Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Looking for a Psychology school that will teach you to change the world? Start from within. In Naropa’s Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree program, you’ll prepare for a career of service by seeking self-knowledge and cultivating compassion.

Naropa’s Bachelor in psychology merges Buddhist teachings with modern, Western psychology in an undergraduate degree program that prepares you to serve others with confidence and compassion. Experience the uplifting power of community while sharpening your mind, honing your intuition, and deepening your experience of mindfulness.

With concentrations in Contemplative Neuroscience, Psychological Science, Psychology of Health and Healing, Somatic Psychology, and Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology, this psychology school has a variety of options to find a path that’s right for you. Grow as a person as you grow into your future career in Naropa’s Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

Psychology

Quick Facts

41

Credit
Hours

5

Concentrations To Choose
From

2

Dedicated to Research of the Contemplative Mind
Labs
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with your counselor

Olivia Phipps

Admissions Counselor

For Students Applying for Fall 2024

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Connect

with your counselor

Jenna Priest

Undergraduate Admissions Counselor

For Students Applying for Spring & Summer 2024

Psychology Courses

Learn from internationally recognized faculty in a psychology school that views learning as a journey. Naropa’s BA in psychology starts at the center of the individual with Buddhist psychology and mindfulness practice before moving into traditional and psychological theories.

Take courses in humanistic psychology or neuroscience through your chosen concentration before diving into a transformative senior year capstone experience. Discover an undergraduate experience that expands your self-awareness while deepening your capacity to serve.

Courses in the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology include:

2 Track Options for BA in Psychology Online

Explore a diversity of ancient and modern healing methodologies through an academic and personal exploration of mindfulness. Engage in both Western and Buddhist approaches to psychological theory and cultivate relational, social, and psychological skills, including embodied presence, deep listening, compassionate inquiry, and meditation

Blend traditional psychological research methods with cognitive neuroscience and meditative experience as you explore research on embodiment, perception, emotion, consciousness, and more. Learn to use contemplative practice as laboratory for investigating your own mind and brain, and gain real-world research experience by designing a contemplative neuroscience study of your own.

Areas of Concentration

Infuse your psychology school experience with innovative neuroscientific approaches to exploring perception, emotion, and consciousness through the lens of the human brain.

Ground your study of psychology in the practice of systematic observation. Test your theories on human development by learning methods for obtaining and evaluating empirical evidence.

Explore the connection between mind, body, and spirit in a psychology concentration that values modern and ancient approaches to healing. Study nutrition, herbal medicine, Hakomi somatics, and more.

Create powerful healing experiences for yourself and others by deepening your understanding of the body-mind connection. In this contemplative concentration, you’ll study body psychology through movement and hands-on learning.

Complement your BA in psychology with a concentration in transpersonal and humanistic psychology that explores both the client-therapist relationship and the individual longing for wholeness as essential to healing.

The Naropa Difference

Naropa’s Bachelor of Arts in Psychology integrates training in cognitive neuroscience with a deeply contemplative approach and a commitment to service. We’ll help you chart your unique path for bringing your light to others.

Buddhist Approach

In Naropa’s Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, you’re joining an innovative psychology school with a long tradition of Buddhist values. The beginnings of contemplative psychology started at Naropa when Trungpa Rinpoche brought Buddhist philosophy and self-awareness to the Western social science of psychology. Today, the bachelor’s in psychology program at Naropa is steeped in mindfulness principles and guided by the idea that psychological health and well-being are innate.

Research Opportunities

Naropa’s BA in psychology offers collaborative research opportunities with world-renowned faculty. As the psychology school at the forefront of contemplative psychology in the West, Naropa is dedicated to understanding how contemplative practices affect individuals and communities. The Cognitive and Affective Science Lab engages the next generation of contemplative scientists in research at the intersection of ancient contemplative practices and modern psychological science. Psychology majors can join research efforts that are advancing the world’s understanding of meditation and other phenomena related to human consciousness.

Senior Year Synthesis

Your bachelor’s in psychology culminates in a senior-year capstone experience: an exploration of Maitri Space Awareness, a community field placement focusing on social change, and a multidisciplinary senior project aimed at challenging both intellect and intuition. Whether your concentration is Contemplative Neuroscience, Psychological Science, Somatic Psychology, Psychology of Health and Healing, or Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology, your capstone experience will integrate your area of focus with the core curriculum. Your senior year in Naropa’s bachelor’s in psychology is a deep dive into your expanded awareness of yourself and what you hope to contribute to the world.

Student Transformed

What to Expect

Understand and apply Buddhist principles to Western psychological science.
Foundation in Psychology
Enrich your approach to mind-body healing with peer-reviewed research.
Understanding of Psychological Science
Work for social change and commit to diversity awareness in your community.
Commitment to Inclusivity
Step into a meaningful career that allows you to serve others.
Career Readiness
Expand self-awareness to increase awareness of and compassion for others.
Mindfulness

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This is where experiential learning meets academic rigor. Where you challenge your intellect and uncover your potential. Where you discover the work you’re moved to do—then use it to transform our world.

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