Pacifica Graduate Institute is an accredited graduate school offering masters and doctoral degree programs framed in-depth psychology traditions. The Institute has established an educational environment that nourishes respect for cultural diversity and individual differences, and an academic community that fosters a spirit of free and open inquiry.
Students have access to an impressive array of education resources on Pacifica's two campuses, both of which are located between the coastal foothills and the Pacific Ocean, a few miles south of Santa Barbara, California.
Pacifica is a Mission with an Institute. The mission, "anima mundi calendar gratia," (tending the soul of and in the world) has inspired a literal host of others far and wide-those who now carries the fire of the vision itself. The intensity of that calling is the seed impulse carried within the dreams of many. When cultivated, this soul spark, rooted in the resonant psyche's energetic presence, opens to personal fulfillment and a more just and fertile planet. In an increasingly complex world, Pacifica's faculty, staff, alumni, and students' scholarship and service offer a soul-centered "intelligence" integral to what is being asked of us now.
The mission of Pacifica Graduate Institute is to foster creative learning and research in the fields of psychology and mythological studies, framed in the traditions of depth psychology.
By creating an educational environment with a spirit of free and open inquiry, consistent with the recognized values of academic freedom, Pacifica is dedicated to cultivating and harvesting human imagination gifts. These insights may influence the personal, cultural, and planetary concerns of our era. This dedication is contained in the motto: animal Mundi calendar gratia – for the sake of tending soul in and of the world.
Pacifica traces many of its central ideas to the heritage of ancient storytellers, dramatists, and philosophers from all lands who recorded the imagination's workings. The legacies of these early men and women have evolved in multiple cultural contexts, including the systematic explorations of the unconscious by Freud, Jung, and other theorists of this century's psychologies.
The concepts of depth psychology result from this long development and are at the core of Pacifica's orientation. These ideas – such as the importance of symbol and metaphor in personal and cultural imagery or the recognition of the dynamic interplay between the natural world and the world of the human psyche – are articulated in all of the Institute's programs. Pacifica students and faculty contribute further to this rich body of knowledge through the human imagination's intricacies.
Extending the concepts of psychology and mythological studies beyond the personal, beyond the consulting room, and beyond the classroom, we see psychological life as an evolutionary development within nature, alive in all the phenomena and systems of our world. In studying and working with these multi-dimensional exchanges, we facilitate contributions to our world's contemporary concerns through dialogues between the psyche of the individual, the mythologies of the culture, the collective human imagination, and the living planet.
Pacifica fosters an academic community environment that promotes a spirit of free and open inquiry to engage in the study of depth psychology, mythology, and the humanities. Our students have access to an impressive array of educational resources on Pacifica's two campuses located in Santa Barbara County, which include online library resources, writing support, student services, disability accommodations, transfer credit options, and a variety of transfer credit options between our masters' and doctoral programs. Pacifica's faculty bring a passion for depth psychology, education, and a wealth of real-world experience into the classroom. Many of our faculty are licensed psychotherapists, clinicians, MFT's, Certified Jungian Analysts, M.D.'s, and have a variety of publications and teaching backgrounds in and outside the classroom. These are just some of the reasons to choose the Pacifica Graduate Institute. The Institute has established a flexible educational environment and format that nourishes cultural diversity and individual differences. Our campus locations are breath-taking, retreat-like settings on the central California coastline with mountain and island views from each set. Accommodations and meals are provided during student residential sessions to enhance Pacifica's cohort model learning experience.
Whether you are a recent graduate or have spent time away from higher education, we are pleased that you are interested in one of Pacifica's nine graduate degree programs.
Pacifica Graduate Institute guiding motto is animal Mundi calendar gratia – for the sake of tending soul in and of the world. We believe in educating the whole person within a transformative environment. This includes the dynamic interplay of person, community, culture, and world, with all of the complexity and diversity of contemporary life. Throughout our nine programs, we foster creative learning experiences with research and scholarship through the discerning lens of depth psychology. With the creation of an academically rigorous, yet supportive atmosphere, we enable students to think critically, work soulfully, dream, and develop their collective imagination to transform into a scholar of depth.
Students and faculty of diverse backgrounds contribute their perspectives and scholarly interests in creating a rich academic setting, allowing graduates to be successful in various career paths. Our alumni are known for excellence and achievement in their endeavors while supporting the mission of the Institute, tending the soul of the world.
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