I want to study parapsychology at university?

Question

I looked this up on the internet for places in Scotland that you can study parapsychology at and saw an answer on yahoo answers that Edinburgh would be the closest place for me to study it. I followed the link given so that I could see if it was something I wanted to do. The site said that you are more likely to get a job in that field if you have also studied in other similar fields such as psychology.

How would I go about doing that then? Would I have to get a degree in psychology, then study parapsychology, or would I study both at the same time? If I had to study psychology and then parapsychology, could I do them at different universities?

I'm hopeless with all these university terms, so you'll need to explain it to me like I'm a child... haha Any help with this would be great!

Answer 1

Edinburgh dropped their program, or at least it's not longer affiliated with the university. I don't think there are any universities left in the world offering a PhD in parapsychology, and no one is hiring people to do that either, for the very simple reason that they never once found any evidence that it really existed.



So what can you do? You can get a PhD in psychology (8-12 years of college), become a tenured faculty member at a university (5-10 years, very hard job to get) and then research whatever you want after they can't kick you out anymore.

Answer 2

Mate I was asking the same question to people a few month ago and i even emailed people with PhDs in parapsychology and they told me that most and nearly all parapsychologists have a PhD in another field, mainly psychology. Best thing to do would be to study that first and then conduct your own research into the paranormal, thats what i am going to do



studying with the OU

Answer 3

The path to parapsychology varies for each individual. There are 3 universities in the US that provide graduate degrees that allow for a specialization in parapsychology. They are the Saybrook Institute, the California Institute of Integral Studies or the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. All of them are in California, and they all offer PhD candidates the opportunity to specialize in parapsychology. There are also programs in the UK at the University of Edinburgh, Liverpool-Hope University, and Northampton University. Other schools offer programs in South America and other parts of Europe.



If you study parapsychology, it is difficult to find employment. There are very few full time parapsychologists, as most people do the work part time while supporting themselves through other work. One of the more productive paths to becoming a parapsychologist is to study a research oriented field (such as psychology, biology, or physics) and keep up with the most current work in parapsychology on your own. You can study these traditional sciences and study parapsychology at the same time, and there is no reason to limit yourself to one university. I would recommend that you focus on the degree programs with your full attention so that you get a firm grasp of the concepts related to research and analysis. Once you have a degree in hand, you can shift your focus to following up on the parapsychological literature and exploring these topics with a more critical eye.



I've provided a few links that might be helpful. Good luck!

Answer 4

Parapsychology Degree Uk

Answer 5

The only way to do that, and not have to have a day job flipping burgers or tending bar for the

rest of your life, is to first become a real scientist of some variety. Work long and hard in

your field, make bona fide scientific contributions to your field. Get rich, and when you

retire, you can become a self-styled "paranormal investigator".

Answer 6

Would suggest psychology with an emphasis in counseling, and modeling perhaps along lines of

http://www.carolbowman.com

Email your questions to http://www.northampton.ac.uk/people/NAME.HERE; the three names in place of "NAME.HERE" are chris.roe simon.sherwood and richard.broughton

Also, http://www.gold.ac.uk/apru

http://wwwm.coventry.ac.uk/ptshortcpd/pgpt/Pages/pgpt.aspx?itemID=151 and

"Ethical ESP," Ann Ree Colton,

"The Path of the Higher Self," Mark Prophet,

"Man's Psychic Life: Elements and Structures," O. M. Aivanhov

A type of experimentation for a thesis might be along the lines of Dr. Tiller's research: http://www.tillerfoundation.com



Apologies for non-working links; a problem with software at my computer

Answer 7

If you get a degree in psychology it should help you to understand parapsychology - and then once you learn why people think the things they do you may be ready to toss the whole paranormal thing out in favor of rational thinking?

Answer 8

go ahead and do it mate