BA in Liberal Studies, Spiritual Studies

Awaken your spirituality. Serve the world’s spiritual needs.

The Spiritual Studies concentration is designed for those students whose main concern is the study of religious traditions and how to live a spiritual life. Special emphasis is given to the study of the psyche and how to connect the interior life of the soul to the needs of the world through “engaged” or “incarnational” spirituality. Classes approach the sacred with an attitude of “deep ecumenism” in which all religious and spiritual traditions are welcome as long as they acknowledge the element of mystery that resides in the heart of the divine. This degree is offered by AU Seattle.

Program Overview

This Spiritual Studies concentration is designed for those students whose main concern is the study of the human psyche, the study of religious traditions, and how to live a spiritual life. It is well suited for students who wish to continue a path into the helping professions, who wish to ground their politics in a spiritual context, as well as those who seek to deepen their own spiritual life. Special emphasis is given in both class work and in field-based learning to connect the interior life of the soul to the needs of the world through ‘engaged’ or ‘incarnational’ spirituality. All classes approach the sacred with an attitude of ‘deep ecumenism’ in which all religious and spiritual traditions are welcome, as long as they acknowledge the element of mystery that resides in the heart of the divine.

Customization is Key

In the BA in Liberal Studies program, each study plan is based on the student’s past experience, current needs and interests, and future goals. Students work in close collaboration with faculty advisors, instructors, and other students to shape their studies. Students build on earlier college work and on competencies learned at home, and at work, through independent reading and volunteer activities.

Degree Requirements

The Liberal Studies Bachelor’s degree requires 180 quarter credits, including a minimum of 60 upper-division credits, and a maximum of 120 lower-division credits. A minimum of 30 semester or 45 quarter credits must be completed with Antioch University. Graduation requirements include:

• 7 liberal studies courses
• an internship, or other in-the-world learning experience of the student’s choosing
• at least 40 credits in the Spiritual Studies concentration
• a senior capstone project

For detailed curriculum, degree requirements, and course descriptions, please visit the AUS catalog.

Example Coursework for Concentration Requirements

• Modernity & the Search for Meaning
• Wisdom of the Psyche: Depth Psychology Perspectives
• Zen & Taoism
• Hinduism: Embracing Multiplicity and Paradox
• Buddhism’s Myths, Magic & Mystics
• Eco-Spirituality
• Psychology & Spirituality
• Cultivating Gratitude
• Shadow & the World Soul
• Ceremonial Design and Sacred Time
• Practicing Self-Compassion
• Graven Images: Art, Religion & Culture
• Pilgrimage: Walking with Intention
• When a Community Weeps

Sample Community-Based Learning Experiences

• Internship with a youth rites-of-passage program
• Create and implement a workshop on Right Livelihood
• Lead a meditation group in a prison
• Apprentice in a hospice care program or nursing home

Sample Synthesis Projects

• Write an essay on the spiritual foundations of addiction
• Present a workshop on spirituality and social change
• Go on a vision quest or pilgrimage and write about the experience
• Analyze world events from an Archetypal perspective
• Exhibit a series of paintings based on dreams