Sofia University is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

for-profit university with two locations in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, one in

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

and the other in

Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

. It was originally founded as the California Institute of Transpersonal Psychology by

Robert Frager Robert Frager is an American Social psychology, social psychologist responsible for establishing America's first educational institution dedicated to transpersonal psychology. Frager is known for founding the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, n ...

and James Fadiman in 1975.Judy, Dwight H. & Schmitt, Robert. "Graduate programs: The institute of transpersonal psychology". ''The Humanistic Psychologist'', Volume 17, 1989, Issue 3, Pages 294–297Friedmann & Hartelius (Editors). (2015) "The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology". John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.PR Newswire Staff. Men's Wearhouse Founder George Zimmer to Receive Honorary Doctorate From the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. ''PR Newswire'' ew YorkMay 8, 2003: 1.Sato, K. Sofia University Announces Inauguration of First President, Neal King Ph.D. Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) September 18, 2012

History

California Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (1975–1986)

The institution was originally known as the California Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, one of several transpersonally-oriented institutions formed in the 1970s.Chinen, Allan B. "The Emergence of Transpersonal Psychiatry", in Scotton, Bruce W., Chinen, Allan B. and Battista, John R., Eds. (1996) Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology. New York: Basic Books.Taylor, Eugene (1992) "Transpersonal Psychology: Its Several Virtues". ''The Humanistic Psychologist'', Vol. 20, Nos. 2 and 3, pp. 285–300 The founders, Robert Frager and James Fadiman, wanted to offer the perspectives of transpersonal psychology alongside personal, therapeutic and spiritual disciplines, all within a community context. In 1980,

Jungian Analytical psychology (, sometimes translated as analytic psychology; also Jungian analysis) is a term referring to the psychological practices of Carl Jung. It was designed to distinguish it from Freud's psychoanalytic theories as their s ...

analyst June Singer became the director of the clinical training program.Seligman, K.(February 6, 2004) Dr. June Singer – Jungian analyst, prolific author.

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

www.sfgate.com
retrieved December 8, 2018. By the mid 1980s, the school was located in Menlo Park and offered a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

and

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in transpersonal psychology.Valle, Ronald S. & Harari, Carmi. "Current developments in...Transpersonal Psychology". ''The Humanistic Psychologist'' 11, Vol. 13, NO. 1, Winter 1985

Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (1986–2012)

In 1986, the institution was renamed the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. By 1989, the institute had grown to offer a range of residential masters and doctoral programs, as well as external masters and certificate programs. It also oversaw the activities of a Transpersonal Counseling Center and hosted the Spiritual Emergence Network. In 1992, the institute was granted candidacy by WASC.WASC Team Report. "Report to Sofia University of the Special Visit Site Team", December 16, 2016 During the same year, William G. Braud and Rosemarie Anderson joined the core faculty at the institution.Anderson, R. (2018). Toward a sacred science—Reflecting forward. ''The Humanistic Psychologist'', 46(1), 1–5. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hum0000079 Braud later served as research director at the institute, as well as co-director of the institute's William James Center for Consciousness Studies.Radin, Dean; Rae, Colleen; Hyman, Ray. "Is There a Sixth Sense?" ''Psychology Today'', July 1, 2000 In 1997, the institute was given initial

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by WASC. In 1998, Braud and Anderson released the book ''Transpersonal Research Methods for the Social Sciences: Honoring Human Experience,'' which sought to establish the field of transpersonal (or transformative) research methods.Braud, William and Anderson, Rosemary (1998). ''Transpersonal Research Methods for the Social Sciences – Honoring Human Experience''. SAGE Publications, Inc In 2002, it was reported that 410 students were enrolled in the fall semester at the institute, which included students enrolled in the institute's online program. At this time, the institute offered programs in psychology and counseling, with an emphasis on both traditional and non-traditional psychological and spiritual models of instruction. Other certificate programs were also gradually established, such as the certificate in

Spiritual Direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

. The WASC accreditation was reaffirmed in 2007 and in 2011 Neal King was appointed president of the institute.Kenrick, Chris. Questions follow surprise resignation of Sofia University head. ''Palo Alto Online'', uploaded December 18, 2013Kadvany, Elena. With new president and programs, Sofia University enters new era. ''Palo Alto Online''/''Palo Alto Weekly''. Uploaded: Sat, April 25, 2015 Other academic profiles that were connected to the institute include Kari Hennigan, who conducted studies in ecopsychology,Schreiber, K. "Outside In: Get Her to the Green". ''Psychology Today'', published March 15, 2011 and Fred Luskin, who was professor of

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

.Personalities. ''American Psychological Association Monitor on Psychology'', June 2013, Vol 44, No. 6.

Sofia University (2012–present)

In 2012, the institution was officially renamed Sofia University Institute of Transpersonal Psychology Becomes Sofia University. Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) July 16, 2012 and transitioned from an

institute An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

to a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, offering both

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

and graduate programs. Academic programs were structured according to three main orientations: * the Graduate School of Transpersonal Studies * the Graduate School of Clinical & Spiritual Psychology * the School of Undergraduate Studies. By this time, the institution was associated with the concept of spiritual psychology in the mainstream press.Otterman, Sharon. "Merging Spirituality and Clinical Psychology at Columbia". ''New York Times'', August 9, 2012 In 2013, the school had 526 full-time-equivalent students. Liz Li was appointed president in 2014, and became the first female president of the institution. Her successor was Barry Ryan. As of 2015, the university was reaccredited for an additional seven years by the

WASC Senior College and University Commission The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC ( )) provided accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa and Northern ...

. Peter Bemski became president in January 2018.Sofia University Press Release. Dr. Peter Bemski Appointed as New President. Sofia University Enters New Stage of Development
www.sofia.edu
2. jan. 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.

Academics

The university consists of three schools: the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, the Institute of Applied and Professional Programs, and Global College . The school has expanded to include studies in: *

Computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

, including

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

human computer interaction Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intelligen ...

big data Big data primarily refers to data sets that are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional data processing, data-processing application software, software. Data with many entries (rows) offer greater statistical power, while data with ...

and

software design Software design is the process of conceptualizing how a software system will work before it is implemented or modified. Software design also refers to the direct result of the design process the concepts of how the software will work which co ...

. * Business leadership and management, and offers three degree programs in the Chinese Language (MBA, MATP, Ph.D.) applying transpersonal principles to the functional areas of business.

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).

References

External links

* {{authority control Organizations based in Palo Alto, California Universities and colleges in Santa Clara County, California Universities and colleges established in 1975 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Educational buildings in Palo Alto, California Transpersonal studies For-profit universities and colleges in the United States Private universities and colleges in California