Elementary Sanskrit I
12-Week Online Course
(June 1 - Aug 21, 2020)
with Dr. Antonia M. Ruppel
Cutting-edge online Sanskrit curriculum
Join renowned teacher Dr. Antonia M. Ruppel, and a global cohort of students, for this unique opportunity to study and receive world-class training in Classical Sanskrit—from the comfort of your own home.
Three 12-week semesters
SKT 101 | Elementary Sanskrit I (June 1 - Aug 21, 2020)
SKT 102 | Elementary Sanskrit II (Sep 21 - Dec 11, 2020)
SKT 103 | Elementary Sanskrit III (Jan 11 - Mar 19, 2021)
9-month Sanskrit Curriculum
In this three-term sequence spanning 9 months, you will be introduced to all regular Sanskrit grammar, will acquire a vocabulary of around 500 words, and will gather plenty of experience reading original Sanskrit texts.
The SKT courses will have a dual emphasis: they will help you memorize what you need to know, but more than that, they will help you understand the many structures behind the Sanskrit language, thus minimizing the need for rote learning as much as possible.
The courses will follow The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit (2017), written by the instructor herself, and will progress at around one chapter per week. Using the book’s various supplementary resources (a dedicated video per chapter, electronic flash-cards for all verb and noun forms, vocabulary introduced by the book, and various other downloads), students will get to know each week’s new materials through a variety of pedagogical approaches.
Course Structure
- Two 90-minute live lessons will be held per week on Zoom.
- These live sessions will address all student questions, go over exercises and readings together, as well as personalize the learning experience with your Sanskrit teacher.
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There will be weekly written homework, optional quizzes to test yourself, as well as a “take-home” mid-term and a final.
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The grading will be such that anyone who puts a regular solid effort into the weekly homework will pass; those aiming for a B or an A will also need to perform accordingly on the two exams.
Live Zoom Sessions for SKT 101 (90 min)*
June 1 - Aug 21, 2020
Mondays @ 10-11:30am PST (= 1-2:30pm EST = 5-6:30pm GMT)
Wednesdays @ 12-1:30pm PST (= 3-4:30pm EST = 7-8:30pm GMT)
*ALL LIVE SESSIONS WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM, AND WILL BE RECORDED FOR LATER VIEWING.
Each SKT course offers students:
- 24 Zoom live class sessions + recordings (90 min)
- 5 YSACP Credits
- Up to 36 Hours of CE credit with YA
- Yogic Studies Certificate upon completion (PDF)
- Access to the private Yogic Studies Online Community Forum
Your Instructor
Dr. Antonia M. Ruppel is a Classicist by training who came to Sanskrit through a series of fortunate accidents. She learnt the language as an autodidact, and one of her reasons for writing her textbook, The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit (2017), was to make the experience of studying Sanskrit easier and more pleasant for others. She has been teaching Sanskrit for 15 years at universities such as Cornell, Oxford and now the LMU in Munich, Germany, as well as offering courses in variety of formats online.
Language pedagogy is at the heart of her life, and she is currently working on an Intermediate Sanskrit Reader. It is designed to help students gain reading fluency in an enjoyable and straightforward way, and will come out in late 2021.
Enrollment is now CLOSED
We plan to open up enrollment for SKT 102 at the beginning of September.
Bundle Tuition
$800
ONE-TIME PAYMENT
• Lifetime access to SKT 101, 102, and 103.
• Save $325 by enrolling in all 3 courses up front!
Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! The SKT 101 course will start at the very beginning, and assumes no prior knowledge of Sanskrit. That said, the study of classical Sanskrit is a serious commitment, and any previous study will be greatly helpful.
While not required, students who have taken SKT 100a and/or SKT 100b on the Yogic Studies platform will be even better prepared!
Not to worry! All live sessions with Dr. Ruppel will be recorded and posted to the course website within 24 hours. Students will have lifetime access to them.
So while live attendance is strongly encouraged to get the most out of the course, you can still participate by watching the recordings.
You are also encouraged to participate in the online Community forum, and have the opportunity to send questions in ahead of time, especially if you cannot attend live.
No not necessarily. You are welcome to only register for SKT 101 and see if the course is right for you, before committing to the full 9-month curriculum.
However, you will only be able to proceed to SKT 102 and 103 if you have completed SKT 101, or successfully taken the SKT 102 or 103 placement test.
Yes, we will be using The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit (Cambridge University Press, 2017), written by our instructor, Dr. Antonia M. Ruppel herself!
Each student will be responsible for purchasing a copy of this textbook. No other texts or purchases are necessary.
Dr. Ruppel will be utilizing a variety of pedagogical approaches to make Sanskrit learning fun and tangible for online students.
Each week students will utilize the textbook’s various supplementary resources (a dedicated video per chapter, electronic flash-cards for all verb and noun forms, vocabulary introduced by the book, and various other downloads).
We will then gather twice a week on Zoom to discuss the grammatical material, go over questions, and further examples together.
Unfortunately, SKT 101-103 are the only courses that are NOT included in the YS Membership Program. The reason behind this is we need to open/close enrollment at set dates and create unique Sanskrit cohorts to better serve the learning environment for both instructor and students.
However, both SKT 100a | The Devanāgarī Seminar and SKT 100b | Sanskrit for Yogis are available to students in the YS Membership Program.
Yes! Upon completion of each SKT course in the series, you will be eligible for an official Yogic Studies certificate of completion.
Upon completion of the entire Elementary Sanskrit series, you will be eligible for an additional certificate.
Each course also earns you 5 credits towards the Yogic Studies Advanced Certificate Program (YSACP).
If you have any further questions about the Sanskrit curriculum, please email us at [email protected]
