Short answers, pulled from the story.
Buddhist studies, also known as Buddhology, is the academic study of Buddhism. Scholars in the field work across history, culture, archaeology, arts, philology, anthropology, sociology, theology, philosophy, practices, and interreligious comparative studies.
The term Buddhology was coined in the early 20th century by Unitarian minister Joseph Estlin Carpenter. He defined it as the study of Buddhahood, the nature of the Buddha, and the doctrines of a Buddha.
The first graduate program in Buddhist studies in North America started in 1961 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before 1975, the field in the United States was dominated by the University of Wisconsin, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago.
The University of Tokyo and Kyoto University are public universities with specialized Buddhist studies departments. Toyo University, founded by Inoue Enryo, is also renowned for Buddhist studies, and numerous denomination-affiliated institutions serve Zen, Pure Land, Nichiren, and Shingon lineages.
Scholar-practitioner is a term used by Charles Prebish, Chair of Religious Studies at Utah State University, to describe academics in Buddhist studies who are also practicing Buddhists. The category acknowledges that the field regularly attracts researchers personally committed to the tradition they study.
The field supports more than a dozen dedicated journals, including the Journal of Buddhist Ethics, the Eastern Buddhist, Contemporary Buddhism, and the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. Major university presses from Oxford, Cambridge, Columbia, Princeton, and others publish in the field, alongside non-university presses such as Routledge and Motilal Banarsidass and dharma presses including Wisdom Publications and Shambhala.