Naropa University

Naropa University Buddhist-inspired liberal arts university combining academics and eastern wisdom practices. Naropa's three campuses in Boulder crackle with energy.
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Naropa University is a Buddhist-inspired, student-centered liberal arts university in Boulder, Colorado. A recognized leader in contemplative education, Naropa's undergraduate and graduate programs emphasize professional and personal growth, intellectual development, and contemplative practice. Through rigorous academics, faculty mentoring, contemplative practice, and community engagement, Naropa

students develop the ability to think critically, to communicate effectively, and to know their hearts and minds. The result: graduates who live deeply fulfilling lives, working to improve people's lives and the condition of our planet. Naropa may offer a contemplative liberal arts education, but that doesn't mean we're quiet. Students, faculty and staff fearlessly make art, write experimental prose, study Sanskrit, attend concerts, research environmental inequity, plant organic gardens, volunteer in the community, and campaign for social justice. You have the right to enjoy your Naropa education free from discrimination and misconduct. For more information please visit www.naropa.edu/gender-equity.

Naropa Students - join us on the Arapahoe Campus Green for our Fall Engagement Fair this Wednesday, September 2, from 11...
09/01/2026

Naropa Students - join us on the Arapahoe Campus Green for our Fall Engagement Fair this Wednesday, September 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m 🌈💜

Connect with student organizations, explore campus resources with offices including MCIC and Students & Veterans of Naropa, meet community partners like The Spot Climbing Gym, and discover new pathways to participate in campus life this semester!

Our Office of Marketing will also be raffling tickets to Yahn Dawn in Buena Vista (must be present to win)! ✨

Whether you are looking to join a student group, share your creative practice, or simply enjoy time together on the lawn, we look forward to connecting with you!

📸:

We invite our community to gather for a watch party and shared dialogue centered on the new PBS American Masters documen...
08/31/2026

We invite our community to gather for a watch party and shared dialogue centered on the new PBS American Masters documentary, Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World. ✨

Together, we will share the screening and open space for conversation around Oliver's poetry, contemplative presence, and relationship with the natural world.

When: Wednesday, September 2 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM
Where: Lincoln Studio Room

All are welcome to join us in reflection and community. 💜

08/28/2026

"Radical compassion needs to sow the seeds of another world." 🌱

When Dr. Vandana Shiva joined us at Naropa, she reminded our community where true leadership and wisdom take root. Even amid immense ecological and systemic challenges, young people continue to show the way forward with clarity, courage, and conviction.

As a community grounded in contemplative education and ecological justice, we believe in our shared potential to cultivate a more compassionate world. 🌎💜

08/26/2026

Rebels, free-thinkers, and changemakers who refuse to fit into a single box: our Interdisciplinary Studies students 🌀

As Professor Ramon Parish shares, sometimes finding your true voice requires time, spaciousness, and the freedom to explore across multiple disciplines before articulating what you are here to create.

We celebrate the learners who take the time to wander, contemplate, integrate, and bring their unique vision to life. 💜

This week, we welcome students for a new semester! As we gather across campus, in circles on the green, in classrooms, a...
08/25/2026

This week, we welcome students for a new semester! As we gather across campus, in circles on the green, in classrooms, and in shared reflection, we are reminded of the depth and warmth this community brings.

Every student brings their own unique wisdom, curiosity, and presence to our Beloved Community. We are so glad you are here, and we look forward to the journey we will share together this semester. 💜✨

Please join us for the 2026 Convocation Celebration! 🔥💜Join students, faculty, staff, and Naropa alumnx as we celebrate ...
08/19/2026

Please join us for the 2026 Convocation Celebration! 🔥💜

Join students, faculty, staff, and Naropa alumnx as we celebrate the beginning of the academic year at Naropa's annual Convocation Celebration.

The event begins with the Lhasang, the traditional smoke offering (held indoors this year due to fire danger), followed by the main program.

Highlights will include remarks from President Paul Burkhardt, welcoming of new faculty, and the spontaneous poem. For those attending in person, there will be refreshments and community connection time immediately following the ceremony.

Come share in this Naropa tradition!

Find full details here:
https://tr.ee/convocation

Does your hand serve as an extension of your heart? 💜✍️For Barbara Bash, her calligraphy practice seems to flow from tha...
08/17/2026

Does your hand serve as an extension of your heart? 💜✍️

For Barbara Bash, her calligraphy practice seems to flow from that space within her.

Barbara Bash is an accomplished calligrapher and performance artist who arrived to Naropa University’s faculty team in its early days. She taught students to engage with their creative endeavors in a mindful and meaningful way, and demonstrated the relationship between precision and spontaneity through letterforms and brushstroke practice.

She returned to Naropa's Nalanda Campus in Spring of 2023 as a Lenz Distinguished Lecturer. ✍️

Catch her podcast from this time on the Mindful U Podcast:

Episode 96. Heaven, Earth and Humanity - What Calligraphy Can Teach Us About Each Moment

https://tr.ee/hO43EFmyko

📸: Sofia Drobinskaya

Valerie Hsiung - Naropa Core Associate Professor and Jack Kerouac Chair - is as much a part of the lineage of experiment...
08/11/2026

Valerie Hsiung - Naropa Core Associate Professor and Jack Kerouac Chair - is as much a part of the lineage of experimental writing that runs through our school as a teacher of it.

Her new book, The pedestrian, joins a body of published work that puts her scholarship to practice.

Come meet her and get your copy Wednesday, August 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Boulder Bookstore, where she'll read and sign alongside Serena Chopra (A Catalog of Future Mercies.

📖 Boulder Bookstore event page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BSHRvDwft/

08/06/2026

At Naropa, we experience contemplative education as a living ecosystem of ideas, values, and experiences.

🌱 The Roots: Our foundational view. These are the perspectives that ground us, recognizing the inherent wisdom of every human being and our deep interconnection with the Earth.

🌿 The Branches: Our pedagogical approaches. These provide the structure through which our education is expressed, including embodiment, creative expression, and social justice.

🍃 The Leaves: Our practices in action. These are the tangible expressions of our work - contemplative writing, restorative justice, embodied teaching, just to name a few. These are the moments where method and meaning meet to make change.

The roots nourish the branches, the branches support the leaves, and the leaves carry the living energy of the tree, transforming the world.

We invite you to explore our interactive Tree of Contemplative Education and reflect on where your own practices take root. 💜

https://www.naropa.edu/the-naropa-difference/tree-contemplative-education/

08/01/2026

One student's perspective on finding a place to grow. ✨✨

Address

Boulder, CO
80301-80310, 80314, 80321-80323, 80328, 80329

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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