What universities teach parapsychology?

Question

In recent months, my health has taken a turn for the worse. My days of going places to investigate claims of the paranormal are at an end. However, I really want to continue working with the paranormal, since I find it so fascinating. My 15 years of looking into unexplainable activity have been fun and educational.

Therefore, I've decided that I should go back to school and obtain degrees in both psychology and parapsychology, as well as studying things like archeology and geology to round things out. I may even just minor in philosophy in order to further critical thinking and solidify my ability to argue successfully.

However, I'm stumped. I can't seem to really find anything in the way of which universities have parapsychology degrees that they can offer, and I don't want to simply get a psychology degree, since that won't really be what I'm looking to accomplish with my academic study.

Does anyone know which universities have parapsychology programs where I can obtain a degree?

Answer 1

The University of Bristol City holds courses in parapsychology,and the Hope University in Liverpool Where the Parapsychologist of whom features on the Welsh TV programme that produced the programme "Most Haunted" lectures on "things that go bump in the night" Indeed,Dr Sue Blackmore,a world authority on the Supernatural,also lectured on the subject,and inspired my own puny efforts!  The author of many books,and her partner TV personnality,and scientist-his name escapes me-have much in common! Indeed; the Faculty of Applied Sciences,Bristol University should suffice?

Answer 2

I think you should spend your time writing a book....if you haven't already done that. It would be a shame to let all that you've learned and experienced be forgotten in this world.THEN...go back to school. I wish I could! THIS  is MY "school". lol

Edit...Great to have Dr. Freas ...another parapsychologist with us! I'm wondering if he and DR will have similar answers.  

Answer 3

Well first my good friend. I know you were asking me in my email about universities that teach parapsychology as a major. I'm sorry to say that there are none that offer this as a major. Nobody can actually make a successful living at this. Those that  say they do, do so by being a writer, thus writing about it. More so what they write about is psychoanalysis, psychological disorders, etc. Many who are parapsychologists are what the root of this word is "psychologists." Like myself, I don't make a living off of being a parapsychologist, but rather a psychologist. I simply do lectures, part-time teaching on the side, I do research projects and make very little money as a parapsychologist. Those who want to be a parapsychologist alone will not make it in the world if you are thinking this is going to be your sole income.

     Many people go about calling themselves parapsychologists, but find themselves in trouble after a while because you must have at least a Master's degree to get a job in a practice with other psychologists. This is more so based on a medical practice typically. I however, work with other psychologists in a private firm.

     Those who say they got a PhD, perhaps a Master's or even a Bachelor's degree in parapsychology are lying to you. There are no legitimate colleges or universities that offer such a program. However, there are institutions that offer post-grad programs to students wishing to enlighten themselves in this minute field of study. Such universities are Hope University in England, UCLA in California, and there used to be a university in South Africa (where I attended once) that was called Eastern Institute of Science. I do not know if this place still exists though as that was several years ago and when I attended, it was going through a merger.

     I would never put anybody down about their abilities or education. However, everybody, including myself, has limitations, and we must all be aware of them. If you have no experience or background of prior education in psychology and you are wishing to  begin now, at a later age, you may want to rethink that choice. Like all universities, colleges or other private institutions, you must re-instate your SAT scores, if you haven't taken them then you best start brushing up on your general studies. Prepare to take out a loan or try and apply for a state or local grant if you can because college tution has gone up significantly over the past ten years. Also, you may want to look at statistics locally, see what places are looking for psychologists, therapists, even school counselors to start. Many places don't hire over a certain age because they want fresh graduates who are willing to go back and study further if necessary.

     You're much like myself in the factor at least that you like many of the same things I do, for instance geology & archaeology. This is slightly different however. It wasn't until my late teens when I got interested in geology and archaeology in my early twenties. I wanted to be an archaeologist more than anything. Somehow, from a higher power, I fell into psychology. I also don't know if I would have been happy doing something like that all the time, day-in and day-out. I also learned later on from a close associate who just happened to be a mechanical engineer who worked in the geological industry. He actually worked for the National Park Service which employs geologists, anthropologists and archaeologists as well. I soon learned that archaeology, geology all the interesting and exciting sciences are not what they're cut out to be. The stuff you see on television and in the movies, like Indiana Jones is all movies. It's amazing what special effects can do actually.

     I happened to find out from my friend that much of the time spent in the geological and archaeological fields is not spent out working in the field, or across a widespread desert, or in the jungles of the Amazon or even fighting tribals or private militias in Africa, but rather knowing your area of science, doing some occasional field work, and then filing reports and transporting finds from site-to-site. I appreciated this information very much. But, what I did later on not only stimulated my senses, but helped me find my interest in archaeology a little more closer to home thtan I had expected. I joined several private archaeological research groups. You see, that's how people end up getting into these strange and unknown field, like that of parapsychology or archaeology. It usually occurs when you're least expecting it and when you might not know a single thing about it.

     My brother-in-law has a close friend who works as an anatomist at a large pharmacuetical manufacturer called Merck. This man has been all over the world on research projects and digs. He has a PhD in anatomy, but knows paleontology extremely well, and through his networking skills, he managed to link up to some of the most renowned scientists in science today. But, once again, it's only as a hobby.

     If you want to do archaeology or geology, I wish you the best. But, you will have to go through all the exact same structuring that I or anybody else would have to go through if you are starting out from scratch. First, I hope you are very good in sciences and mathematics, because you will need it. Sciences such as chemistry, physics, biology and biochemistry, introduction to anatomy, other similar sciences. You may even have to brush up on similar studies such as oceanography or even astronomy because of similar formulas that are used in many science fields. In math, you will need trigonometry and calculus. Geometry and algerbra are a must. Usually students who start out in this field do so when they're in their early twenties, even as late as their mid twenties. Anything much passed that is pretty slim to get involved in the field. Like I said above too, networking is "key" to finding people, links, jobs, research, whatever. Anybody will tell you the same thing, it's not what you know, it's who you know.

     You state that you wish to solidfy your ability to argue much more thoroughly. First, believe me, there are college grads out there who can't even zip their own pants up, much less argue about their own field of specialty. So, if you want a degree just to get a degree, don't waste your time. There are plenty of other, much more satisfying things in life that don't require a degree. The unfortunate part about wanting a degree in the field you like is that you have to take other majors in order to even get near those field. And, in the end, when you graduate with a degree in geology, nobody is going to guarantee that you're going to be given a job as a geologist. Many people take science courses in college and end up doing something not even in their realm of study.

     Before you do anything, think it over, well. You know where to find me if you want any other assistance.

Have a nice day.

Regards,

      Dr. Freas

Answer 4

I do not know where such education exists, but interesting what kind of tests  to find if someone is predisposed to enter such studies?And the C/V?

And as to degrees - I have heard about a Professor in smth occult and then it became clear he was a major.

Answer 5

I believe the university of Edinburgh (links below).

If you are interested in pursuing this outside of the US please let me know as that there are others outside the US.

In the US Franklin Pierce University offers a minor in parapsychology with a Bachelors in psychology.

Other schools that offer some aspects of parapsychology include:

Saybrook Graduate School

Institute of Transpersonal Psychology

California Institute of Integral Studies

Institutions (not universities) that offer some well respected training and educational opportunities in parapsychology are:

Rhine Research Center.

Institute of Noetic Sciences.

However, most people working full time in parapsychology hold a doctorate in a conventional science (medicine, engineering, psychology, physics, etc.)

Many people get their doctorates in psychology (experimental is a good specialization for parapsychology work) and do their dissertation on a parapsychological subject.

I have included a link to the Parapsychological Association so you can look at the various members educational backgrounds and some of their publications.

Psiexploration

Answer 6

This same question seems to pop up every few weeks. Bottom line: There are no accredited universities anywhere in the world that offer degrees in parapsychology. There are a few legitimate universities with psychology programs that allow you to focus on "anomalous psychology," but that's about it.

Anyone who says that they have a PhD in parapsychology (and isn't Jeffrey Mishlove, who earned what appears to be the only such degree ever awarded by a major US university), probably got the degree from a diploma mill (a non-accredited school).

One can be involved in parapsychology as an experimentalist, a philosopher, a scholar, etc. But because this topic is unusually complex, it is optimal to get as broad an education in as many conventional topics as you can muster. As a minimum, it is important to know about research methods, statistics, history of the field, sociology of science, and philosophy of science. Better still if you can also learn something about modern biology and physics, and gain a working knowledge of computer programming and electronics.

Answer 7

http://www.hollowhill.com/ghost-hunting/...

They tell info about some schools if you scroll to the bottom hope that helps!