Pacifica Graduate Institute Expands Online and Hybrid Degree Offerings

Pacifica Graduate Institute Expands Online and Hybrid Degree Offerings M.A. or M.A./Ph.D. in Mythology and Religious Studies goes fully online and M.A./Ph.D. in Community, Liberation, Indigenous & Eco-psychologies transitions to hybrid online model

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 25, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Pacifica Graduate Institute is pleased to announce strategic enhancements to its online and hybrid degree offerings, expanding access to its globally recognized graduate programs.

The M.A. and M.A./Ph.D. in Mythology and Religious Studies (formerly Mythological Studies) will now be offered fully online, providing greater flexibility for students seeking a rigorous education with core dimensions in religion, literature, depth psychology and culture, and graduate research. In addition, the M.A./Ph.D. in Community, Liberation, Indigenous & Eco-Psychologies (CLIE) program will transition to a hybrid online model, blending immersive, low-residency experiences with expanded online learning to support a dynamic and engaged student community.

"These distinctive degree programs reflect Pacifica's commitment to advancing a more accessible model of graduate education—one that brings students into meaningful engagement with our exceptional faculty and a globally relevant body of scholarship. Rooted in depth psychological inquiry, these programs cultivate not only intellectual rigor, but also a profound sense of community, imagination, and purpose. In doing so, they invite learners to participate in the ongoing reimagining of how we learn, and more importantly, what it means to be human in a complex and hurting world," said Interim Provost, Loralee M. Scott, MFA.

The updated program offerings will begin with the Fall 2026 cohorts and applications are currently being accepted.

Now Fully Online for Mythology and Religious Studies

Pacifica's Mythology and Religious Studies program is the only doctoral program in the country dedicated to the multicultural and cross-disciplinary exploration of human experience through myth and religion in dialogue with depth psychology and other contemporary lenses of interpretation. Guided by internationally recognized scholars, authors, and educators, the program invites students into the mythological, folkloric, archetypal, and sacred structures of the stories that shape our lives — in religion and spirituality, ecology and the arts, popular culture and politics.

The change to a fully online program reflects growing demand and popularity of the degree.

Faculty of the program said, "We live in an era hungry for meaning. The MA/PhD in Mythology and Religious Studies joins scholarly rigor with soulful inquiry to consult the oldest stories from across traditions for the answers we need most right now."

Community, Liberation, Indigenous & Eco-Psychologies Program Goes Hybrid

The CLIE program integrates transdisciplinary approaches to address social, community, and ecological challenges of our time. Accomplishing this necessitates a radical engagement in re-conceiving psychology as a liberatory and restorative movement anchored in relational epistemologies and praxes. Our work is informed by pluriversal theories that promote socioeconomic, epistemic, and environmental justice, peace-building, and ecological sustainability.

The curriculum places scholarship across disciplines in dynamic dialogue with critical community, liberation, Indigenous, and eco-psychologies from a wide range of global cultural settings. Students gain an understanding of the interdependence and holistic relationality within knowledge systems and praxes with well-being. Coursework nurtures creative approaches to collaboration in organizations, non-profits, community groups, and educational settings. Through qualitative and participatory research, students are supported in pursuing their distinctive areas of interest and in strengthening skills to contribute to life-sustaining decolonial futures.

As the program transitions to a hybrid format, faculty said, "CLIE approaches the creation of decoloniality as an ongoing and always incomplete project that requires building relationships among communities, faculty, and students to generate plurilogues departing from anthropocentric norms to evolve shifts in curriculum, pedagogy, research, and community praxis. Through these approaches, CLIE seeks new and creative possibilities that may emerge in multiple localities beyond a single discipline or sub-discipline."

Students interested in either program can visit the Admissions department of Pacifica Graduate Institute. All of Pacifica's graduate degree programs are accepting applications for 2026.

About Pacifica Graduate Institute

Pacifica Graduate Institute is an accredited graduate school in Santa Barbara, California, offering master's and doctoral programs in psychology, humanities, and mythological studies. For nearly fifty years, Pacifica has remained dedicated to its mission of "tending soul in and of the world."

Media Contact

Marketing Department, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 1 (805) 969-3626, [email protected], pacifica.edu

SOURCE Pacifica Graduate Institute