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 or graduate 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, we encourage electronic submission at time of application to expedite an admissions decision.

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.

Statement of Interest

Please address each of the following prompts in 6 double-spaced pages. Your essay should respond to both the prompts listed for all counseling concentrations, as well as the concentration-specific prompts. Please use the articles as a guide and reference them where appropriate. 

For all Concentrations: 

• What interested you to apply to Naropa University and the specific concentration within the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program, to which you are applying? 
• What are your career goals relative to enrolling in this program?  
• What experiences have you had in professional or volunteer capacities, which relate to the counseling field? What specifically did you learn about yourself or about counseling from this experience? 
• Imagine that you witness a microaggression by a peer and toward another one of your peers. How would you respond?

   

Prompts specific to the Wilderness Therapy concentration:

• Using specific examples from your lived experiences please describe your inspiration, intention and commitment to studying clinical mental health counseling with a concentration in Nature-Based Transpersonal Counseling (TWT).
• Describe your experience with the outdoors, nature, and/or wilderness.
• How are you prepared to participate in this distinctive community and attain your life and educational goals by attending the CMHC: TWT program?
• Read Oppression and Privilege: Two Sides of the Same Coin and Love and Social Justice, then use the information from those articles to answer the following questions:
  • Why are love and relationships so central to social justice work?
  • What you have learned about power and privilege and how you imagine this will inform your future career as a wilderness therapist.

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.

Wilderness experience

A wilderness experience of seven consecutive days in the backcountry is a prerequisite for this program. This prerequisite may be completed with an organized outfitting company or as a personal trip. Please submit the following information regarding your trip:  1) the location; 2) the dates; 3) the outfitting company (if applicable); and 4) a statement that it meets all the trip criteria listed below.

The trip criteria are: seven days under the stars / in a tent (no huts, cabins, or hostels); travel by personal means (no motorized modes of transport); and all necessary gear (i.e. food and equipment) carried on your person (e.g., no car camping, catered trips, or use of porters). As you are developing a plan, consider consulting with the Nature-Based Transpersonal Counseling admissions counselor to ensure your trip meets the criteria.

Some possible organizations to use for guided wilderness trips are:

• www.nols.edu
• www.outwardbound.com
• www.olts-bt.com

Wilderness/outdoor skills

It is a requirement of the program that you have experience in wilderness travel, camp craft, and leave-no-trace camping. We recommend that students have developed one or more outdoor skills in addition to backpacking. It is also required that you are in adequate physical condition to participate in the field activities of the program. These include the following: be an intermediate-level swimmer; ability and willingness to participate in rock climbing and gardening.

Attending an Interview Day and participating in both group interview sessions is a requirement to receive an admissions decision. All application requirements need not be submitted in order to interview – an invite to RSVP for an Interview Day will be emailed to all applicants who have submitted the application form.

Although a completed application is not a requirement to interview, 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.

Interview Days are full-day events and consist of two group interview sessions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – as well as additional programming designed to help inform your decision to enroll at Naropa. Options to interview in person at our campus in Boulder, Colorado, and remotely via Zoom will be offered.

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. 

If accepted into the program, you will be required to fill out a medical form prior to the first day of classes. This form will be used to verify that you do not have any medical (physical/psychological) issues that might put you at risk in the backcountry. If there is any medical condition that may put you at risk in the backcountry setting, you may be prohibited from starting the program.

View a sample medical form.

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.