Degree Requirements
REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATION
- Students must complete a total of 90 quarter units for the Ph.D. to fulfill the degree requirements for graduation. A minimum grade of C is required in each completed course. A cumulative grade point average of 3.0 must be maintained.
- Students must attend at least 2/3 of each course.
- During the second year of coursework, students must pass a written comprehensive exam. The M.A. degree is awarded when the exam is passed and
- 50 units of coursework and fieldwork, and 60 hours of transformative practices are completed (Community Psychology, Liberation Psychology, and Ecopsychology)
- 48 units of coursework is completed (Jungian and Archetypal Studies)
- 51 units of coursework and fieldwork, and 50 hours of depth transformative practices are completed ( Somatic Studies)
- Students must petition to proceed with the third year. Faculty approval is based on a comprehensive review of coursework, exam results, writing skills, and readiness to conduct research. In addition, in Jungian and Archetypal Studies, students must prepare and submit a scholarly article suitable for publication.
- Students must pass an oral examination at the end of the third year of coursework.
- Students must submit and defend an original dissertation accepted by the faculty.
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION
The comprehensive examinations consist of a written portion at the end of the second year, and an oral portion at the end of the third. The written examination is designed to assess knowledge gained in the first two years, and is a requirement for the awarding of the M.A. degree. The third year oral exam consists of the student’s formal oral presentation addressing the ways the three years of study have informed and seeded their work leading to the dissertation.
DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
The dissertation process involves the completion of Dissertation Development and Dissertation Writing. Students must have an approved concept paper before enrolling in Dissertation Writing. The dissertation committee is comprised of a Chair, a Reader, and an External Reader. Each member of the committee must possess an earned doctorate based in part on a dissertation unless this requirement is waived by the Program Director.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: JUNGIAN AND ARCHETYPAL STUDIES
SELF-DIRECTED STUDIES
The purpose of Self-Directed Studies is to allow students to explore areas of interest in Depth Psychology outside the boundaries of the curriculum. This may take the form of attending conferences, workshops, lectures, and/or seminars; engaging with an analyst or other practitioner for personal therapy or healing work; or seeking training in a modality that augments their practice of Depth Psychology. Students must complete a total of 30 hours and submit a reflective paper; this may occur anytime during the course of the program, and is required for the awarding of the Ph.D. degree. All hours must be pre-approved through discussion with the Program Director.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: COMMUNITY, LIBERATION, AND ECOPSYCHOLGY
COMMUNITY FIELDWORK
Students are required to arrange for community/ecological fieldwork in their home or other settings during the first and second summers. A minimum of 70 hours of direct participation in a setting, and 140 hours of related reading, writing, imaginal engagement, and reflection are required in the first summer. This is also true in the second summer, unless a student chooses to engage in community/ecological research, in which case hours of direct participation may be less to allow for in-depth data analysis.
(See http://www.pacifica.edu/community_ecological_fieldwork_research_new.aspx)
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: SOMATIC STUDIES
FIELD WORK AND PRACTICE
Students are required to participate in at least 60 hours of fieldwork or somatic therapeutic practice in their home or other settings during their third year of coursework. This will provides student with the opportunity to integrate the theories, ideas, and experiences they have gained in the first two years, and to further their own learning goals.
NOTE
The Depth Psychology Program is designed to provide students with theoretical traditions of depth psychology and its contemporary applications to personal, cultural, community, and ecological health and well-being. The program does not prepare students to become licensed or to practice psychotherapy. Although some students may wish to pursue licensure after gaining their doctorate in this program, the curriculum does not contain specific coursework aimed at any type of licensure, nor does it arrange or administratively support traineeships, pre- or post-doctoral internships, or other practice requirements related to licensure.
