songs and Biography of Milarepa as his teaching material. 
"The main points are to show them some way of analyzing Tibetan classical text, try to know some classical vocabularies."

Zoran Lazovic is from Yugoslavia. He's researching a doctorate in Tibetan studies in the U.S.. He says he has strong interest for Tibetan culture and religion ever since he was a little boy. 
"We are exposed to so many different sources of language. We are exposed to radio, TV drama, newspaper, classical and contemporary grammar."

In recent years, more and more foreigners have embarked on long term and short term courses, being attracted by the Tibetan culture, religion and its magnificent landscape.