How to Apply
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology
The program is accepting applications for August 2023.
- Application deadline: February 1, 2023
Group Interview Dates
- February 10, 2023 (In-person)
- October 21, 2022 & February 17, 2023 (Remote)
Apply online by creating a new account or signing in to an existing account.
At the end of your application, you will be prompted to pay a $60 nonrefundable application fee. If your current financial situation warrants waiving of your application fee, you may submit a fee waiver request.
After you submit the application, you will then have access to the rest of the application system where you'll upload documents (e.g. essays, unofficial transcripts) and send out requests for letters of recommendation.
We encourage you to be actively engaged in the admission process. Once you have submitted your application online, you can log back in anytime to check the status of your application and documents.
Naropa University requires transcripts from any and all institutions where undergraduate coursework was completed, and it is very important that you successfully complete the coursework entered on your application. An official transcript of a conferred bachelor's degree must be received by the Office of Admissions prior to beginning graduate coursework.
Transcripts that are uploaded as part of your application are not considered official. However, to expedite the admissions process we encourage you to upload copies of your transcripts when possible.
If mailing, official transcripts should be sent to:
Naropa University
Office of Admissions
2130 Arapahoe Ave
Boulder CO 80302
Electronic transcripts from your university may be emailed to admissions@naropa.edu.
Electronic official transcripts are acceptable if submitted through a secure document sending service used by your university. If you submit your transcripts by email, as an attachment, they will not be accepted as official.
If you completed any coursework at a foreign college or university (other than a study abroad program), an international education evaluation is required.
The MA Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology program offers skills training and counseling career preparation, engagement toward cultural humility, contemplative practice, community involvement, and opportunity for personal reflection individually and as an interdependent member of a group.
Given this, in a 3–4-page, double-spaced essay, please respond to the following, making sure that you respond to each section fully:
How are you prepared to participate in this learning community, and how would your life and educational goals be reached by attending the Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology program?
Using specific examples from your life experience, please describe your inspiration, intention, and commitment to studying psychotherapy in the Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology program. Describe your vision of how your education will allow you to be of service to yourself and the world at large.
Please be sure to include:
- Your personal experience with working in service to others, as a professional or volunteer, in a mental health or comparable setting and what you have learned about yourself in the process.
- How you have engaged with your own personal developmental processes and how related experiences have prepared you for completing the program to which you are applying.
- Your personal experience with sitting meditation and/or body/mind awareness disciplines.
Required Supplemental Essay, 1-2 pages, double spaced:
Read Oppression and Privilege: Two Sides of the Same Coin by Diane Goodman (Oppression and Privilege: Two Sides of the Same Coin, in Japan SIETAR Journal of Intercultural Communication, 18, 2015) and Love and Social Justice by Regina Smith and Deb Bopsie. Comment on your understanding and experience of the concepts brought up in these articles. Include your own ideas about how understanding and integration of these concepts is an ethical necessity for a counselor in working with clients.
Your resume/CV should detail all pertinent academic, employment, and volunteer history with exact dates of participation.
Two letters of recommendation are required; a third is optional. Recommendations must be from pertinent academic or professional sources, and may not be from family members, spouses, friends, or current or former therapists or spiritual advisors.
The Office of Admissions will assess a candidate’s completed application, and those who meet minimum application requirements will move forward in the process and be invited to an admissions interview. Admissions interviews are a required part of the admissions process and will be offered at our campus in Boulder, Colorado and remotely via Zoom. Interview dates for consideration for admittance in 2023 are as follows:
- Friday, September 23, 2022 (on campus in Boulder, CO)
- Friday, October 21, 2022 (remotely via Zoom)
- Friday, February 10, 2023 (on campus in Boulder, CO)
- Friday, February 17, 2023 (remotely via Zoom)
Domestic applicants: Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Learn more about how to apply for financial aid.
International applicants: Complete Naropa's Financial Aid Application for International Students. Learn more about financial aid for international students.
In addition to other requirements, international applicants must also submit:
- Proof of English proficiency
- Evaluations of non-U.S. education records
If accepted to Naropa University, international students are required to submit the following for their student visa application:
- Copy of a valid passport
- Proof of funding for the first year of the program
Please see the International Students webpage for more information.