Residency? Student travel? (probably impossible)

As I know, it is hard to get the residency there. All foreigners traveling to that area should join a tour and a Tibet Travel Permit, which is recommended to obtain through a travel agency, but I heard it is usually hard for Americans to get this permit. And according to the regulation, foreigners are not allowed to travel to or stay in Tibet now since Feb. 15, 2015 and the date for resuming foreigners’ entry is not clear yet.

Although most travel agencies arrange tours within 10 days in that area, I heard it is possible to have a tour more than 10 days. For more details, you can consult a travel agency. For the educational programs, I suggest you consult Tibet University for a try!