The first master’s degree of its kind in the U.S., this 36-credit program pairs contemplative leadership with practical business, governance, and organizing skills—preparing you to build and manage democratic, member-owned enterprises and help shape a more equitable future in the growing solidarity economy.
Naropa’s Master of Arts in Cooperative Management brings together business administration, public advocacy, and contemplative leadership to prepare you to lead organizations rooted in shared ownership and democratic participation.
You’ll develop skills in financial management that supports both economic viability and community wellbeing, democratic decision-making, and grassroots coalition building to steer sustainable, community-centered enterprises.
The online MA in Cooperative Management, the MA in Leadership, and the Master of Public Administration degree programs were intentionally created as a curricula cluster. Students of these programs will therefore learn together in a multi-disciplinary environment that is designed to build mindful and collaborative leaders in the public, nonprofit, and cooperative sectors.
Students learn from Naropa faculty with expertise across cooperative management, organizational leadership, public administration, social and solidarity economies, nonprofit management, public policy, and sustainable organizational development. Faculty bring scholarly depth and applied experience in areas such as democratic governance, cooperative business models, participatory decision-making, organizational transformation, economic justice, and community-centered leadership. Faculty prepare students to lead cooperative enterprises and mission-driven organizations that advance equitable, sustainable, and socially responsible economic systems.
The MA in Cooperative Management is a 36-credit, two-year master’s degree delivered online. Across four 9-credit semesters, you’ll combine live online classes and asynchronous coursework with real-world practice in community organizations. During your second year, you’ll complete a hands-on field internship and capstone project with an active cooperative, credit union, housing collective, or advocacy organization.
Explores models of worker, consumer, producer, housing, and multi-stakeholder cooperatives. Students gain actionable skills in participatory decision-making, community power analysis, coalition building, and member mobilization.
Choose one of the following courses:
Naropa offers the only graduate program in the United States dedicated entirely to cooperative enterprise, member equity, and democratic ownership. You’ll explore how shared ownership and decision-making can build community wealth—and develop the practical skills to put these models into action.
You’ll pair practical business skills—from managing how cooperatives distribute earnings to financial forecasting—with contemplative practice, conflict navigation, and an understanding of how power and equity shape organizations. This integrated approach prepares you to lead with awareness and care while building resilient, human-centered workplaces.
You’ll gain hands-on experience through practicum partnerships with credit unions, housing collectives, and community wealth-building initiatives—putting your learning into practice alongside people working to build more equitable local economies.
Students master patronage capital allocation, member equity accounting, and capital formation through non-extractive financial institutions. You graduate ready to build sustainable balance sheets that honor member needs over short-term investor profit.
The curriculum trains leaders to guide complex, multi-stakeholder boards and build consensus using proven conflict negotiation strategies. You will learn to facilitate shared decision-making while maintaining high operational efficiency.
Through community-embedded internships and capstone projects, students translate grassroots organizing strategies into viable economic institutions. You develop continuous-improvement and policy-advocacy skill sets that directly address real-world community challenges.
Learn to raise capital, manage shared ownership, and distribute earnings equitably—building the financial foundation for enterprises that serve their members and communities.
Develop the skills to guide shared decisions, strengthen accountability, and help boards, managers, and member-owners work together with a meaningful voice in the organization’s future.
Deepen your self-awareness through contemplative practice and learn to navigate differences with care—creating workplaces where people feel safe to contribute and their perspectives are valued.
Understand how public policy shapes cooperative enterprises and learn to advocate for policies that support shared ownership, community wealth, and a more equitable economy.
Connect research, data, and perspectives across disciplines to understand complex organizational challenges—and develop practical solutions that strengthen your organization and the communities it serves.
Prepare for careers that put economic and social change into practice:
Cooperative management: Lead worker, consumer, housing, or agricultural cooperatives.
Community finance: Support local investment through credit unions and community development financial institutions.
Organizing and development: Help communities launch cooperatives and build shared wealth.
Food systems and fair trade: Manage sustainable supply chains and producer partnerships.
Economic development and policy: Advance shared ownership through public programs and advocacy.
Social enterprise: Guide mission-driven businesses, including Certified B Corporations.
Most traditional MBA and MPA programs are built around shareholder primacy and hierarchical corporate structures—frameworks that are largely irrelevant to member-owned, democratically governed organizations. This program was designed to fill that gap directly.
The MA in Cooperative Management & Organizing integrates three disciplines that traditional programs treat separately:
Cooperative business acumen: patronage dividend accounting, member equity, and capital formation
Democratic governance: board dynamics, participatory decision-making, and conflict resolution
Contemplative leadership: power and privilege analysis, relational leadership, and culturally responsive management
The result is a credential that is both technically rigorous and values-aligned—one of only a handful of graduate programs globally dedicated entirely to the cooperative model and the solidarity economy.
Yes — intentionally. The MA in Management: Cooperative Management & Organizing is a 36-credit, two-year online degree. Coursework is structured at 9 credits per semester, combining flexible online learning with cohort-based collaboration so you can maintain your career, your community commitments, and your studies simultaneously.
Whether you are managing a worker cooperative, serving on a credit union board, or organizing a community development initiative, this program is designed to deepen your expertise without requiring you to step away from the work you are already doing.
The solidarity economy is growing, and qualified leaders are in short supply. National labor market data shows that employer demand for management roles is projected to grow 5.1% to 5.7% through 2029, with approximately 428,356 annual openings across management and advocacy fields. Median earnings for target occupations in these sectors range from $77,100 to $86,300 annually.
Graduates of this program are prepared for roles including:
Unlike a traditional MBA, this degree is purpose-built for the institutions you want to lead.
Associate Director of Admissions
Associate Director of Admissions
Naropa University’s admission process follows our contemplative education principles. We value academic excellence as well as the commitment to introspective work. Admissions are rolling and applications will be accepted until the program is full.
Learn more about admission requirements, current deadlines, and the application process for the MA in Management: Cooperative Management & Organizing.
At Naropa, we believe quality education should be accessible. More than 75% of our graduate students receive some form of financial aid to help cover their costs. Our graduate costs & aid page covers costs and financial aid opportunities for graduate students, like scholarships, student employment, and loan options.
Scholarships are a great way to help with the costs of going to school. Naropa University offers an array of scholarship opportunities to graduate students. Students may be eligible to receive scholarships by applying for scholarships or by being nominated for a scholarship. For more detailed information about the different scholarships available and how to receive them, please review our graduate scholarship page.
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About Naropa
Located in Boulder, Colorado, Naropa University is a Buddhist-inspired, nonsectarian liberal arts university that is recognized as the birthplace of the mindfulness movement. Naropa offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that emphasize professional and personal growth, intellectual development, and cultivating compassion.
Academics
Contemplative education brings together the best of Western scholarship and Eastern world wisdom traditions. Therefore, your pursuit of wisdom at Naropa means learning both about academic subjects and about your own place in the world. This innovative approach places Naropa on the cutting edge of the newest and most effective methods of teaching and learning.
Admissions & Aid
If you’re seeking an education that resonates with both personal fulfillment and global impact, Naropa could be your top choice. At Naropa, you will experience a comprehensive curriculum that integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational approaches. Explore how Naropa can fuel your journey of intellectual and spiritual development.
Life at Naropa
Through its incredibly vibrant and welcoming community, “Naropa offers a home for those who aren’t willing to conform to convention—the mystic, the healer, the prophet, the rebel, the artist, the revolutionary, the oddball—those who are incredible contributors to the evolution of society and of our planet.”—Core Associate Professor Zvi Ish-Shalom
The Naropa Difference
How is Naropa different from other universities? At Naropa, a liberal arts education balances rigorous academics with powerful interpersonal skills and self-awareness to educate the whole person. Naropa’s contemplative approach is inspired by Buddhist philosophy and the conviction that we can build a diverse, contemplative, enlightened society when we have transformed education to affirm the basic goodness of every person.
Support Naropa
At a time when the value of higher education is being questioned, Naropa University stands firmly rooted in its mission to create a more just and regenerative world by nurturing insight, awareness, courage, and compassion in its students. By making a gift to Naropa, you play a pivotal role in helping to create the authentic, effective & mindful leaders that the world desperately needs.
