J o h n F K e n n e d y U n i v e r s i t y

The School of Holistic Studies provides integrative and transformativeacademic programs. We engage students in creativeinquiry that fosters self-awareness and wholeness of being.By linking the personal, spiritual, and cultural aspects ofstudy, we inspire students to understand that the deepestdimensions of personal identity form the essential foundationfor meaningful and effective professional activity.The School of Holistic Studies offers innovative degreeprograms that encourage students to pursue higherconsciousness in the context of a global culture and asustainable environment. Students learn to use holisticperspectives, values, and modalities to live personallyfulfilling and socially responsible lives, aligning the personalbody in conjunction with the world body and approachingthat conjunction as an arena of soul-making. The Schoolof Holistic Studies provides undergraduate and graduateprograms that share a philosophical commitment to holism.Holism includes a scholarly and experiential approachto the integration of body, mind, spirit, environment,and culture. The holistic values of inter-connectedness,compassion, diversity, imagination, and community serviceform the basis of our professional degree programs.Within the context of holism and East/West philosophicaltraditions, we offer academic degrees in consciousness andtransformative studies, integral psychology, holistic healtheducation, transformative arts, studio arts, and counselingpsychology. Students in our counseling psychology programspecializations do their field placement at the Centerfor Holistic Counseling in Oakland and at external sitesthroughout northern California. Each degree program sharesa holistic approach to the understanding and expression ofexpanded consciousness.The School of Holistic Studies offers an educationalexperience that is now considered by many to be essentialfor all people since prudent individuals know that to educatepeople properly requires attention be given to their mental,physical, cultural, and spiritual needs. Students who aredrawn to our programs seek a deeper understanding ofthemselves and others. They integrate holistic perspectivesinto their lives and work. They speak of the transformativepower of their education to develop an all-sided body-mindcapable of thinking freely with the heart and feeling with aconscious and disciplined valuing of experience.All students in the school take core courses that challengethe belief systems through which they view themselves,others, and reality itself. Students explore the shift from alinear, mechanistic worldview to one that is holistic, systemsoriented,and cognizant of spirit. The School of HolisticStudies recognizes the human spirit as central to learning. Weacknowledge the spiritual dimensions of reality and supportour students with their personal practices as they strivefor fuller integration of their personal and public lives. Werecognize that one’s spirituality involves the quest for innercoherence that leads to intellectual, psychological, social, andbodily well-being. Holistic learning that connects knowledgeand skills with personal aspirations for life liberates studentsfrom the bondage of thoughtless habit and behavior, andprevents mechanized thinking that fragments talents. Webelieve that when education engages the personal aspirationsof students, they relate intimately to materials of study interms of their spirit.As Dr. John (Jack) P. Miller notes in The Holistic Curriculum:“A holistic education emphasizes relationships betweenthinking and intuition, mind and body, individual andcommunity, personal self and higher self (the spiritualdimension of experience). Holistic education seekstransformation, that is, the continuing growth of the personand society.”ADMISSION REQUIREMENTSApplicants to the School of Holistic Studies must meet alluniversity admission requirements as outlined in the front ofthis catalog. In addition, applicants must meet the followingschool-based requirements. Finally, programs may haveadditional requirements; see the corresponding section fordetails or contact an admissions representative.Priority will be given to the processing of completedapplications received on or before the following dates:September 1 for fall quarter, December 1 for winter quarter,March 1 for spring quarter, and June 1 for summer quarter.All applicants to the School of Holistic Studies must possessa bachelor’s degree from an institution whose accreditation isrecognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation(CHEA). Applicants interested in a graduate program whohave not yet received an undergraduate degree should referto the description of the linked undergraduate/graduateprograms offered by the School of Education and Liberal Arts.Applicants must submit a personal statement: five to ten(three to five for MFA and MA in Transformative Arts) doublespaced,typewritten pages describing personal or professionalgrowth work or events that have shaped the applicant’slife (e.g., personality, beliefs, health, values), reasons forapplying to the area of specialization, any study (academicor otherwise) pursued in this area of interest, and futureprofessional and personal goals.Applicants must complete an admissions interview. Uponreceipt of the personal statement and application, theapplicant will be contacted by the school to schedule anappointment.Letters of recommendation are recommended but notrequired. Letters should be from professional associates,teachers, supervisors, or others who can comment onemotional, spiritual, artistic, intellectual, or practicaldevelopment as well as assess capacity for graduate study inthe degree area.SCHOOL OF HOLISTIC STUDIES 109