Program Information
Minds Open.
At Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, we will ask you to take one of the biggest, most courageous leaps of your life.
As the pioneer of contemplative higher education, and the only institution to offer a comprehensive university-wide commitment to contemplative pedagogy, Naropa offers a one-of-a-kind experience. Combining Eastern wisdom studies, mindfulness training, and the capacity for compassion, with traditional Western scholarship, we challenge you to develop your intellect, while delving into the depths of your mind and heart.
This educational crucible gives you a radical opportunity: To discover your true self. Align your life and career with your authentic nature.
What is "Contemplative Education"?
Contemplative education combines traditional classroom academics, experiential learning experiences and contemplative practices such as meditation and yoga. The goal? For you to know and prepare for your life purpose.
What to Expect?
Students at Naropa will take Core, Major, and Elective courses across a range of programs, and have autonomy in choosing their courses from a diverse list of offerings. Each major has a set of program requirements that must be completed, providing the essential skills and knowledge for the discipline. These requirements follow a sequence that we call Gateway, Milestone, Capstone. This sequencing reflects the intentional arc students that progress along as they deepen in their studies. We also have 15 credits of required Core Seminar courses that lay the foundation for the Naropa experience and provide the ingredients of a holistic, contemplative liberal arts education.
Within these parameters, we help each student craft the unique facets of their academic journey at Naropa. We dialogue with each student about the prior schooling, transfer credits, and academic goals in order to support robust degree planning. We work creatively together to ensure success and explore opportunities for study abroad, independent study, internships, and other ways of engaging with the world beyond the classroom.
Naropa emphasizes contemplative education and experiential learning, so you are likely to have more of these educational experiences than you might at other institutions. The faculty and staff at Naropa are diverse in their backgrounds, skills, and experience. They tend to be approachable and creative in their teaching and support, placing high priority on student development and communication. Instructors utilize traditional academic reading and writing, but also promote multiple modalities to engage different learning styles. Much of the learning takes place through facilitated discussion, group projects, self-determined research, and community action.
What makes a Naropa education different?
Experience Naropa’s Tree of Contemplative Education to discover how our distinctive approach to teaching and learning comes to life throughout the student experience. See how our foundational values shape the way we teach, the experiences we create, and the contemplative practices that help students cultivate wisdom, compassion, and meaningful engagement with the world.
Undergraduate Programs
At Naropa University you won’t just sit on your hands in class, you’ll use them. Choose from our curated range of majors and minors—or create your own. Then raise your hand for internships, service learning projects, field studies, research, creative work, global study, or any combination thereof.
Graduate Programs
There is nothing generic about graduate studies at Naropa University. Here you will experience a mind-expanding education that will expose you to the most progressive ideas in your discipline while cultivating your wisdom to apply them.
