Do you need a degree to be a parapsychologist ?

Question

Or are all of us on here just "guessers"? Any parapsychologists on here who are certified? (and no I don't mean "certified crazy", skeptics) Just wondering.....

Answer 1

There are only a couple of employed parapsychologists in the US, and no university offers a degree in it (although I believe Duke and U of Arizona may have a course or two).  So anyone else you run into who claims to be one likely does not have an accredited (read: real) degree.

Answer 2

There is one University in the world that actually offers two credit courses in the subject.  Psiexploration will give them to you, I'm sure.  Edit: okay two, maybe even three, but no college anywhere offers a degree in parapsychology.

Parapsychology had its chance.  JB Rhine and others like him have done their best to make this a legitimate science.  But the phenomena they base their studies on, simply don't exist.  This makes it difficult to find a college curriculum or earn a degree in the subject.

If you already have a degree in anything from psychology to physics, that will give you credibility, and like Targ and Puthoff and many others, you might luck out and become a darling of the world of woo woo.  It would help if you had a celebrity psychic like they did, (Uri Geller).  Or you could write a couple of books.  If they are popular, it will get you noticed.  No degree, but lots of attention from adoring but deceived fans.  Don't worry; you won't have to get anything peer reviewed.  This is all outside the realm of legitimate scholarship.

Don't forget Princeton, Eri.  Really, they should make it part of their Economics Department as they are regularly publishing garbage completely out of their field and releasing it through the popular press.

Answer 3

Yes, you need a doctorate degree to be taken seriously in the parapsychological community. All full members of the Parapsychological Association (link below) hold doctoral degrees.

Most of the full members have degrees in traditional sciences like medicine, physics, psychology, etc.. Those few that have degrees in parapsychology usually have a Masters degree in a traditional science (experimental psychology for instance) that they built upon when getting their doctorate in parapsychology.

There is no certification in parapsychoology from any accredited or academic reputable organization (there are many web sites offers everything including this). There is only course work and degrees from universities.

Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire offers a minor in parapsychology with an undergraduate degree in psychology. The university is fully accredited.

The University of Edinburgh through the Koestler Parapsychology Unit offers research opportunities (as do many parapsychology research units) and the school at least use to offer doctorates in parapsychology I believe they still offer them.

What most people do including Carl Jung is seek a doctorate in a traditional field and then do your dissertation on a parapsychology subject. Jung did his on the psychological study of a trance medium.

Many schools will customize a program for students for instance the University of California Berkley granted a degree in magic (the only one to date) to Isaac Bonewitts.

Yes, just like you need a doctorate to call yourself a psychologist you need a doctorate to call yourself a parapsychologist. The difference is that psychologist have regulating boards to enforce this as a legal restriction and parapsychology has no such board.

Although Loyd Auerbach who hold a Masters in parapsycholgy respects this restriction and calls himself a parapsychological associate (just as people that have Masters in psychology are psychological associates)

Many people that work in parapsychology identify themselves by their education and training for instance Dr. Raymond Moody will tell you he is a medical doctor not a parapsychologist. Likewise Rupert Sheldrake identifies himself as a biologist.

Answer 4

If you want to know how to become one, write a show that features one.  You could also write Lorraine Warren's website and ask. Type that name into a search engine and you'll find it. Mrs. Warren's people do write back  The tv shows have pre-made answers that they can copy and paste and send you.  I've studied the paranormal, and most of the people that are parapsychologist have some sort a accreditation, otherwise they look like kooks.  "Mail Order" won't cut the mustard either.  It's a general idea in that community.