FAQs

SEMESTER INTENSIVES

Question: I would like to complete the course of study within two years, but it is possible that family or work obligations may prevent me from attending an intensive, or force me to attend only part of an intensive. Will this be acceptable?

Answer: We will do our best to accommodate your needs. But it is important to remember that each intensive will provide a rare crucible for education, practice, relationship building, and transformation. During this time, we will be creating community, engaging in spiritual practices and instruction, discussing important questions and concepts with teachers and fellow students, and consulting with teachers about the course of study during the coming semester. Although we can provide recordings to those who absolutely cannot attend, these recordings will convey just a piece of the entire experience.

FLEXIBILITY

Question: I am working a fulltime job and have other family responsibilities. Although I am extremely motivated to enroll and complete the course in InterSpiritual Wisdom, I am concerned about the time commitment. Can I stretch out the course work to more than two years?

Answer: We will do our best to help you complete the course of study according to your needs and life circumstances. However, we encourage each student to complete the course of study in two years. A Masters Degree student, however, might consider completing the Certificate Degree first, and the work for the Masters Degree later.

We will address the issue of flexibility with each student individually. If you are already engaged in the program and have established close and successful working relationships with your teachers, it will be easier to develop reasonable flexibility in the completion of the program.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS FOR "INTERSPIRITUAL WISDOM"

Question: How will this course of study prepare me to enhance my role in professional life.

Answer: We are encouraging students to apply InterSpiritual Wisdom to their professions, their personal lives, and engagement in community and politics. Student research, written papers, and projects should demonstrate a grasp of the semester theme in each course and how it applies to their involvement in the “real” world. Areas of personal and professional interest might include education, environment, social work, ministry, chaplaincy, psychology, psychiatry, healthcare, law enforcement, law, politics, economics, business, the military, the arts, counseling, and ministry.

Our curriculum begins with a basic understanding of the metaphyics of each tradition, then to the transformative practices, then to applied spirituality, and finally to the global application and our own personal commitment. We provide a solid foundation for practical spiritual activism. Therefore, we are supporting students as they explore how spiritual or contemplative wisdom can inform secular law, public policy, and conduct on the local, regional, national, and international levels.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

Question: How many students do you expect to be enrolled in the program? Are there minimum number required to begin and maximum numbers beyond which you will not expand?

Answer: In order to begin a new class, approximately twenty-five students will be required to cover basic instructional costs. To begin, we would like to be assurred of this number by mid-July. In the long term, we believe that a healthy, financially sustainable learning community should range between fifty and one hundred students.