Location:

Boulder, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Master

Specialty:

General Education

Program Overview

Program Description:

The MA in Contemplative Education is a two-year professional-development degree for practicing teachers from all levels of instruction. This 36-credit program is also open to non-teachers interested in a nonsectarian contemplative approach to teaching and learning.

This low-residency degree program is offered by way of summer programs and online courses. It joins the wisdom and skillful means of Eastern meditative traditions with Western holistic educational methods and insights. Based on the principles and practices of mindfulness and awareness, primarily from the Tibetan contemplative traditions, the curriculum offers a path of personal nourishment and effective pedagogy.

The program begins in July with a three-week residential program, which is followed by two online courses in each of the fall and spring semesters. The second year repeats this sequence. The program is completed during the third summer with a weekend for presentation of masters’ projects and graduation. Summer programs focus on the contemplative transformation of the teacher. Online semesters apply contemplative approaches to each student’s classroom teaching, as well as extending academic studies of spiritual approaches to teaching, learning, and human emotional development.

Education Beyond the Classroom

Education Beyond the Classroom (EBC) welcomes non-teachers to apply to the MA Contemplative Education program. This option is open to those interested in directing their study beyond the program’s existing central emphasis on pedagogy and curriculum design. While EBC students are required to take all the existing courses in the MA Contemplative Education program, they can tailor selected course assignments to meet their individual interests. Education Beyond the Classroom students are required, as are all program students, to integrate contemplative personal experience, daily life applications, and relationship skills into their course work. 

Format:

Hybrid

Additional Program Information

Accreditation:

Naropa University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Financial Aid:

Yes