School Details
Saybrook University is a private, not-for-profit graduate institution designed for innovative approaches to academics. Students may pursue master’s or doctorate programs in areas that affect transformational change in communities everywhere. Saybrook University seeks to meet the growing needs in society for leaders in a wide range of professional contexts.
Earn an online master’s degree or Ph.D. in studies including leadership, management, psychology, wellness, and more. Courses are offered in a hybrid format with a low residency requirement, designed for working professionals. Faculty are scholar-practitioners, bringing first-hand experience to the online classroom. They prepare students to advance their careers and enter new professions with the skills and knowledge to succeed.
Accreditation & Licensing
Saybrook University is accredited by:
WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
All Programs
Art & Liberal Arts
The online Doctor of Philosophy in Transformative Social Change is a political science degree from Saybrook University. This program is designed to prepare students to respond to current social, cultural, and political challenges in unique ways. Students will be trained as reflective scholar-practitioners who are able to create transformative changes in society and be guided by humanistic values. The curriculum in this political science degree focuses on advocacy for human rights, community building, democracy, peace, the environment, and social justice. Coursework emphasizes the development of skills and knowledge that will make graduates successful participants and leaders in nonprofit organizations, including the ability to design environments that reflect and support participatory, democratic, and collaborative leadership skills.
Upon completion of this political science degree, you will be prepared to:
- Formulate interventions congruent with ethics and values
- Synthesize and design social system transformation strategies
- Formulate dialogues that are inclusive of all global, cultural, generational, and environmental viewpoints
- Appraise models of compassion and connectedness with the larger community
The online Graduate Certificate in Multiculturalism & Social Justice is a political science degree that helps students appreciate the cultural variables found in human interactions. With this political science degree, students gain an understanding of the wide variation in cultural values, histories, worldviews, and expectations while also developing an understanding of how critical effective communication is. You will develop a multicultural perspective that appreciates the cultural diversity found within a pluralistic society while enhancing your ability to develop assessment tools, training programs, clinical and community interventions, and government policy. Coursework is grounded in a global perspective with emphasis placed upon social justice and change.
This degree in political science builds on the students’ cultural backgrounds to develop solid foundations for further development of multicultural perspectives and offers an opportunity to study topics including:
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Sexual Orientation
- Spirituality
- Social Justice
- Socioeconomic Issues
The online Master of Arts in Transformative Social Change is a political science degree from Saybrook University. This degree is designed with the goal of preparing students to respond to current global, social, cultural, and political challenges by creating transformative changes in society that are guided by humanistic values. Students will learn to build on emerging and growing traditions as scholar-practitioners and scholar-activists to promote transformative social change. The political science degree curriculum utilizes a global, multidisciplinary approach to address the world’s conflicts, including:
- Threats to human rights
- Social justice and inequality
- Global climate change
- Violence and militarization
- Destruction of the commons
- Societal isolation and hopelessness
You can choose to concentrate in Social Impact Media or in Peace and Justice Studies.
Business
Saybrook University offers an organizational leadership degree online, the Doctor of Philosophy in Managing Organizational Systems. This program examines organizational systems in professional and global environments while developing strategic leader-managers who are prepared to manage complex organization systems. You will learn to work in challenging situations, identify and address complex problems, and collaboratively design and implement solutions that make a difference while gaining experience in systems-based leadership and management. The flexible curriculum fits the students’ general or specific areas of interest within the broad focus of organizational systems design and transformation, innovative leadership, collaborative management, distributive organizational behavior, and sustainability and social innovation. Graduates are prepared to meet the demands of organizations in modern times, operating in a sustainable and socially responsive manner while developing innovative, successful systems that help an organization reach its full potential in a global economy.
You can choose from the following specializations:
- General
- Collaborative Strategic Global Management
- Leadership for Sustainable Organizations
- Educational Leadership
- Humane Education
Drive your business toward ethical as well as commercial goals with an MBA in Sustainable Social Impact. Modern businesses appreciate their effect on the greater good. With the skills you gain in this online Business Administration degree program, you will be able to institute innovative programs to boost your organization’s performance while furthering moral and ethical values.
This online degree includes team projects, adaptable learning activities, and a culminating capstone project. Professors are experts in their fields, with real-world experience as managers, consultants, and researchers. Students are able to add more than 20 resume-boosting nano-credentials and e-badges through this program’s coursework.
Specializations are available in the following areas:
- Diversity, Equity, and Belonging
- Leadership and Management Consultancy
- Transformational Nonprofit Leadership
- Holistic Sustainability and Engagement
Healthcare
The Doctor of Philosophy in Mind-Body Medicine is an online health and wellness degree from Saybrook University. This is one of the fastest growing areas of healthcare and is often incorporated into other, more traditional, areas of the medical field. Students study integrative healthcare, mind-body science, practice, research, and ethics. You will learn organizational and leadership skills; research the effectiveness of complementary healthcare practices including meditation, biofeedback, or hypnosis; and learn to use mind-body approaches to wellness as a means of improving quality of life. Coursework examines connections between our physical, emotional, social, and spiritual lives while using an evidence-based approach to study health coaching, therapeutic movement, spiritual practices, and other self-healing modalities.
Students have the option of choosing an area of specialization or completing a generalist degree. The generalist degree is the most flexible, allowing students to complete multiple certifications. Areas of specialization are:
- Integrative Mental Health
- Integrative Wellness Coaching
- Mindful Leadership in Healthcare
The Master of Science in Integrative & Functional Nutrition is an online holistic nutrition degree from Saybrook University. This is an integrative field that looks at a variety of factors when creating personal therapies for patients. Studies cover the biological and nutritional sciences, clinical assessment, and personalized therapies while focusing on holistic approaches to care. The goal is to effectively address the root causes for numerous health and mental health conditions and to explore the many approaches to achieve this. Students will look at such areas as mind-body skills, mindfulness, and meditation when trying to achieve optimal health, healing, and vitality in their clients.
In as little as 21 months students will have completed many of the requirements to become Certified Nutrition Specialists® (CNS) and Certified Clinical Nutritionists (CCN). Graduates of this online nutrition degree will have the holistic knowledge and skills to help patients with such issues as:
- Obesity
- High blood pressure
- Depression
- Chronic pain
The Master of Science in Mind-Body Medicine is an online health and wellness degree from Saybrook University for those interested in this rapidly growing field of healthcare. Students learn to integrate the philosophy, science, and techniques of mind-body medicine in their personal and professional lives. You will gain a strong foundation in the field through the study of integrative healthcare, mind-body science, practice, research literacy, and ethics. Through a curriculum influenced by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, D.C., students learn how to treat the mind, body, and spirit of patients. Coursework covers holistic approaches that can be applied to such areas as counseling, health coaching, nutrition, social work, occupational therapy, and more. This rapidly growing, and increasingly accepted, field of study offers experience in several areas, including:
- Psychophysiology
- Coaching
- Movement, exercise, and health
- Guided imagery
- Applied hypnosis
Psychology & Human Services
The Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from Saybrook University is an online psychology degree for those planning on entering professional practice. In this program you will gain the knowledge, experience, and practical skills needed for clinical practice and research. The curriculum is grounded in existential, humanistic, and transpersonal psychology, especially in examining the human experience through subjective, historical, contextual, cross-cultural, and spiritual contexts. This online psychology degree focuses on service and leadership, in a program committed to a developmental approach in understanding individuals within their broader social and cultural context, and an appreciation of the inseparable nature of spirit, body, and mind.
Students completing this program are able to take courses across the university, beyond the psychology discipline, and can also specialize in:
- Consciousness Spirituality Integrative Health
- Creativity Studies
- Existential and Humanistic Psychology
- Psychophysiology
Through the Counselor Education and Supervision PhD online, students can gain advanced skill sets vital for teaching, clinical supervision, leadership and advocacy. This program creates multiple pathways for professionals who want to further their careers. Work one-on-one counseling individuals, target family needs or bring about change within an entire community. Devote time in research or serve in higher education teaching others.
Typical topics of study include:
- Leadership, advocacy and ethics
- Instructional theory and practice
- Qualitative and quantitative research methodology
- Community leadership and engagement
You will round out your degree with advanced practicum and internship experiences followed with a comprehensive exam and dissertation.
Using a holistic and systemic approach to the well-being of the individual, Saybrook offers an online Integrative Social Work PhD. Core values of the program center on building compassion and respect within communities, engaging the person, and learning how to foster positive change. This program is committed to academic excellence and training, and expects students to maintain integrity and authenticity.
Specializations include:
- Integrative Community: Disaster, Trauma, and Addictions
- Integrative Gerontology : Gerontology, Chronic Illness, and End of Life Care
Core requirements include foundational social work studies, advocacy, epidemiology, public health and policy, and more. You will also have the opportunity to apply knowledge to advanced research courses and will finish out with a dissertation project.
Advance your professional goals in:
- Healthcare industry
- Education
- Community and nonprofit organizations
- Social services and child welfare
- Policy development
The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology is an online psychology degree for those dedicated to alleviating human suffering, preparing students to make significant contributions to better our understanding of human behavior. Saybrook University’s online psychology degree is based in the tradition of existential, humanistic, and transpersonal psychology and offers programs that expands the students’ outlook beyond the confines of psychology. This flexible degree allows individual approaches to program planning and the study of Psychology so you can broaden and deepen knowledge, interests, and areas of academic and professional development. Saybrook offers a variety of options for students developing further areas of knowledge, skills, and expertise. In addition, you can focus on a specific area of study by declaring one of these specializations:
- Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health
- Creativity Studies
- Existential, Humanistic, and Transpersonal Psychology
- Psychophysiology
This is not a clinical psychology program; it focuses on helping students learn how to improve their communities and the world through the development and improvement of programs and services.
The Master of Arts in Counseling with a specialization in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is an online counseling degree from Saybrook University for students interested in applying for licensure as a counselor. The curriculum focuses on the interconnectedness of all things while teaching students to apply a holistic and systemic perspective to working with others in various settings. While the courses are completed online with only a required residential conference at the beginning of each semester, the program includes 700 hours of field experience that allows student to prepare for careers in the field without relocating. Upon completion of this online counseling degree, students will have completed the coursework required to apply for licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), or Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC).
At Saybrook, the faculty is committed to creating a supportive environment with engaged, experienced, and encouraging professors. They prepare competent mental health professionals who go on to inspire transformational change in individuals and communities toward a just, humane, and sustainable world.
The Master of Arts in Psychology from Saybrook University is an online psychology degree for students interested in careers in the field but who are unable to complete their degree on-campus. The curriculum is built on a tradition of existential, humanistic, and transpersonal psychology. One of the goals of this online psychology degree is to push students to expand their horizons beyond the psychology discipline, opening them up to a broad range of professional opportunities. To achieve this goal, the program offers students a great deal of flexibility, allowing them to customize their electives and offering a choice in many of the core courses as well. While you do not have to declare a specialization, this is an option, with the following specializations available: Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health; Creativity Studies; Existential, Humanistic, and Transpersonal Psychology.
Graduates of this online master's in psychology will be competent in the following learning outcomes:
- Use collaboration to promote life-enhancing change, conscious awareness, and authentic and responsible living
- Engage in reflective practice and self-assessment
- Critical and creative thinking
- Recognize, respect, and accommodate diversity
- Be committed to empathic, compassionate dialogue that is constructive and authentic
- Use ethical reasoning to contribute to the profession