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Requirements

• 36 Credit Hours, Culminating Project option,
• 12 online courses
• 39 Credit Hours, 13 online courses

*A degree holder from this program is not a psychotherapist or licensed counselor.

Specializations

All courses offered in the Master of Arts in Transpersonal Psychology program confer three credit hours upon successful completion. Courses are offered on the semester system. There are four 12-week semesters in the academic year: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

General Studies

The General Studies specialization offers the most flexibility for the master’s degree student who prefers to sample a wide variety of courses. Many students prefer to keep their options open as they progress through the program. This pathway allows a student to create a unique mix of courses once the required core courses are completed.

All students are required to complete five core courses before moving onto their specialization. These courses establish a thorough foundation of transpersonal philosophies, concepts, and theories: Introduction to Transpersonal Studies (TP5000), The Inner Life: Dreams, Meditation, Creativity, and the Imagination (TP5010), Introduction to Psychological Theories (TP5012), Research Methods (TP5015), and Foundations of Transpersonal Psychology (TP5020).

Specialization courses offer a variety of options students may use to pursue their interests and educational goals while at Atlantic University. Each specialization includes required courses and electives. Students are required to start out with the core courses and then make a specialization selection that best fits their needs. Although each specialization has distinctive differences from the other, each can equip the student to make a difference in the world. The five specializations are General Studies, Applied Spirituality, Consciousness, Creativity, and Leadership and Conflict Transformation. If the student does not choose a specialization, they will be placed in General Studies as a default.

Applied Spirituality

The Applied Spirituality specialization is designed for those interested in learning more about themselves and becoming spiritual mentors to others. Once students have completed the core curriculum, they can advance to the specialized classes that address the practical application of spirituality in personal growth and mentorship.

Designed to develop these skills, the Applied Spirituality specialization delves into body–mind–spirit principles, mentoring skills, and the application of these skills within a local community. TP 5005 (Spiritual Crisis) explores the difference between a spiritual crisis and other phenomena such as a mystical experience and a mental health crisis as a way of preparing students for what can arise in their work with others. This opportunity to work with others outside of the classroom occurs during practicums for TP6010 Becoming a Teacher of Meditation, TP6005 Becoming a Teacher of Finding Your Mission in Life, and TP6000 Becoming a Teacher of Dream Work. TP5070 The Transpersonal Relationship: Holistic Mentoring and Applied Intuitive Arts will build upon what the student has learned in previous course work and move deeper into interpersonal skills and helping techniques. Students will also learn the structure, strategies, communication, and boundaries of spiritual mentorship in TP5055 Principles and Practices of Spiritual Mentorship. TP5055 is taken after the other four specialized courses have been completed so students can draw upon what they have learned beforehand when completing various assignments for the course.

Upon completion of the Master of Arts in Transpersonal Psychology, specialization in Applied Spirituality, students will have a clear understanding of transpersonal psychology as well as knowledge in the practical application of spirituality and spiritual mentoring. 

Consciousness

Asking the question, “what is consciousness?” is not too different from asking the question, “what is life?” or “what is existence?”  And the answer to all these questions is, in any definitive sense, we don’t know.  One can’t help but acknowledge a degree of inherent mystery here.  However, the human spirit is such that we must try to plumb the depths of the big questions. As a result there are many “views” on consciousness produced by different aspects of human thought and study: contrast the following two quotes, the first from ancient Hindu philosophy and the second from modern science:

“Thou canst not see the seer of seeing, thou canst not hear the hearer of hearing, thou canst not comprehend the comprehender of comprehension, thou canst not know the knower of knowledge; he is thy soul, that is within all.”—Upanishads (Brh3.4)

These are such diametrically opposite views on consciousness that one must surmise they arise from completely different ways of knowing or exploring the question.  And there are many others in between.  We examine perspectives on consciousness with particular attention to their relationship to the transpersonal.  These include the study of mythology, theories of hypnosis, and the relationship between the scientific and the spiritual.  In addition, there are the views of Depth Psychology originating with Carl Jung and his ideas on the Collective Unconscious. We invite you to join us in our ongoing investigation of the challenging issues that arise from the human effort to understand consciousness.

Creativity

The purpose of this specialization is to guide students who wish to learn about active imagination and explore their creative nature in a focused, conscious manner through the visual arts, writing, or other forms of creative expression within a body–mind–spirit context. Conscious creative expression is a powerful tool for personal transformation. This tool can be explored and used by all individuals, regardless of the level of artistic background they possess. Some students taking courses in this specialization may possess extensive training and may already be working professionally in some form of creative expression. Students with little or no artistic training are invited to use these courses as a way of initiating a closer connection to their own creative expression and to explore the role of the active imagination in their lives.

Leadership and Conflict Transformation

This specialization is designed for students who seek to develop skills in personal leadership and conflict transformation. By coming to a greater awareness of their own feelings, thoughts, and actions, students learn how these qualities affect their ability to become effective leaders in the workplace and community. Conflict transformation is based on the premise that conflict resolution is not enough. Conflict ends when the parties to the conflict are transformed, that is, when they understand themselves and others in a different light.