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Integral and Transpersonal Psychology

Announcement

Starting Fall 2023, our degrees will have a new name:
PhD in Psychology, concentration in Integral Transpersonal Psychology
PhD in Psychology, concentration in Somatic Psychology 

As a result of our recent program review, we are making some updates to our curriculum, and we have a new degree name. 

The core of our curriculum and the educational values that drive our program remain the same. Our focus will continue to be on the lived experience of being human, including the spiritual, exceptional, and body. We remain guided by and dedicated to offering integral education that honors intellectual excellence, perspective and practice that include spirituality and the body, and the transformative capacities of rigorous inquiry and writing. 

We'll continue to offer a high quality, online PhD for students in whole-person approaches to psychology. 

Integral Transpersonal Psychology and Somatic Psychology will continue to share some core writing and research courses. Our new degree name reflects our two independent tracks: Integral Transpersonal Psychology and Somatic Psychology.  

We are also posting a few curriculum updates here. We look forward to talking with you about them at the CIIS Open House and our Information Meetings. We hope you'll join us. 

Program Overview

CIIS’ Integral and Transpersonal Psychology Ph.D. is one of the few programs in the world that offers an online Ph.D. in whole-person approaches to psychology. It is a research-oriented program dedicated to systematic knowledge-building and the advancement of transpersonal psychology.

Whole-person psychologies expand the horizons of conventional Western psychology to include mystical and spiritual experiences that transform human consciousness.

Our approach engages a comprehensive framework that includes the living systems of body, community, society, and the world as interconnected processes of evolution in a living, breathing cosmos. From this perspective, it becomes possible to ask new and compelling research questions that lie close to the heart of what it is to be human.

Students choose from three focus areas: Integral and Transpersonal Psychology, Consciousness Studies and Contemplative Neuroscience, and Somatic Studies.

Doctor of Philosophy in Integral and Transpersonal Psychology

Length of Program
4-7
Years
Number of Units
36.2-37.5
Format
Online phd program icon
Online

Areas of Focus

Integral and Transpersonal Psychology

At least two courses from electives offered within the Integral and Transpersonal Psychology Ph.D. program. Students may add up to two program-approved, doctoral-level courses from within other online doctoral programs at CIIS (East-West Psychology, Transformative Studies, Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness, Women's Spirituality). (12 units)

Consciousness Studies and Contemplative Neuroscience

This focus area is designed to bring together consciousness studies, contemplative psychology, and neuroscience. Whole-person approaches bring to neuroscience the ability to ask new and thought-provoking questions that arise from the more holistic and systems perspectives of integral and transpersonal standpoints. The focus area will address issues of philosophical context through courses in consciousness studies that are offered within this program and other doctoral programs at CIIS. (12 units)

Somatic Studies

The focus area in Somatic Studies is designed for students with experience or strong interest in movement, potentially including martial arts, a bodywork practice, a specific movement or dance practice, an advanced sport practice, or a gyrotonic, Pilates, or other similar practice. Coursework will consider the worldwide burgeoning of embodiment literature beginning in the mid-20th century and rapidly growing into the present, as well as its relevance to consciousness studies. (12 units)

Career Paths

Integral and Transpersonal Psychology doctoral students are often established professionals in their chosen career who are looking to hone their expertise and fully develop their personal gifts and potential.

Our graduates go on to contribute to the development of research and scholarship in their professional areas of work, such as:

  • Psychotherapy, Social Work, and Counseling
  • Activism, organizing, and legal advising
  • Teaching, writing, research, and other academic contributions
  • Nursing and healthcare
  • Entrepreneurship 
  • Other fields related to personal development, social change, or environmental protection
View Program Requirements

Questions? Contact us.

We are here to help! If you have any questions about applying to a program or registering for an Info Session, please reach out to the Admissions Office. 

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