UAS offers academic and scientific courses and programs within the fields of parapsychology and paraphysics. There are a wide variety of interests and motivations that prospective students bring to our courses and programs. However, only some of these interests and motivations can be satisfied through our courses and programs.
UAS Course & Programs Are Designed to:
- Provide our students with a in-depth understanding of the parasciences along with training in practical techniques and applications.
- Call our students attention to the need for the realistic appreciation of the large difference between random processes and genuine psi experiences.
- Expose our students to past and current research methods in parapsychology and paraphysics, and provide detailed information in regard to experimental procedures and results, and in regard to general research strategies.
- Encourage our students to examine the internal and external states conducive and non-conducive to psychical experiences as a means to build professional quality experiential psychical skills (i.e. learn the when’s and when not’s, the how’s and how not’s, the why and why not’s, and the where and where not’s of psychical phenomena).
- Present an interdisciplinary construction of psychical phenomena so that students from many fields can find our courses relative and complementary to their current careers (e.g. to provide relevant overviews of sensory and cognitive psychology (i.e. the range of means we can input and process information), biophysics (i.e. addressing the various non-behavioral means we can output information into the environment and world at large).
- Promote the consideration of the implications for psychical phenomena in present day society via the creative uses of such phenomena in interpersonal communication, teaching, personal and professional growth, etc., as well as the consideration of the potential misuses and ethical issues related to the utilization of such phenomena.
:: What UAS Courses & Programs Are Not
- Presented in a firm religious context. Instead, courses and programs are taught via an objective perspective in regard to the validity of psychical experiences as to provide students with the basis of solid and reliable information pertaining to the para-sciences. In other words, courses and programs are not taught in the context of any particular religious or spiritual belief system (i.e. broad spiritual/religious concepts). Therefore, students are encouraged to utilize their critical thinking skills to determine how the information presented to them through UAS applies to their current individual beliefs.
- Designed for those who follow a set of occult practices (e.g. astrology, Tarot, I Ching, Wicca, demonology,etc.), that are looking for further instruction on the latest occult practices. This is because UAS courses and programs teach scientific parapsychology, not occult practices. Courses and programs include parapsychological terminology, not new age terminology, therefore theses courses and programs are not for those looking for more information pertaining to new age or religious concepts (e.g. indigo. rainbow or crystal children, light workers, astral projection, chakras, karma, nirvana, numerology, etc.).
:: Popular Questions
Will a course or program through UAS make me psychic?
Current parapsychological findings suggest that everyone is psychic to some degree, so your next question should be, “What type of psychic am I?” You may be able to find this out by joining over 14,000 others in taking Professor Kelly’s Free Online Psychical Assessment. This assessment may help you discover your psychical type and potential. However, UAS courses and programs are more academic than instructional. This means that we teach students “about” psychic experiences and research findings, not “how to be more psychic.” Knowing how psychic experiences work is one way of increasing psychic experiences, but building psychic skills is something one does over the course of years in their day-to-day, not through reading about psychic experiences 30 minutes a day here and there. It takes a lot of commitment and critical thinking, and even then most may never become a professional psychic, but ideally will be able to use their psychic skills in conjunction with their personal and professional lives..
Will a course or program through UAS help me develop my psychical ability/make me more psychic?
- Analogy #1: Think of psychic ability as a muscle, such as the bicep. You already know you have biceps, and you know you can use them. However, reading information on how to lift weights to build the bicep muscle will not make your bicep stronger. Instead, applying the information you have learned and actually lifting a weight will have a result, a result based on technique, how often you lift the weight, and how much effort you put in to lifting the weight. UAS suggests daily “lifting” with as much effort as possible. While programs will teach you techniques and limitations, some courses may only teach you techniques or limitations. Knowing what techniques to utilize (what works best for you) and applying them to practice will help students “build a more effective and reliable muscle” (i.e. build experiential skills). Knowing what limitations apply will save students time and allow students to make all of their efforts count. In other words, “lifting a 10 pound weight verses a 50 pound weight, or limiting your movements to working the bicep verses the tricep.“
- Analogy #2: A person can be taught how to play basketball and practice every day, but that does not mean they have the innate coordination and physical stamina to excel at the sport. One could practice everyday but only excel at “throwing the ball around” with friends, some may play on a school team, and some privileged few reach the level of professional skills required to play for the NBA. In other words, some people can try to build psychical experiential skills but never really meet their initial expectations. This could be because they are working against themselves (e.g. are working on an ability not opportune for them to work on at this time in their life, or working against the laws or limitations that pertain to their unique ability). Some may build on their skills, but due to their profession or lifestyle, may never build a professional skill set unless drastic changes are made. In addition, some privileged few may reach the level of a professional through hard work, determination, conducive environments and mindset, and psychical education. However, it is one thing to be told how to play the game, it is an entirely different thing to get out on the court, practice, and go all the way.
:: Para-Science Career & Research Expectations
The field of parapsychology and paraphysics, including sub-disciplines, are considered “marginal” by the mainstream sciences. If a students goal is to achieve a tenured faculty position at a major university, with a considerable amount of time to devote to research initiatives, any degree with an emphasis in parapsychology or paraphysics may not be advantageous in most countries. However, some of those who have obtained accredited PhD’s in parapsychology and paraphysics have taught at more minor universities, even in the United States. However, UAS is a non-accredited higher education institution. Therefore, while degrees obtained through UAS will indicate a solid education, level of professionalism, and a profound dedication to and in the field, such degrees cannot be utilized to secure employment opportunities. Therefore, those who conduct psychical/parapsychological research typically hold accredited degrees in an established field (i.e. typically make a living via a more conventional vocation) and therefore, utilize their UAS education in conjunction with what they have learned through an accredited educational institution.
Because the field of parapsychology is so “marginal,” very few paying positions are available. Therefore, perusing an education in scientific parapsychology or paraphysics is recommend for those who:
- Hold degrees (i.e. have had solid training in an established field) who possess strong entrepreneurial skills, immense determination, creativity and resourcefulness, and are looking to direct their current career towards consciousness studies, psychical research, or related consulting or educational initiatives. (The majority of our students hold a master’s or doctorate degree in a discipline that is significantly relevant to the para-sciences including psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, alternative medicine, business, physics, anthropology, theology, etc.)
- Intelligent layperson’s who have a profound interest in the field, who have had persistent personal experiences in regard to one or more topics within the field, are fascinated by the exploration of the full range of human potential, enjoy challenging the current worldview, and desire to understand the “how’s and why’s” of psi processes to improve upon their own experiential skills and/or assist in the improvement of the experiential skills of others for the purposes of personal or professional enrichment (e.g. writers, consultants, educators).
Therefore, enrollment or completion of a UAS course or program does not guarantee employment. Rather, these programs and courses were designed for personal and professional enrichment.