• Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies (Graduate Minor)

  • Overview

    The Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies graduate minor is offered through Parsons School of Design and the Schools of Public Engagement.

    Rooted in millennia of practice and wisdom traditions, the contemporary integration of mindfulness and contemplative engagement is emerging as an interdisciplinary academic area with potential applications in a variety of fields. This graduate minor gives students an opportunity to explore the fundamentals of mindfulness and contemplative engagement as a means of developing self-awareness, self-regulation, resilience, and constructive mental models and of understanding how they can be applied in students' personal lives and professional practice. 

    This minor combines a first-person approach, involving knowledge acquisition through personal practice and rigorous critical reflection; a second-person approach, consisting of interpersonal interaction and exploration of questions of mutual concern; and a third-person approach, involving empirical research. Students learn about the modalities of mindfulness and contemplative practice, including traditional insight meditation, somatic and kinesthetic practices, music, focused thought, writing, creative expression, yoga, and dance. Students are introduced to the art and science of mindfulness and contemplative practice, examine historical roots and contemporary applications, develop and deepen their personal practice, and gain a nuanced understanding of how mindfulness practice can be applied in their fields

    Curriculum

    This graduate minor requires successful completion of 9 credits. Students generally select one course from each of the subject areas in the chart below.   

    Course availability may vary from semester to semester. Some courses may be in development and offered at a later time. Students seeking to pursue alternative coursework in other subject areas to fulfill the minor should consult with their advisor.

    Fall 2022 courses are listed below.

    Subject AreaCourse option
    Credits
    Core
    UTNS 5122 Mindfulness and Contemplative Engagement
    3
    Electives 
    NMGM 5028 Mindfulness-Based Leadership Development
    NMGM 5201 Reclaiming Sacred Ecologies Through Mindfulness
    NMGM 5008 Why Leadership Matters: Power or Potential
    NMGM 5032 Courageous Conversations
    NMGM 5xxx Team Research and Practice for Inclusive Organizational Culture
    GPSY 7019 Clinical Theory and Technique: CBT
    PSCE 5140 Poetics of Design
    NMAT 5163 Observation and Reflection
    GPSY 5110 Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
    UTNS 5164 Walking as Research Practice
    GPHI 6778 Fashion and Philosophy
    PGHT 5006 Keeping Place and Making Time
    PGHT 5784 Curatorial Praxis
    6

    Learning Outcomes

    A student who has completed this graduate minor should be able to:

    • Demonstrate development or deepening of a personal practice, having tried a range of mindfulness and contemplative practices and reflected on their own experience with these practices and their responses to each one
    • Understand the history and traditions of contemplative practice and critiques of its appropriation and appropriateness in various contexts
    • Understand how contemplative practice can be implemented in different fields
    • Demonstrate interpersonal mindfulness and critical self-reflection skills
    • Display deepened expertise in applying contemplative approaches in at least one field of practice

      Faculty

      Latha Poonamallee, Chair of Management

      Eligibility

      The Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies graduate minor is available to graduate degree students across The New School.

      Students can retroactively apply successfully completed courses toward a minor upon declaring or applying. After a student successfully completes a minor's requirements, the minor will appear on the student's academic transcript at graduation.

      For questions about this minor, please contact Latha Poonamallee at poonamallee@newschool.edu.

    • Take the Next Step

      Contact your Student Success advisor to discuss how a minor will fit with your degree requirements.

      Declare or change a minor on my.newschool.edu in the Academics tab. Note that some minors require an application.

    • Take The Next Step

    Submit your application

    Undergraduates

    To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

    Undergraduate Adult Learners

    To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

    Graduates

    To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

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