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BA in Art Therapy

Degree in Art Therapy

Explore the healing power of art by combining your unique artistic process with the study of traditional and Eastern psychology in Naropa’s Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy.

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Program Overview
Degree Requirements
Why Choose Naropa?
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How to Apply
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Program Overview

Naropa’s Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy offers dynamic, community-focused, hands-on learning, and a deeply introspective undergraduate curriculum that addresses heart, mind, and spirit. Naropa’s degree in Art Therapy emphasizes mindfulness, both in the artistic process and in the approach to teaching the psychology behind effective art therapy. Major in art therapy at the only Buddhist-inspired accredited university in the United States.

As the West’s founding school for contemplative education, Naropa integrates mind, body, and spirit in a holistic education aimed at transforming students, communities, and the world.

Naropa offers both an undergraduate art therapy program and a graduate art therapy program, resulting in rich opportunities for mentorship and career guidance. A graduate mentor will guide you through your major in contemplative art therapy, serving as a sounding board, coach, and support.

You will learn the practice and theory of art therapy at a school that puts mindfulness at the core of its curriculum. As you earn your undergraduate degree in contemplative art therapy, you will master studio techniques, explore Buddhist psychology, collaborate with motivated peers, and engage in fieldwork in the surrounding community.

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Quick Facts

  • On-campus degree
  • 51 credit hours (of the 120 credits required for a bachelor's degree)
  • Transfer up to 90 credits
  • 8 milestone courses In Studio Art, Art Therapy & Psychology
  • Internship/field placement experience
  • Admissions open for 2025
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Program Format

Program Format Naropa University’s undergraduate program is a four-year, fully accredited Bachelor of Arts program.

The Art Therapy major is an in-person 51-credit major during which students engage in an in-depth liberal arts education that integrates traditional and new approaches to the behavioral sciences, a strong introduction to art therapy theory, visual arts studio education, and community-based service learning opportunities. The innovative, carefully designed curriculum blends the intellectual and experiential traditions of East and West perspectives. The curriculum encompasses both art therapy courses as well as significant credits in visual arts, world art history, and psychology, with a field placement in the senior year.

Two people sitting together side by side, only visible from the chest upwards. One is a man with short grey hair and round glasses, and the other is a woman with long, wavy dark brown hair. They are both wearing aprons and their hands are stained with clay.

Course Spotlight

Warrior Artist: Risk and Revelation in Studio Art

In this course, artists evolve into scholarly individuals, emphasizing confidence and articulate expression about their work’s influences. Through research and focused discussions, students clarify their art’s relationship between self and broader contexts. Spontaneous warrior exams challenge students to articulate insights instantly. Essential questions deepen understanding of art’s impact on viewers.

Degree
Requirements

A Bachelor of Arts degree (120 credits) consists of a Core Curriculum (24 credits) and at least one major, as well as minors and/or elective courses of the student’s choosing. The Art Therapy Major has a total of 51 credit hours.

Art Therapy Major Requirements

  • ATH230 Introduction to Art Therapy (3)
  • ART101 2-D Design: Art Techniques and Experimentation (3)
  • PSYB101 Introduction to Psychology (3)
  • ART125 Introduction to Drawing (3)
  • ART200 The Contemplative Artist (3)
  • ART155 Figure Drawing (3)
  • ART325 Drawing II: Precision, Perception, and Form (3)
  • PSYB368 Psychology and Neuroscience of Emotion (3)
  • ART245 Introduction to Painting: Realism (3)
  • ART215 Watercolor (3)
  • ART345 Painter’s Laboratory (3)
  • ART301 Reconceptualizing Art History (3)
  • ART340 Contemporary Art History 1945 to Present (3)
  • ATH-330 Art Therapy Theory & Applications (3)
  • ATH-430 Art Therapy: Studio Methods (3)
  • PSYB-314 Psychology of Mindfulness Meditation (3)
  • PSYB-325 Awakening Compassion: Working with Others (3)
  • PSYB-345 Developmental Psychology (3)
  • PSYB-371 Personality Theories (3)
  • PSYB-415 Maitri: Working With Emotions (3)
  • PSYB-420 Psychopathology (3)
  • ART440 Warrior Artist: Risk and Revelation in Studio Art (3)
  • COR440 Capstone II (3)”

Why Choose Naropa?

Introspective Curriculum

Naropa’s unique Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy not only offers a vibrant arts community and experiential learning, it also delivers a deeply introspective undergraduate curriculum aimed at healing you, your future clients, and the world.

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Community Engagement

With the undergraduate major in art therapy, students can choose between two culminating, senior-year experiences: the Field Placement or the Internship. Both opportunities provide career-relevant learning in art therapy and integrate community-oriented skills such as grassroots organizing, grant writing, and policy research.

Graduate Studies

Naropa uniquely offers both an undergraduate art therapy program and a graduate art therapy program, resulting in rich opportunities for mentorship and career guidance. Further your studies after completing your bachelor's with our graduate program: Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Concentration in Transpersonal Contemplative Art-Based Counseling.

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A woman is sitting on her knees and leaning forward and to the left with her torso. She's wearing black clothes which are partially stained with clay. There is clay all around her and on her hands and face. She seems to be experimenting with the material.

How this Program Prepares You

Diverse Learning

The BA Degree in Art Therapy’s curriculum includes art therapy courses, significant credits in visual arts, world art history, and Buddhist psychology. Collaborate with motivated peers and engage in fieldwork in the surrounding community, following in the footsteps of art therapy pioneers.

Contemplative Education

The undergraduate major in art therapy instills mindfulness in art, relationships, and self-knowledge through courses like Buddhist Psychology and Contemplative Ceramics, preparing students for meaningful lives beyond school.

Guidance Opportunities

As one of the country’s few undergraduate art therapy programs paired with a graduate art therapy program, the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art Therapy is uniquely positioned to provide mentorship opportunities. Naropa’s art therapy mentorship program prepares undergraduates to excel in the graduate program, pursue master’s degrees in studio art, or step into meaningful careers as art instructors, art coaches, or mental health workers.

What You'll Learn

Mindfulness

Learn to look inward as a first step in reaching out to help others.

Graduate School Readiness

Receive mindful mentorship that gives you a head start in graduate school.