I graduated from the Contemplative Education program in 2007. It was an awful experience due.to rampant, unchecked transphobia. The "school's" diversity statement has changed since my day, and now includes transgender protections, so maybe today's students have a tolerable experience. The degree itself opened the way to a PhD program, but never enhanced my employment prospects or improved my understandings of the world. Really, my entire time at Naropa "University" was a big waste of my time and money. read more

Neat little private university. Came here for my brother's thesis. He was doing a performance as part of his thesis. It was a small auditorium but perfect setting. Sound and visual was excellent. My brother did an amazing performance and I can watch it again. Thank you for the wonderful experience. My family and I was humbled. read more

This is a holistic psych university (bachelors/ masters) based on Buddhist principles. Buddhism is a philosophy and a way of life, and not a religion. After 10+ years in an all girls private catholic school, I really appreciate Buddhism. I have to admit that I have never attended this university as a student. However, I've been blown away by almost everyone I've met who has studied here. They seem more happy, grounded, peaceful, and positive. Sure, there is an occasional trust fund pot head, but it's Boulder, what do you expect? Their curriculum includes subjects like meditation for stress reduction, transforming your relationship with money, re-visioning your future, couple power, writing from the heart, yoga, listening to our bodies, and aikido. Real world skills. They don't spend time memorizing battle dates! There needs to be more institutions of learning like this. Erudite, content people don't wage war! read more

Basically the world is lucky to have Naropa. Thanks Rinpoche. During many years' involvement with Naropa's faculty and students, I was deeply touched and my heart peeled open (thanks again Rinpoche). My main criticism which I have given personally to admissions is that they should maintain a level of academic rigorousness - there are times when they take whomever can pay the cost of tuition, regardless of readiness to work seriously at the college level. Also, they have occasionally taken students into the therapist degree programs whom clearly needed to do more of their own pesonal work first, which in my opinion was doing harm to the student(s) they allowed to restart over and over (without a refund I might add). I would like the counseling programs to consider using the same admission criteria as western-based programs. If you have ever applied to CU, Columbia, Regis, you know what I mean - very simple, sane expectations for the applicant. read more

I definitely enjoy my Naropa education and I definitely have to say that there are always a lot of fun events happening at Naropa throughout the school year. In fact, it is what drew me to move to Colorado in November of 2007. This is my first semester so I am getting the feel for Naropa still. Personally, there are a few practices, such as those with financial aid and registration that are weird but that's likely because there are less students and therefore, they can spend more time speaking with me about my degree plans and intended programme. Also, Bataan Faigo, the chair of the Traditional Eastern Arts (my intended major) is a very fun man to talk with. Naropa has a lot of very qualified, very capable and very interesting instructors. (Read the update) read more

Naropa University is an excellent choice for holistic new age hippy stylies. Students are free from the constraints of a traditional learning environment and sure to flourish among fresh thoughts and ideas of super new-age caliber. Naropa prides itself on a learning environment combined from the best of eastern and western learning traditions--"Greece and India" in one. The Uni strives to integrate self-awareness and understanding with a traditional study of the "outside" world. Therefore, meditation, yoga and other spiritual methods are incorporated in curriculum. Interestingly, Naropa is the only "fully accredited Buddhist-inspired University in the United States". Naropa University has a lot of Boulder charm or Boulder has a lot of Naropa charm. Either way, if you are from Colorado, you will understand my description that Naropa is "very Boulder." read more

Naropa University - Colleges & Universities Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

Hiker Chicka and DJ Soundra have already described Naropa very adequately, therefore read their reviews and/or go to the Naropa website for more factual detail about Naropa, its curriculum, and its fascinating history. I studied writing at Naropa long before it was accredited, and when many more of the great beat writers and poets were still in their physical bodies and teaching Naropa classes and workshops. It was a learning experience I'll never forget. The reason I'm doing this review is that I picked up a Naropa extended studies catalogue the other day and found that Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D is teaching a 2-day class at Naropa in March. It's just so cool that Dr. Villoldo is coming to Colorado next month. Many people I know of have travelled to South America to study with him. I'm not writing this to promote the class. Early registration is already over, as a matter of fact. And the class is filling up very fast. I'm mostly so very grateful for the calibre of guest teachers that Naropa consistently attracts. Such a gift to our community!!!! This is the teacher's website in case anyone is interested: http://www.thefourwinds.com/ read more

Going to Naropa was one of the single most valuable and important decisions of my life. I studied Transpersonal Psychology & Music Therapy there - and my education was extraordinary. I am now the owner and director of an Integral Life Practice Center (Samadhi) located outside of Boston with a full private practice and a thriving business. Naropa not only gave me the skills I needed to create an amazing career, but it gave me heart, community and a platform for my spiritual practice. read more

This is part of what makes Boulder, Boulder. Not a school that will give you resume-building skills or any of that, but one that will allow you to engage in topics of Buddhist philosophy and related disciplines. It's pricey, and good luck getting anything like financial aid for it, but if you have the time and money and interest, why not? You only live once (at least until you re-incarnate). read more

There have been many reviews on this site describing Naropa as a hippie-centric, Buddhist school. To an extent that's true, but it's a small portion of what's offered, so here's a more rounded overview. I studied for 2 years at a regular college, and I am familiar with the "typical" college experience. Here are the Pros/Cons of my experience in the Naropa undergrad psychology program: Pros: Naropa has small classes, which means that you can always ask for clarification, discuss confusing topics, and work with your instructors for difficult topics/assignments. In my opinion, this is one of the best things about Naropa classes. The style of education provided at Naropa is based on the principle that information needs to be learned experientially as well as intellectually. This means that you are often asked to back up your research with examples from your own experiences, and you will get the chance to apply new areas of study to your life while you're still in school, instead of only after you've graduated. If you are interested in Naropa because you want to be a therapist, it provides you with something that (as far as I've discovered) no other accredited school does. While other schools can teach you how to diagnose a client, utilize various modalities, and answer test questions in ways that institutions like, they cannot teach you how not to burn out. I was recently told that as many as 3/4 of individuals who graduate with a degree in psychology are working in an unrelated field within 5 years. One reason for this is that working with others' emotional difficulties is incredibly draining, and most schools just don't know how to train you to work with that. There is a lot of emphasis on yourself. While most psychology programs only teach you about other people and their "problems", Naropa recognizes that we all have psychological issues, and that as therapists, we will need to know how to deal with our own issues so that we don't project them onto our clients. Aside from the regular classes (Developmental Psych, Statistics and Research Methods, Personality Theories, etc.), there is an entire series of classes designed to teach you how to work with your own emotional and psychological issues in an active and effective way. Cons: Naropa is expensive. Last I checked, the undergraduate program is about 24,000 per year. You can apply for federal financial aid (FAFSA), since the school is accredited, but the federal grants and school scholarships will probably only cover about half of the tuition at best. Boulder is also very expensive. When I moved here, I shared a cramped, poorly maintained 2 bedroom apt with two other people that was 3 miles away from the school, and it cost $1200 total. Closer to the school, one bedroom apts may be as much as $1500-$2000 per month. Restaurant's and stores are more expensive here too. Minimum wage, as of 2011, is only $7.35, and it can be hard to find well-paying jobs if you're not a professional, because there are so many college students that will work for nothing in this town. Prepare to rack up student loans if you don't have anyone else paying for this stuff. Naropa's undergraduate program will seem less academic than regular schools; and in a way, it is. You won't have as much memorization to do, and there aren't as many tests. A lot of the exams aren't traditional, and might be easier than exams in other schools. There is still a lot of learning that goes on, but a lot of it isn't quantitative. You can only measure things in numbers until your system for measuring is no longer applicable to what you're measuring. If you need stringent academia, you'll have difficulty here. The options are limited. It's a liberal arts school, but you can't major in philosophy, or all-inclusive religious studies. The only foreign languages offered are Tibetan and Sanskrit. I transferred 60 credits (the maximum number allowed), and barely had enough elective credits left for a minor. You also won't be able to overlap classes and get two majors. You'll need to use all of your electives (assuming you have enough) to take the required classes for a different major. You will have to deal with the other Naropa students...which is fine if your parents pay for everything. If you support yourself or have significant obligations (children, a mortgage, etc.), it'll be hard to listen to all of the youngsters discussing their summers building houses for the poor in Thailand. You will also have difficulty with your classmates who are inexplicably oblivious to issues of race, discrimination, poverty, and the other things that come with being a working class citizen. Overall, I recommend Naropa. It offers a style of education that no other school does. It offers to give you the training you'll need to effectively help people instead of just teaching you to slap a label on them and pass them along. And you'll grow as a person, whether you want to or not. read more

Naropa is not a Buddhist university. It is a university that integrates Eastern thought, practices, and philosophy into a large portion of the curriculum. You do not have to be Buddhist to come to Naropa, by any means whatsoever. In some programs/classes, students will not experience any direct Buddhism/Buddhist-thought - though flavors of it may be weaved into the learning/teaching styles. This is an extremely special place and if you have an inkling about Naropa being the place for you, then you might just be right. I found Naropa through a series of auspicious coincidences and I have come to realize that it is the only place in the world that I am supposed to be at. Everything flowed together. I learned a lot about trusting the universe through this process. A few logistical errors in prior reviews here - One regarding someone non-chalantly saying "good luck getting financial aid here though." And that is just not the case. There are many options for financial aid available for incoming students. I got a great financial aid package every semester - Yes, this entails loans but I got a large majority of my tuition taken care of by the Naropa Grant - over half of my tuition was covered by that alone each year. It is not "pricey" compared to other schools, particularly other private schools. Someone also put in a review that it is a "holistic psych university...." and that is not exactly the case. There are numerous programs for the undergrad and the grad. Undergrad majors: Contemplative Psychology, Creative Writing & Lit, Early Childhood Education, Environmental Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Music, Peace Studies, Performance, Religious Studies, Traditional Eastern Arts, and Visual Arts. Minors include: Contemplative Education, Ecology & Systems Science, Environmental History & Justice, Environmental Sustainability, Film/Media Studies, Gender/Women's Studies, Permaculture, Sacred Ecology, Sanskrit, and Tibetan. People have said things about trust fund pot heads being prominent here but you could find those kinds of people all over the country, at all universities and institutions. It's silly. You can actually probably find a larger volume of students like that at CU then you would at Naropa. The people and the community that I have experienced here has blown my mind time and time again, maybe even every day. Everyone is so friendly and open to hearing your story, wanting to know how you ended up at Naropa and genuinely wanting to know you. I have met some of the greatest people in the world here - teachers, students, administration, and friends of the Naropa community. There is a lot of attention, especially now, going into issues regarding diversity and equality. There is a lot of support on campus for LGBTQ and racial issues as well. Blah blah blah there is SOO much more I want to say but I am going to try and wrap this review up! The educational experience at Naropa is one to be marveled at. The world isn't ready for Naropa but it is EXACTLY what the world needs, particularly Western patriarchal culture. I could write a full-on essay more about what I think someone should read in a review about Naropa, including ups and downs, not just about how incredibly amazing it is. But, I don't have time for that, ain't nobody got time for that. I will add more to this review eventually. It actually is hard to express the magnitude that I am grateful for Naropa in words EITHER way. #obsessed read more

This place has exploded over the years. Grown to such a degree that two auxiliary campus settings are required to meet the demand. In a past life I sat in maitri rooms and did yoga daily, I'm pleased to see the vibe carrying on and evolving exponentially. If in the area, of any interest in art and creativity this is a must stop. Same with Eastern religion, poetry, or writing for they've got it all and more! read more

When I came to Naropa, I was excited about an open-minded, quality education in an environment where students didn't act like anyone but themselves and wanted to connect. I had already had experience with college classes in a large, public university, but I craved the opposite - a close student body and genuine, connected teachers. What I experienced at Naropa during my one semester there was both wonderful and disappointing. The students are an interesting crowd of folks...they are some of the nicest, most accepting, most creative, and most progressive people that I have ever met. I am still quite close with some of my friends from there. The teachers care about you, are compassionate, and want you to do well. You have small classes, so everyone is encouraged to talk. If you miss too many classes, they may help you to not fail by meeting with you outside of class. If you call in sick, they'll personally tell you they hope you get better soon. Maybe your advisor will make you tea if you're freaking out about classes. All good, eh? Here's the other side of that coin. This I'm sure is not true for all classes, but it was true in most of mine. If you don't turn in homework on time, its pretty much fine. If you don't turn in homework until the end of the semester, and some of its wrong, ehhhh its okay because at least you participated and tried. I think Naropa takes the Buddhism a bit to far with being so peaceful about their academic standards. These standards create a lackadaisical feeling in the student body because everyone gets away with slacking. So...you get away with many absences and missed assignments without failing. Therefore, you know you don't have to try very hard so you become...laaazy. While you are becoming lazy with your assignments and participation, you may experience so-called "stress" along with the rest of your classmates. All of a sudden it is the end of the semester and its time for your ONLY in class exam (the rest are easy take home tests). This is called the "Warrior's Exam". Let us be clear, you are given the questions a week before so that you can come up with your answers during the test. The Warrior's Exam is a 5-minute or less exam in which two students face each other in the center of a circle and ask each other one question each. The responding student has about 5 minutes to orally answer the question. That's it! Basically if you participate and do your best, you will pass this stressful, intense final exam....uhhh WHAT? Having taken other college courses with more tests, no late homework allowed, hardly any absences allowed, and rigorous, fast-paced classes, when I compare the two I cannot say that Naropa is at all up to the standard of normal college level classes. The one exception may be the psych department, but that still is questionable. Naropa provides what I would call a "soft" education. It does not challenge the student to grow to her/his full potential, it does not leave much room for failure and the lessons that come from that, it does not require students to read the wide variety of in-depth literature required in other college level classes, it does not make students work very hard to earn a degree. Naropa seems to be too kind to its students to challenge them. With so much love, kindness, and basic goodness floating around the campus, academic integrity has been lost. Naropa is too afraid to raise its standards because maybe it would draw fewer students. However, Naropa MUST raise its standards in order to be seen as a legitimate university and retain its student body. 53% OF STUDENTS DO NOT RETURN FOR SOPHOMORE YEAR (College Board). Take a hint, Naropa! When I told people where I went to school, they asked if Naropa was even an accredited, legitimate university. I told them it was, but inside I felt weird because it didn't feel legitimate. While the quality of the education remains sub-par, the alumni of this university will have a hard time finding many types of jobs especially outside the Boulder area. When you have to explain to an employer that your school is actually a real university, trust me, it sucks! Naropa sounds great on the website. It has such wonderful ideas bringing in holistic and eastern influences such as yoga, tai chi, meditation, herbal medicine, etc. But in order to really be able to call itself a university, Naropa has to become slightly more "western" in its standards and rigor. That doesn't mean it has to loose the nice teachers, the tea, the connectedness, the yoga...it just means it has to act like a real university with a responsibility to give its students an education that is equal to other universities. Naropa must hold its students to high standards while simultaneously teaching them to be compassionate and open-minded. Then and only then will the university will be reputable. In the meantime, its a huge ripoff at $26,000 a semester. I left because I knew I would not be proud of the degree I would earn from Narop read more

There are additional reviews that Yelp has placed in the "not recommended at this time" category. Those reviews can only be viewed by clicking the "not recommended at this time" link at the bottom of the page. Two of the reviews raised serious concerns about this institution, the limited nature of its accreditation, and the inability or difficulty of one of its psychology graduates to obtain a professional certification in Colorado, the very state where Naropa University is located - after incurring significant student loan debt. I do not know why Yelp thought these two reviews should not be recommended for viewing. Personally, I highly recommend their review for anyone concerned about the quality and usefulness of the education that he/she or a loved one will be receiving from this Institution. read more

An expensive program if you can afford it, but for me I say it was the best money I ever spent. I did the Master's Buddhist Studies program and now work as an adjunct Religious Studies Professor in AZ. This program definitely prepared me as it presented me with intellectual challenges as well as real life encounters with Religious masters in the field. I also happened to be there during Sept 11th and taking a graduate seminar in Islam- even for a super liberal campus you saw serious conflict there, which looking back I am grateful. Naropa also provided the safe emotional space for real exploration of both deeply held cultural and personal beliefs. I still to this day believe it was best three years of my life. It is the only university in the country that really makes you examine your life and helps you transform into a better person. Intellectualism should not only be a conceptual, dry pursuit. It should really help you evolve as a human being. Sadly this is not our ethos in the world. But Naropa thankfully gives a serious dose of needed sanity. Much love. read more

I attended Naropa for a Master's degree. Loved the coursework and their approach to learning which is 'contemplative'. It was small and intimate and I learned a lot and felt happy there while I was there. The teachers were adequate but not great. Some of them were just previous students with master's degrees that they got there, so not sure why they don't get PhD level teachers, but maybe it's because it's not an accredited school. I didn't realize this until it was too late. Their website says it's a regionally accredited school, but upon further reflection after I graduated, I know that means nothing in the world of professional counseling. I have recently tried to obtain my professional license to practice as a professional counselor in Colorado and was denied. I was told that Naropa is not accredited by the standard required to get licensed in the state of Colorado. I was instructed to submit all the courses I took to another agency to see if my classes taken at Naropa would be acceptable. For this I have to pay $500 to proove the program I enrolled in and completed is good enough to be considered for a professional license. I can appreciate the high standards that Colorado has for licensure, but the fact that I paid $80,000 for my graduate degree, took out student loans to pay for this, and not find that I cannot get licensed to practice and make a living as a professional counselor after three years of study, is just so horrific. I feel that I was duped and that this school misrepresents the program they offer. And of course I may not have been saavy enough to read the fine print somewhere, but I trusted this institution and thought I was preparing for a career as a psychotherapist and was doing the right thing. Naropa has gotten my tuition money in total and I sacrificed alot to go to this school and to live in Boulder, which is by far one of the most expensive little towns to live in anywhere in this country. I put my heart and soul into this program and now have a hefty loan to repay but can't get a professional license to support that. My dream has been shattered and I've been ripped off. If you're looking for a good graduate program in Psychology or Counseling in Colorado, consider Regis University or Univ of Northern Colorado. They are both accredited adequately and you won't end up like me. read more