How to Apply

We encourage you to be actively engaged in the admission process. Once you have submitted your application, log into your application account to check the status of your application and what requirements may still be outstanding.

When all application requirements have been submitted, including all letters of recommendation, you will receive an email notification that your application is complete. 

Naropa University requires transcripts from any and all institutions where undergraduate coursework was completed. Transcripts for coursework beyond the undergraduate level are not required. 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 transcript service used by your university. If you submit your transcripts by email as an attachment or upload them via your application account, 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.

Statement of Interest

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.

Supplemental Essay

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.

In a one-to-two-page, double-spaced, essay, 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.

After submitting your application form, you will receive an invite by email to RSVP for an interview day. All application requirements need not be submitted in order to interview. However, programs have limited capacity and it is highly recommended that you complete your application as soon as possible to give yourself the best chance at securing a spot if accepted.

Admissions interviews are a required part of the admissions process and will be offered at our campus in Boulder, Colorado, and remotely via Zoom. They are full-day events and consist of two group interview sessions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – and additional programming designed to help inform your decision to enroll at Naropa.

ATTENDANCE POLICY: Any registrant who fails to attend all mandatory portions of their Admissions Interview Day or notify the Admissions Office of their absence in advance, will have their application scored accordingly, resulting in a denial. 

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.