Aspiring Explorers Program

SSE student members currently meet online quarterly for networking opportunities. Become a student member to receive the link for the next event.

SSE has established an Aspiring Explorers Prize for the student research project judged to be the most original and well-executed submission. An Aspiring Explorers Committee has been established to review all entries and determine the winner, who will receive an award of $500 and have the opportunity to present their project at next year's annual meeting, for which the Society will cover her/his registration fee. Download and complete this application, then forward it to [email protected] to be considered for the award.

The SSE is also be offering a 50% discount on future meeting registrations for any student member who brings a student friend to our conferences. We are eager to see student clubs or SSE discussion groups established at various academic institutions or in local communities! For more information, feel free to contact our Aspiring Explorers coordinator, Chantal Toporow.

Student Resources

The California Institute for Human Sciences
The California Institute for Human Science (CIHS), Encinitas, California, is a state approved Graduate School and Research Center. It offers Master and Ph.D. degrees in Human Science (Life Physics & Comparative religion specialization) and in clinical Psychology.

The California Institute of Integral Studies - School of Consciousness and Transformation
The mission of the School for Consciousness and Transformation is to conduct scholarly, transdisciplinary inquiry in the fields of philosophy, psychology, religion, anthropology, transformative learning and social change, and spirituality.

Center for Spirituality and Health at the University of Florida
Dr. Barbara Heath's program, developed for students from multiple disciplines including: psychology, sociology, physics, engineering, religion, philosophy, health and spirituality, pre-medicine, nursing, and neuroscience. Both local and non-local consciousness are considered along with the history, epistemology, theory, and current research in consciousness studies.

Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona
Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona encourages the promotion of open, scientifically rigorous and sustained discussions of all phenomena related to the mind.

Department of Psychology at the State University of West Georgia
The SUWG Department of Psychology maintains unique theoretical roots in humanistic and transpersonal psychology.

The Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) at the University of Virginia
The Division of Perceptual Studies is a unit of the Department of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, VA. Utilizing scientific methods, the researchers within The Division of Perceptual Studies investigate apparent paranormal phenomena, especially Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and children who claim to remember previous lives.

Edges of Science Course at the University of Colorado at Boulder
SSE Past-President and current Vice President Professor Garret Moddel's laboratory. Examines the evidence for paranormal phenomena, reasons for skepticism, and physical models that could account for the data. Reviews controversial scientific theories that overcame barriers to acceptance and how worldviews shift. Considers the scientific method and ways uncontrolled factors might influence experiments. Develops skill in statistical analysis of data. Includes group projects testing for anomalous and parapsychological effects.

Energy Medicine University
Integral Psychology, Medical Intuition, Bioenergetics, Biophysics Organizational Transformation, Spirituality & Health, Intuitive Counseling, Consciousness and Nature, Consciousness and the Creative, Energy Psychology, Hermetic Disciplines. Tuition assistance for Vermont residence available.

Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA)
Professors Don Middendorf (consciousness studies and physics) and Susan Aurandart (art) of Evergreen State College offer a course in Consciousness, Art and Matter. "This year-long interdisciplinary program will provide an opportunity for students interested in doing intensive work in the nature of the mind through challenging readings, creative work in visual art, and self-reflection. We will examine consciousness, art and physical reality from a variety of viewpoints including artistic, psychological, philosophical, physical and biological."

Franklin Pierce College
A Parapsychology program offers a concentration in parapsychology within the psychology major.

The Graduate Institute
Transdisciplinary graduate program.

The Graduate School of The Union Institute
The Union Institute does not impose a fixed curriculum to which everyone is expected to conform. Rather, the shape of the doctoral program emerges from the needs, interests, and background of each individual learner.

Greenwich University Parapsychology & Paranormal Studies Ph.D.
Offers a Ph.D. in parapsychology and paranormal studies through the psychology department.

Masters in Consciousness Studies at John F. Kennedy University
The Department of Consciousness Studies embraces a holistic philosophy that integrates body, mind, spirit, and world while emphasizing the interconnectedness of human consciousness with the natural environment.

Naropa University
Holistic undergraduate and graduate school in Boulder, Colorado, offers undergraduate and advanced degrees in many fields.

New School's Graduate Degree Programs
Progressive graduate programs and degrees from the New School, in New York, NY.

Non-local Consciousness at the University of Florida
Professor Barbara Welsch's University of Florida course, considering both local and non-local perspectives on consciousness, along with
the history, epistemology, theory, and current research in consciousness studies.

Pacifica Graduate Institute
Programs in psychology, humanities, and mythical studies. Carpinteria, CA.

The Program in Creativity and Consciousness Studies at the University of Michigan
Addresses the need for educational models that aim toward a broader vision of human development, by integrating the arts, creativity, community outreach, and transpersonal and contemplative experiences into conventional approaches to learning.

PsiPhen Laboratory at the University of Colorado
The PsiPhen Lab in the University of Colorado at Boulder investigates psi phenomena. Much of the research thus far has been carried out by student's in Garret Moddel's Edges of Science class. As the PsiPhen lab establishes itself, it will move to providing an active graduate research program in psi.

Rhine Research Center
The Rhine Research Center is a non-profit research and education organization established to explore the unusual types of experiences that suggest capabilities as yet unrecognized in the domain of human personality, and to investigate those capabilities thoroughly by exact scientific methods.

Rhine Education Center
Professional training in parapsychology, including an online course in the scientific study of paranormal experiences. "This interesting course will examine case studies and experiments to explore extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (mind over matter), near death and out of body experiences, apparitions (including ghosts), and modern research in parapsychology. In addition, there will be special topics presented by noted parapsychologists and leaders in the field including Loyd Auerbach, Mitch Horowitz, and Ed May. Students taking this course will gain a deeper understanding of subjective paranormal experiences and the nature of consciousness, and learn that there are a variety of ways to explore these fascinating experiences."

Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center - Consciousness Studies Program
Saybrook's Consciousness Studies area gives students a unique framework on which to build a successful career in psychotherapy, counseling, research on conscious and unconscious processes, writing, or the arts.

Schumacher College - Masters in Holistic Science
This new program has the goal of providing an integrated framework of study and research that recognizes the changes occurring in science as it goes beyond interdisciplinary to the understanding of complex wholes and their emergent properties at the levels of organisms, communities, ecosystems, and the biosphere.

Science and Pseudoscience in Psychology at Emory University
Dr. Scott Lilienfeld's course in critical thinking which focuses on how to critically evaluate fringe-science and the paranormal.

Sofia University
Sofia University supports a broad range of ideas, spiritual traditions, cultural perspectives, and professional backgrounds. Sofia University's programs encourage students to develop as individuals within the larger professional community through research, formal presentations, and published writing. The small faculty/student ratio is designed to provide an ideal container for students to work closely with leaders in the field.

University for Metaphysical Studies
It is the mission of the University for Metaphysical Studies to be the finest source of metaphysical education in the world. They offer courses for certification, graduate degree study, continuing education, and personal growth via the Internet and in person around the globe.

Koestler Parapsychology Unit at the University of Edinburgh
Located in the Psychology Department of the University of Edinburgh, the KPU consists of a group of academic staff and postgraduate students with an active interest in parapsychology. Interdisciplinary approaches to parapsychology, investigating the psi hypothesis, the pseudo-psi hypothesis, reported phenomena, experiences and beliefs about the paranormal, and the wider social and historical relevance of these.