Transform the world from anywhere on the planet with Naropa University’s Online Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy. Compassion, mindfulness, and contemplative exploration are at the core of this bachelor of art therapy, a program unlike any other.
Naropa’s online Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy will merge your artistic process with the study of traditional and Eastern psychology for a deeply mindful approach to art therapy. In your own vibrant, organic space, you will grow as an artist as you explore the healing power of art.
This innovative art therapy program will put you on the cutting edge of revolutionary therapies and discoveries through a rich curriculum grounded in art therapy, visual arts, contemplative psychology and studio practice at the only Buddhist-inspired accredited university in the United States. Naropa’s art therapy program is dedicated to innovation in the artistic process and in our approach to teaching the psychology behind transformative art therapy.
Among colleges with a major in art therapy, Naropa uniquely offers both an undergraduate art therapy program and a graduate art therapy program, resulting in rich opportunities for mentorship and career guidance. Explore the depths of your own art—and your own heart—as an art therapy major.
Are you ready to be the change you want to see in the world? Start now
Quick Facts
51
Hours
To Graduate in Art Therapy Online
2
Including an
Internship
or Field
Placement
Capstone
Experiences
8
In Studio Art,
Art Therapy & Psychology
Milestone
Courses
Connect
with your counselor
Kim Fessenden
Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions
Last Names Beginning with A–G
- 303-546-3526
- kim.fessenden@naropa.edu
- Schedule Appointment
Connect
with your counselor
Steven Wagley
Last Names Beginning with H–Z
- 303-245-4780
- steven.wagley@naropa.edu
- Schedule Appointment
Courses You Could Take
in Art Therapy Online
Learn the practice and theory of art therapy at an art therapy school that puts mindfulness at the core of its curriculum. Engaging course work in studio art, art therapy, and contemplative psychology offers a visionary approach to using art as a tool for healing. As you earn your undergraduate degree in art therapy online, you will master studio techniques, explore Buddhist psychology, collaborate with motivated peers, and engage in fieldwork in the surrounding community. Courses within the major in art therapy online include:
The Naropa Difference
If you’ve been searching for art therapy schools with curricula that address heart and spirit along with mind, you’ve found your home. Naropa’s unique Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy Online offers a vibrant arts community, experiential learning, and a deeply introspective undergraduate curriculum aimed at healing you, your future clients, and the world.
Community Engagement
The online undergraduate major in art therapy offers students unique opportunities to engage and serve in their home communities through the COL 450E: Internship course, the one course that currently satisfies the “Leadership & Service” core curriculum credit. Coordinated through Naropa’s Career and Life Development (CLD) office, students can select sites in their local communities and partner with them to provide socially relevant learning in art therapy and integrate community-oriented skills such as grassroots organizing, grant writing, and policy research.
For seniors moving on to careers as art therapists or to graduate art therapy schools, the Internship is a powerful, collaborative opportunity to synthesize their contemplative art therapy education.
Forty-three percent of art therapy bachelor’s degree students are hired following completion of a senior internship.
Contemplative Education
The Naropa Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy Online is not a typical art therapy program, and Naropa is not your typical school. As the West’s founding school for contemplative education, Naropa integrates mind, body, and soul in a holistic education aimed at transforming students, communities, and the world.
The undergraduate major in Art Therapy Online instills mindfulness as a valuable tool for approaching art, relationships, and self-knowledge through courses like Buddhist Psychology: Mindfulness Meditation and Contemplative Ceramics: Form and Human Contact. Students cultivate their inner lives to prepare for meaningful lives beyond art therapy school.
Mentorship Opportunities
As one of the country’s few undergraduate art therapy programs paired with a graduate art therapy program, the Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy Online is uniquely positioned to provide mentorship opportunities. A graduate mentor will guide you through your major in art therapy, serving as sounding board, coach, and support.
Naropa’s art therapy mentorship program, unique among art therapy schools, prepares undergraduates to excel in the graduate art therapy program, to pursue master’s degrees in studio art or mental health, or to step into meaningful careers as art instructors, art coaches, or mental health workers.
Student Transformed
Student Transformed
