How to Apply         

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.

APPLY ONLINE

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.

If you completed any coursework at a foreign college or university (other than a study abroad program), an international education evaluation is required.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of a 2.9 or higher. Applicants with a cumulative GPA lower than 2.9 must submit Miller Analogies Test (MAT) results taken within the last calendar year. Note that the MAT is only required for these applicants, and is optional for all others.

In a three-to-four page typed, double-spaced, 12 point font essay, please respond to the following three questions. Directly refer to Introduction to Art Therapy:  Sources and Resources (J.A. Rubin, 2009) and Psychotherapy and Spirit:  Theory and Practice in Transpersonal Psychotherapy (B. Cortright, 1997) when writing your essay. When pulling information from either book, paraphrase the author rather than lifting direct quotes.

1. Concisely define and clarify your understanding of:
   
   • Art therapy
   • Transpersonal psychology
   • The benefits of contemplative practice. Why does contemplative practice resonate with you?
   
   Note: if invited to an on-campus interview, you will be asked to summarize these three points
   .
2. First, in general, describe your personal relationship to art as a personal transformative process. Then choose one piece from your portfolio, and where relevant refer to both books, and consider how your art reveals healing and transpersonal themes.
3. In your conclusion, discuss why you are interested in attending the MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Transpersonal Art Therapy program at Naropa University.

Your resume/CV should detail all pertinent academic, employment, and volunteer history with exact dates of participation.

Applicants are required to submit a well-rounded portfolio of 20 different pieces of original art. Your portfolio must include both 2D and 3D work as well as any other areas of specialization. The portfolio needs to demonstrate two primary skill sets:

• Applied knowledge and exploration of a wide range of art materials and processes.
• Transformative depth of work as an artist, showing maturity with form, content, materials, and processes.
  
  Note: if invited to an on-campus interview, you will be asked to summarize your artwork from these two perspectives. 

The portfolio needs to be accompanied by a portfolio summary that lists the following for each piece:

• Title
• Brief descriptive comment
• Media used
• Dimensions
• Date completed

Portfolios should only be uploaded in the following file formats: GIF, JPG, PNG, PDF, PowerPoint or Word.

Two letters of recommendation are required. 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.

Naropa University requires an earned grade of "C" or higher for all prerequisite coursework. Due to the competitive nature and academic rigor of the MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Transpersonal Art Therapy program, a grade of "B" or above is recommended. All prerequisites are to be completed at accredited academic institutions for credit (not pass/fail or audited). All courses are subject to approval and may require additional documentation such as a syllabus or course description. Please review the Prerequisite Coursework Guide for more information on acceptable alternative course titles, recommendations on where to complete coursework, and much more.

• Psychology Prerequisites (12 semester credit hours)
• One 3 semester credit course in Abnormal Psychology
• One 3 semester credit course in Developmental Psychology
• Two 3 semester credit courses in psychology electives (example courses:  Introduction to Psychology/General Psychology, Theories of Personality)
• Studio Art Prerequisites* (18 semester credit hours)
• One 3 semester credit art studio course in Drawing
• One 3 semester credit art studio course in Painting
• One 3 semester credit art studio course in a 3D medium (Sculpture or Ceramics)
• Three 3 semester credit courses in studio art electives

*Note for applicants wishing to waive a college level studio art requirement: in order to be considered for a waiver of a studio art prerequisite requirement, a separate, additional portfolio is required. If interested in a waiver, please contact Jaime Tousignant, Graduate Admissions Counselor.

Domestic applicants: learn more about how to apply for financial aid.

International applicants: learn more about how to apply for financial aid.

In addition to the graduate admissions requirements, international applicants must also complete the following international applicant admissions requirements:

English Proficiency Testing

International applicants must document their English language proficiency by submitting scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests. Applicants must earn the following required scores:

• TOEFL
  • Internet test (iBT): 80 or higher
  • Computer test (cBT): 213 or higher
  • Paper test (pBT): 550 or higher
• IELTS
  • 6.5 or higher

Exceptions are granted for applicants from countries where English is one of the official national languages.

Non-U.S. Education Records

Applicants (including U.S. citizens and permanent residents educated outside of the U.S.) must have all non-U.S. records of secondary and/or post-secondary education evaluated by a professional international education evaluation service. In this case, all non-U.S transcripts should be sent to one of the below evaluation service providers, not to Naropa University. Once the evaluation is completed, the applicant should request that the report be sent directly to: Naropa University, Office of Admissions (2130 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO 80302).

Naropa works with the three following credential evaluation services.  Evaluations will not be accepted by other services.

1. Global Academic Evaluators (www.aevaluators.com, 720-298-9564)
2. Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. (www.jsilny.com, 305-273-1616)
3. World Education Services (www.wes.org, 212-966-6311)

All undergraduate and graduate applicants must submit a complete course-by-course evaluation.

Please note: international applicants who have completed their undergraduate degree at an accredited U.S. institution do not need to provide an evaluated transcript.

If accepted to Naropa University, international students are required to submit the following:

• Copy of passport
• Financial documentation