Sofia University (California)

Sofia University

Former names	Institute of Transpersonal Psychology
Motto	Transformative Transpersonal Education Since 1975
Type	For-profit college
Established	1975
Founder	Dr. Robert Frager Dr. James Fadiman
President	Dr. Liz Li
Location	Palo Alto , California , United States 37°25′51″N 122°06′33″W
Website	sofia.edu

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Sofia University, formerly known as the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP), is an accredited private university founded by Robert Frager and James Fadiman in 1975. The institution is located in Palo Alto, California, United States. On July 1, 2014, Qiaoyun (Liz) Li, Ph.D. became the first female president in the school's history. In the past forty-one years, Sofia University has provided educational experiences that engage the whole person through innovative undergraduate and graduate programs that integrate mind, body, and spirit and promote the core proficiencies of compassion, mindfulness, discernment, and appreciation of differences. Curriculum for every school is based on a tripartite model: academic discipline, professional training, and personal development.

Vision: Promote transpersonal values to each and every individual through innovative educational experiences and partnerships worldwide.

Mission: Sofia University is a passionate, dynamic learning community that fosters multiple ways of knowing while embracing diverse paths of spiritual practice and development. We are dedicated to academic excellence with a shared commitment to authenticity, inclusivity, cultural humility, ecological stewardship, and service to others. Our curricula focus in six areas of inquiry: the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, physical, social and creative aspects of life.

Statement of Values:

• We value the qualities of mindfulness, discernment, compassion, and appreciation of differences and we embrace whole-person education that supports personal and community transformation.
• We value diversity and seek to impart knowledge and skills that empower people to live together in peace within multicultural communities.
• We value the inherent unity of our world and seek to foster a sense of the interconnectedness of all beings. We encourage and promote service to local, national and international communities.
• We value all of life and educate students in a way that treats all beings with respect and encourages living in harmony with all of nature.
• We value consciousness and its evolution and engage in rigorous research that includes multiple ways of knowing.

Institute of Transpersonal Psychology

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Forty-one years ago, Sofia University, formerly the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, was founded in 1975 by Dr. Robert Frager in response to the growing need for a shift in the pedagogy of higher learning. As a graduate from Harvard, Frager had experienced first-hand the conventional approach to the study of psychology and found it to be lacking and often fragmented.

Remembered by only a few, the school actually began as the California Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (CITP), a local, private, non-accredited psychology graduate school with an educational mission of providing an integrated learning experience that transforms the whole person. In 1978, California was dropped from the name and the school became simply the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP). It continued to promote a new way to apply the theories and methods of psychology in order to explore and understand better the spiritual depths of human experience and the healing potential of the mind and psyche. In doing so, we originated an innovative whole person approach to learning that sought to integrate the mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, creative, and social aspects of the learning experience.

In 2004, the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology created a mission with a strong focus on clarifying the value of transpersonal psychology to the scientific field. “The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology strives to integrate science, psychology, spirituality and scholarship with innovative educational methods, to discover and cultivate what is real and vital about human nature. Characterizing transpersonal as that which is beyond individual personality, ITP subscribes to the view that human consciousness is part and parcel of reality, that there are deeper and finer dimensions of human experience possible that those for which materialistic (secular) explanations can account. Consciously discovering these dimensions parallels advancing scientific understanding of the interconnectedness of the universe.”

Change of Name

In 2012 the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology announced that it was changing its name to Sofia University, a change that included a new profile in the academic landscape with an expanded graduate program and a selection of undergraduate offerings. The word sofia means "wisdom" in Greek.

The re-branding was followed by a period of turmoil that included budget-cuts and the resignation of the president, Neal King, as well as several trustees, in December 2013.

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Sofia 2.0 and the Four Schools of Learning

Just as the Silicon Valley has been transforming the world we live in and the technology we use, in 2014, Sofia became the university that is transforming the world of psychology, science, business and education. Building on our strong whole-person psychological foundation, Sofia pushed the boundary of transdisciplinary education to include this holistic perspective in areas that are needing skills and techniques that enhance creativity, innovation and connectedness in order to thrive in the global arena. One way to do this is to offer new insights on the use technology in wellness as well as how knowledge of transpersonal, mind, body, spirit practices activate cognitive and emotional centers that allow for new ways of seeing, imagining and creating.

In 2016, Sofia University clarified its vision for the future by sharing the Four Schools of Learning.

Every school honors Sofia’s key values:

Diversity : We value diversity and seek to impart knowledge and skills that empower people to live together in peace within multicultural communities.

Interdependence: We value the inherent unity of our world and seek to foster a sense of the interconnectedness of all beings. We encourage and promote service to local, national and international communities.

Respect : We value all of life and educate students in a way that treats all beings with respect and encourages living in harmony with all of nature.

Evolutionary Consciousness: We value consciousness and its evolution and engage in rigorous research that includes multiple ways of knowing.

Transpersonal Meta-Skills : We value the qualities of mindfulness, discernment, compassion, and appreciation of differences and we embrace whole-person education that supports personal and community transformation

Sofia Degree Programs

Doctoral Programs

Sofia University offers three degrees at the doctoral level:

• Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology (Residential only)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Transpersonal Psychology (Residential)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Psychology(online)

The PsyD and Ph.D. in Transpersonal Psychology are on campus programs, while the Ph.D. in Psychology is delivered as a hybrid program (primarily online). These doctoral programs prepare students for clinical licensure and for careers in education, health care, community service, training and development, social activism, and consultative work in corporate and public sectors.

Master’s Programs

Sofia University’s master’s degrees prepare students for clinical licensure, doctoral study, and the application of transpersonal principles in various professional settings, including Computer Science, Business, coaching, and community work that support social change. Whether a master’s degree is preparatory for clinical practice, doctoral work, or other personal or professional endeavors, students learn in a values rich context in which they develop not only discipline specific knowledge and skills but also core competencies characteristic or reflective of our distinct brand of whole person education.

Sofia University currently offers five degrees at the master’s level :

• Master’s (M.A.) in Counseling Psychology (on campus, hybrid/low residential) (MACP)
• Master of Arts (M.A.) in Transpersonal Psychology (on campus) (MATP-B, MATP-C) (with a concentration in Business, Computer Science or no concentration)
• Master of Arts (M.A.) in Transpersonal Psychology (online) (Global MATP)
• Master of Education in Transformational Arts (on campus) (META)
• Master of Business Administration (online & on campus) (MBA)
• Master of Science (M.S.) in Computer Science (online & on campus) (MSCS)

There are three primary delivery methods (on campus, fully online, and hybrid/low residential) within the MA/MS offerings. All of our Master’s level programs are offered in all three of these modalities.

Bachelor's Program

In September 2013, we launched a Bachelor Completion Program, offering Bachelor of Art (B.A.) degrees in Psychology and Liberal Arts. In 2015, we received WASC approval for a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Administration degree which will be offered as online, residential or hybrid format. BSBA launch date expected for 2017.

Notes

a.^ New York Times correction as of August 17, 2012, states that the original article (Otterman, 2012), in some editions, misidentified Sofia University/Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto (California) with the Institute for Transpersonal Studies in Santa Cruz (California).

External links

• Official website
• WASC Statement of Accreditation status, Sofia University