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 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 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.

Degree Requirements

A Spiritual Studies concentration requires a minimum of 45 credits. Students take at least one class in each of the six areas of learning listed below. Electives, at least 2 credits of internship/field-based learning and a senior synthesis project round out the concentration.

Core Coursework:

• Eco-Psychology/Eco-Spirituality
• Depth Psychology
• Transpersonal Perspectives
• Myth, Symbol & the Sacred
• Comparative Religion
• Spiritual Practices

Possible Antioch Electives:

• Inquiry Into Love, Soul and Spirit
• The DaVinci Code: A Contemporary Grail Quest
• Theories of Personality
• The Spiritual Psychology of the Human Heart
• Spirit in Action
• Alchemy and Science: Towards the Re-Imagination of Nature

Sample Transfer Electives:

• Introduction to Zen Buddhism
• Women, Gender & Religion
• Biblical Studies: Hebrew
• African Diaspora Religion & Culture
• Christianity & Art

Sample Community/Field-Based Learning Experiences:

• Internship with a youth rites-of-passage program
• Create and implement a workshop on Right Livelihood
• Set up a martial arts dojo
• Lead a meditation group in a prison
• Produce a video with Tent City participants
• 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
• Facilitate meditation sessions and write an essay on “Mindfulness East and West”
• Analyze world events from an Archetypal perspective
• Exhibit a series of paintings based on dreams

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

Admissions / Cost / Aid

 Admissions

How to Apply:

Antioch University Seattle offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies through a degree completion program. All applicants to the BA program must have completed at least 36 quarter or 24 semester units to be eligible for admission. A combined minimum of one full-time year of college credit is required; however, AUS will transfer up to the equivalent of three full-time years (80 semester units/135 quarter units if at least 15 credits are upper division).

1. Complete the online admissions application.
2. Submit official transcripts from ALL colleges/universities you have attended to the Admissions Office. Transcript evaluations are required for all coursework completed outside of the U.S. or Canada (except Quebec). See Transcript Evaluation section on International Students webpage for details.
3. Submit a short essay (two-three pages; approximately 500 words) that addresses why you would like to finish your bachelor’s degree at Antioch University Seattle.
4. International Students have additional admission requirements. See International Students page for details.

Application Deadlines:

Applicants coming to AUS fulfill the minimum transfer requirement with:

• College courses taken at a U.S. college or university (with a final grade of ‘C’ or better, or pass if taken as pass/no pass)
• College Board Advanced Placement exams (a score of 3 or higher)
• CLEP credit (a score of 50)
• International coursework (university, college, upper-secondary/gymnasium) that is assessed to be equivalent to college credit earned at a regionally accredited U.S. college/university (with a final grade of ‘C’ or better, or pass if taken as pass/no pass) by an external transcript evaluation agency.

Antioch University Seattle
Admissions Office
2400 Third Avenue, Suite 200
Seattle, WA 98121
[email protected]

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Cost

Our cost per credit is $600 and full-time students typically enroll in 12 credits per quarter. Our students typically earn 10-25 credits for life experience/prior learning, up to a maximum of 45 and transfer in between 45-120 credits. It takes 180 credits total to graduate.

Please note: Additional fees for all AUS programs may include (but are not necessarily limited to) charges for materials, late registration, enrollment maintenance, parking, graduation, transcripts, tuition payment plan, late payments, late registration, and returned checks.

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Financial Aid

A majority of AUS students finance their education through some form of financial aid. You may not be sure which federal, state, public and private aid packages – such as loans, scholarships, and grants—are right for you. Our staff is here to help you, so you can focus on what’s most important: beginning your academic program at AUS.

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