‘Incredibly unique’: Colorado university offers rare yoga studies degrees in the new, growing field

Naropa University in Boulder was the first college in the United States to offer an undergraduate degree in yoga in 2008 and launched a master's program in yoga studies in 2020.

Naropa University in Boulder was the first college in the United States to offer an undergraduate degree in yoga in 2008. As of 2020, Naropa launched a master’s program in yoga studies, which is one of only two such yoga degrees in the country.

Cassandra Smith, who graduated from the first cohort of students in the yoga studies master’s program in 2023, said it is “incredibly unique.”

“There are a few other schools in the U.S. that offer a graduate degree in yoga, but what you get at Naropa is special,” Smith said. “The entire curriculum is based on a contemplative approach, which doesn’t force you to just be an objective observer of yogic traditions. The contemplative approach of the courses also allows you to immerse yourself in those traditions, to actually practice the meditation instructions from ancient texts, and to consider what these traditions mean to you on a personal level.”

The bachelor’s degree in yoga studies focuses on practices central to different iterations of yoga while culminating in a 1,000-hour teacher training certificate. Both program levels explore the development and history of yoga, but the master’s program dives deeper into the history and evolution of yoga through an academic lens.

Ben Williams, professor of Hinduism and yoga studies, developed the master’s program in yoga studies which was launched in the fall of 2020.

“One of the most unique features of this program is its emphasis on contemplative practice as a core principle of learning and study. This draws on the pioneering work of Naropa University over the last 50 years to find ways to integrate contemplative elements of the traditions studied into the classroom,” Williams said, in a statement.

“In the Yoga Studies M.A. this involves going beyond an intellectual and theoretical appreciation of the vast history of yogic forms of meditation to a serious engagement with the wisdom and practices themselves.”

As an industry, Williams said, yoga has dramatically expanded in America throughout the past 30 years, including a proliferation of yoga studios, yoga products, yoga teacher training and even music festivals related to yoga. This expansion in interest led to new scholarship on yoga, as well as the formation of yoga studies as a new academic field.

Professor Nataraja Kallio designed the bachelor’s in yoga studies program and its master’s program, along with Williams.

“The origins of yoga studies at Naropa traces itself to the University’s inception in 1974 when Ram Das taught a course on the Bhagavad Gita to over 1,000 students,” Kallio said in an email. “From there, Naropa developed a concentration in Yoga Studies and eventually a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2008, which still to this day is the only accredited B.A. in Yoga Studies in the world.”

The master’s program in yoga studies is largely online and allows students to participate from anywhere in the world, while gathering in Colorado before the first and third year of the program for two nine-day in-person retreats at mountain centers.

Students who earn a degree in yoga studies can go on to teach, including in high school and college settings. They can also go into fields like marketing and communication or continue their research and education.

“The M.A. in Yoga Studies is designed to serve as a foundation for students aspiring towards doctoral work, introducing them to theories and methods prevalent in the field, offering comprehensive linguistic training, and refinement in the art of academic writing and research,” Smith said.

“Most of our students are practitioners at heart, and are particularly inspired by the way the program will enliven and expand their experience of yogic traditions of practice.”