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School of Consciousness and Transformation

The departments in our School of Consciousness and Transformation are distinct among liberal arts graduate schools in recognizing that scholarship should involve attention to profound issues of ultimate concern. Our programs are committed to pedagogical approaches that include multiple ways of being, knowing, and acting.

Photo of books on shelves. Learn more about the Women's Spirituality online MA and PhD programs at California Institute of Integral Studies, CIIS.
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Department of Anthropology and Social Change

Our programs reflect an integration of social, political, economic, and environmental themes and issues. Instead of analyzing them separately, we treat these themes as interconnected. 

Light shining upon flower and leaves by Cyrus Crossan
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Department of East-West Psychology

Since 1975, CIIS’ East-West Psychology department has been actively exploring the  convergence of Eastern, Western, and indigenous psychologies and spiritualities. Our in person and online programs provide a creative, experimental space for bringing spirituality into academia through transformative elements of inquiry, learning, practice and writing. 

Rainbow Clouds in Marin County
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Department of Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion

CIIS’ Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion department offers a nurturing community engaged in revitalizing relationships to Earth while exploring the intersections of world religions, Indigenous traditions, eco-spirituality, eco-justice, and eco-feminism.

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Department of Human Sexuality

The Human Sexuality department at CIIS draws professionals from many disciplines who are interested in furthering the scholarship of sexuality studies

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Department of Integral and Transpersonal Psychology

CIIS’ Integral and Transpersonal Psychology department seeks to ground academic excellence and the acquisition of professional skills in both the personal transformation of students and the cultivation of a spiritually-informed scholarship.

Photograph of light and a field by Yeon Hee
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Department of Interdisciplinary Arts

CIIS’ Interdisciplinary Arts department offers a unique Master of Fine Arts degree that focuses on the vital role of inquiry in artmaking.

We value the complex range of human experience that provokes art and welcome artists from all disciplines — literary, visual, performing, media, and interdisciplinary — into an innovative laboratory for individual and collaborative artmaking.

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Department of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness

CIIS’ Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness department is dedicated to reimagining the human species as a mutually enhancing member of the Earth community.

Butterfly by Krzysztof Niewolny
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Department of Transformative Inquiry

CIIS’ Transformative Inquiry department has been a pioneer in creative, transdisciplinary online education for over 25 years. Our pedagogy is centered on supporting highly individualized work in a diverse learning community facilitated by rich asynchronous conversations.

Alka Arora, Annette Williams, and Arisika Razak, faculty of the online MA and PhD in Women's Spirituality.
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Department of Women's Spirituality

CIIS’ Women's Spirituality department offers a transdisciplinary, multicultural, and socially-engaged approach to the study of feminism, gender, spirituality, religion, and social justice.