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.

Statement of interest

In a maximum of 500 words, 12-point font, double-spaced essay, please refer to the following readings when writing your essay:

• Body Psychotherapy: Caldwell, C. (1997) Getting In Touch: The guide to the new body-centered psychotherapies. Wheaton, IL: Quest books.
• Contemplative Reading: Siegel, D. (2007). The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
• Multiculturalism, Diversity: Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2013). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice, 6th edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

All of Naropa University's counseling programs offer skills training and counseling career preparation, diversity work, contemplative practice, community engagement, and deep personal reflection. Given this and your understanding of the assigned readings for this application, please respond to the following prompt:

• Naropa invites students to transform themselves and transform the world. What is one thing you would like to transform about yourself while training to be a counselor/ body psychotherapist? What is one thing you would like to transform in the world and how would a degree in Somatic Counseling from Naropa enable you to do this?

Supplemental essays

Through supplemental essays we hope to uncover your level of exposure to and experience with different forms of movement, sensory awareness, and body-based expression from your essays. Please limit your answers to a total of 500 words for each section, using 12-point font and double-spaced.

Supplemental Essay I

List and describe your training and describe how this training supports your interest in working psychotherapeutically with the human body. The following is required:

• Minimum of 2 semesters or 250 hours of training in a body-mind discipline (This may include energetic healing practices, body/mind psychotherapy trainings, outdoor trainings, physical and occupational therapies, bodywork, martial arts, and yoga/movement practices, to name a few)

How are your current somatic practices informed or supported by your awareness of internal sensation and body-based processes?

 Supplemental Essay II

A minimum of 100 hours of either paid or volunteer fieldwork experience is required. Fieldwork can be in a supervised setting in the mental health field or through work in a community facility or service organization.

• Please describe what you have done to complete the required fieldwork experience in direct service to others. What have you learned about yourself from this experience as it pertains to becoming a counselor? Please discuss the Multiculturalism, Diversity reading as you answer this question

Please include both supplemental essays in one document with headings indicating the start of each essay.

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

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.

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 interview. Interviews are a required part of the admissions process and will be offered remotely.

Body-Mind Experience 

• Minimum of 2 semesters or 250 hours of training in a body-mind discipline

 Prerequisite Coursework 

The following courses from an accredited academic institution:

• 3 semester credit course in Introduction to Psychology
• 3 semester credit course in Abnormal Psychology OR Theories of Personality

All courses are subject to approval and may require additional documentation such as a syllabus or course description.

A grade of "C" or above is required for all prerequisite coursework. All prerequisites are to be completed at accredited academic institutions for credit (not pass/fail or audited). Applicants must submit an official transcript showing proof of completion of the prerequisite coursework and bachelor's degree prior to the start of the program.

Please review the Prerequisite Coursework Guide for more information on acceptable alternative course titles, recommendations on where to complete coursework, and much more.

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