Academics › Graduate Academics › Clinical Mental Health Counseling › Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling › Low Residency Courses & Requirements

Courses & Requirements

For the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Low-Residency Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling Concentration

The Low-Residency MTC program provides a similar curriculum as the on-campus version and can also be completed within three years. It has a unique delivery format that makes it a great fit for those with busy lives or who cannot relocate to Boulder:

  • Mostly online and asynchronous, with a dispersed course load over eight semesters, to make the program more accessible for those with packed schedules, full-time jobs, and other commitments.

    • The expected time commitment is generally estimated at 10-12 hours per week. This may be slightly higher at times, especially during the two nine-credit semesters, but there are also usually weeks when students spend less than 10 hours.

  • The program can be completed from anywhere in the United States, but students are required to attend either five or six five-day intensives held in Colorado. (Clinical placement also must be completed within the US.)

    The number of in-person intensives depends on when the student begins the program:

    • Students starting in August will have five in-person intensives in Colorado.

    • Students starting in January and May will have six in-person intensives in Colorado.

  • Twice per semester, either online or in person, students meet as a group for intensives – live classes that last the bulk of each day. Students complete a big portion of the coursework at the intensives—they’re called “intensives” for a reason!

  • Each semester begins with an online intensive lasting either two or three days. (The first is three days; the rest are two days.)

  • A five-day intensive follows in the second half of each semester. Five-day intensives in the summer and fall semesters are held in Colorado; the five-day intensive in the spring is online*.

    • Classes for the summer in-person intensives are held on campus in Boulder, but students are responsible for off-campus accommodations.

    • The fall in-person intensives are held at the Drala Mountain Center. Accommodations are included in the program fees – students are only responsible for travel to and from the retreat site.

    • * Starting January 2025, students starting in the spring semester will come to Colorado for the program’s first five-day intensive, per new government requirements that all low-residency counseling programs include some type of in-person programming in the first semester. (The second spring semester would then be entirely online.)

  • No live classes are held during the semester except for the intensives, giving students the flexibility to complete assignments on their own time. Students are required to meet virtually, based on their own availability and schedule, with fellow cohort members to connect and engage over the coursework.

Low-Residency MTC Degree Requirements

Intensive Dates for 2025 Cohorts

Learn More About the Low-Residency Program

Matt Powers

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with your counselor

Matt Powers

Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions

Matt Powers

Connect
with your counselor

Matt Powers

Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions
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Naropa Campuses Closed on Friday, March 15, 2024

Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024.  All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.

Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.

Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.

As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.  

Regardless of Naropa University’s decision, if you ever believe the weather conditions are unsafe, please contact your supervisor and professors.  Naropa University trusts you to make thoughtful and wise decisions based on the conditions and situation in which you find yourself in.

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