The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (Deemed University) (CIHTS) at Sarnath, Varanasi, is one of its kinds in the country. The Institute was established in 1967. The idea of the Institute was mooted in course of a dialogue between Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India and His Holiness the Dalai Lama with a view to educating the young Tibetan Diaspora and those from the Himalayan border regions of India, who have religion, culture and language in common with Tibet.

Originally the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies (CIHTS), began to function as a constituent wing of the Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, and eventually emerged as an autonomous body in 1977 under the Department of Culture, Ministry of Education, Government of India.