date last updated: 27 April 2003
'… to restore life’s balance, encourage the scientific and spiritual aspects of society to work together to tackle vital issues where solutions have remained just out of reach….'
from the magazine, Science & Spirit
With
the desire to forward academic exploration of the growing dialogue between the
fields of Science and Spirituality, Union Institute and University and The
Oxford Institute
for Science and Spirit have teamed up to offer a
certificate program in Science and Spirituality. It
assumes that we need to investigate and review the separation of science and spirituality; it
may be shortsighted and even destructive to keep them distinct.
Union Institute and University is the oldest non-traditional learning-at-a-distance program offering undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral level degrees.
The certificate program, designed with busy, adult learners in mind, allows for a combination of online learning, experiential travel, and community building with faculty and other learners in a year-round program. It is aimed at educators, writers, scientists, clergy, inquirers, and any others who want to explore the subject from an introductory to a more accomplished level and who wish to pursue their own interests within it.
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Annual summer Oxford Residencies immerse learners in the key questions of the field, exposing them to the leading voices in today’s discussion and debate while they formulate their own research questions in the company of other inquisitive minds. The Oxford Residency Course is held in Oxford, England, each July and lasts for two weeks (6 credits).
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Beyond Oxford, learners focus on two online course tracks:
‘Spirituality and the Sciences’ and ‘Spirit of Place.’ The first involves
direct exposure to questions of spirituality and the sciences through work
in biology, physical sciences, sociology, and psychology. The second,
Spirit of Place, focuses on issues relating to people’s relationships with
the natural world, exploring the intersections
between story, place, environmental literature, wilderness, creativity,
and spirituality. Learners can mix courses from both tracks to suit their
personal research needs. Online Courses last for a semester, each beginning and ending with
a residential weekend at Union’s Vermont College campus in Montpelier (3
credits each). -
Travel Courses, the third type of course the program offers, reinforce concepts from both tracks. They allow learners the opportunity to experience the wonders of prehistoric France, wild New Zealand, human ancestry in Olduvai Gorge, and the scientific discoveries of early Greece. Travel Courses go different parts of the world and each last for at least one week (3 credits each).
At the root of all courses, each learner develops a self-directed path of inquiry that is shaped by direct instruction, discussions with faculty, exposure to experts, and interaction with other members of their learning community, both online and face-to-face.
The search for the answer to your burning questions shapes the nature and content of your Certificate Program as you design your course of study.
You
can participate in the program at three levels: for graduate credits
(which can lead to the Certificate), for undergraduate credits, or for
Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Graduate,
undergraduate, and CEU credits for successfully
completed courses are given by Union Institute and University.
Learners can enter into the program at the start of any semester during the year.
To obtain a Certificate in Science and Spirituality, a learner must successfully complete an Oxford Residency Course and three other courses from the Online and Travel Course offerings. Courses can also be taken individually. All participants seeking graduate credits or the Certificate must have an undergraduate degree from an accredited university before registering.
This Graduate Certificate allows you to move into new teaching disciplines within your university, enhance your professional marketability, widen your publishing opportunities, and receive continuing education credit. It may even formalize academically a passion that has followed you all your life.
Click here for an article about the program from Network Volume 18, Number 2, Winter 2001-2002. You will need Acrobat Reader to open the file.
Click for a more extensive overview of the courses
About the Institutional Sponsors
Oxford Institute for Science and Spirit is a newly formed organization that facilitates educational programs in this subject.
Many of today’s innovations in higher education are concepts
pioneered almost four decades ago by
Union Institute and University. This
unique, global university was founded in 1964 by 10 college presidents seeking
to create a vehicle for innovation and experimentation in higher education.
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Union Institute and University
recognized early on that degree-seeking adults needed a way to synthesize
their life experiences and education with scholarly inquiry, and to apply this
integrated knowledge base to critical challenges affecting their communities
and beyond. It offers the baccalaureate and the doctor of philosophy degrees,
is accredited by the Higher Learning Association of the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools, and is licensed by the Ohio Board of
Regents, the Florida State Board of Independent Colleges and Universities, and
the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. For
more information, contact Union Institute and University at
+1-513-861-6400 or visit its web site www.tui.edu.
About the Program Director
Program director Kevin Sharpe, Ph.D., is a member of the faculty of the Graduate College of Union Institute and University. He holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Boston University. His primary interest is in the interplay between science and spirituality as they appear in their many forms, including archaeology. He is a Member of Harris Manchester College, Oxford University, and Founder of the magazine Science & Spirit. His many publications include the recent book, Sleuthing the Divine: The Nexus of Science and Spirit. For additional information, click on this link, visit www.ksharpe.com, or contact him via email at ksharpe@OIScienceSpirit.com.
'Science and spirituality' evokes many concepts ranging from environmental
ethics to the origin of the Big Bang, from the inner soul of biological beings
to the mutuality of electrons. Historically in the western tradition, science
and spirituality can be traced back to the Greeks and other ancient cultures.
It was only with the Enlightenment in the 18th century and the growth of
science that a distinction emerged between the spiritual and the scientific
aspects of human culture and experience. Since that time, western culture most
frequently separates them. At the beginning of a new millennium, perhaps an
appropriate reconciliation lies in a deeper understanding of western science.