Academics
Academics at Won Institute
The Won Institute of Graduate Studies is an emerging leader of integrative, holistic education in North America. Knowledge and wisdom are innovatively united in the Institute, forming methods of teaching and learning that are fresh, bold, and effective.
Academics at the Institute combine rigorous theoretical and technical training with direct, immediate experience and understanding. Our students become adept at fashioning the conceptual content of their coursework into insights into actual physical, mental, and emotional processes; and at translating such processes into effective applications in life and work. Academics are directed toward fulfilling the Institute's mission:
To provide quality graduate-level professional education and training in the practical applications of spirituality and the healing arts for the well-being of individuals and society. It is guided by the conviction that meditation is essential to spiritual cultivation, and that spiritual cultivation is necessary to balance material and technological advances.
Philosophy of Graduate Education
The Won Institute of Graduate Studies offers graduate programs in three areas:
Acupuncture Studies
The Acupuncture Studies program prepares students for professional licensure in acupuncture. This unique program integrates Western Medicine with Eastern Oriental Medical theory, provides extensive clinical training and includes an understanding of meditation and mindfulness.
Applied Meditation Studies
The Applied Meditation Studies program is for professionals who seek to incorporate meditation practice into their working lives for themselves and their clients.
Won Buddhist Studies
The Won Buddhist Studies program is for those students who are seeking ministry within Won Buddhism, a reformed Buddhist movement originating in Korea with more than 1.5 million followers worldwide.
Each of these programs is devoted to the systematic study and practical application of the mind/body/spirit connection within Buddhist perspective and theory.
The goal of the Won Institute of Graduate Studies is to prepare graduates to actualize their spiritual development and to use it for the benefit of society. Building upon the academic foundations laid by a baccalaureate education, the faculty provides the advanced theoretical underpinnings that prepare graduates to ask questions and methodically seek answers about how to apply their spiritual growth in practical fields.
The Won Institute of Graduate Studies is committed to a strong faculty who are willing to harness their collective wisdom and to increase their collective knowledge in order to support one another's learning and to build an effective curriculum. Through faculty and student interaction, a higher level of analysis, synthesis, and advanced practice is incorporated into the curriculum so that the graduates develop professional standards and behaviors on which to base their professional development.
Through the integration of didactic and process education, the Won Institute student develops the leadership, management, and teaching abilities necessary for the application of academic learning and spiritual practice. Students are required to communicate the results of their discovery, analysis, and synthesis of advanced knowledge both orally and in writing to prepare them for their increased responsibility in making contributions to their disciplines. Graduate education is promoted through intensive study and practice not only in the specifics of a Buddhist perspective, but also through the investigation and integration of other spiritual and philosophical perspectives.
The educational process at the Master's level is designed to promote independent, self-directed learning and self-evaluation. This is accomplished through intensive skill development and practice sessions and through real-world practicum experiences. Students are supported in their learning with group and individual supervision and information technology resources. The learner is stimulated to embrace a lifetime of personal and professional development.
