MASTER OF ARTS IN APPLIED BUDDHISM

Study Buddhism Deeply ~ Transform Your Life

MAAB at a GLANCE

  • Low-residency, cohort-based

  • Credits: 44

  • Length: ~2 years

  • Time commitment: ~21 hours/week (7 credits/term)

  • Learning format: weekday early-evening live sessions (Pacific Time) + recorded + asynchronous

  • Residencies: 2 a year (October + May), 4–5 days each, in Portland, Oregon

  • Next start: Fall 2026

  • Application deadline: rolling review until June 15, 2026 (after that, as space allows)

  • Estimated cost: $23,674 tuition + term fees (travel/lodging separate)

A Low-Residency Cohort-based Graduate Program that Helps You Integrate Buddhist Wisdom into Your Life and Work Without Relocating

The MA in Applied Buddhism offers a rare integration of rigorous academic study and contemplative practice. Learn with lineage-trained faculty, engage deeply with classical Buddhist texts, cultivate self-awareness, and develop skills for teaching, leadership, or further academic study. This is applied dharma for real life and real work—integrating scholarship, meditation, and ethical service.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Three integrated pillars:
Scholarship, Meditation, & Service

  • Applied Buddhist Knowledge
  • Critical Inquiry & Communication

  • Contemplative Practice & Understanding

  • Reflective Integration

  • Compassionate & Ethical Engagement

  • Self-Reflection, Identity & Social Responsibility

WHO THIS PROGRAM IS FOR

  • Working adults
  • Dharma practitioners
  • Students drawn to applied inquiry through an Action Research capstone
  • Educators & contemplative facilitators
  • Community leaders & nonprofit practitioners

PROGRAM FEATURES

Flexible Low-Residency Format


Live/recorded/async + Portland intensives

Cohort-Based & Faculty Mentorship


Spiritual Formation Group, assigned faculty advisor

Affordable Tuition


Est. $23,674 tuition + fees; payment plans available

Transformative In-Person Retreats


Two required intensives per year • 4–5 days • Portland, OR

ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT (CAPSTONE)

The Action Research Project is where the MA in Applied Buddhism comes to life. This capstone integrates students’ development as scholar–meditator–practitioners through a values-based, action-oriented research process.

SPIRITUAL FORMATION LAB

Spiritual Formation Lab is a small, faculty-guided cohort space where students integrate study, meditation, and ethical development into lived practice. Rooted in the Tibetan Buddhist lamrim tradition, it supports contemplative practice and reflective dialogue.

NEXT STEPS