The Vivekananda Yoga University (VaYU), the world’s first university outside India devoted to Yoga education and research, has launched an Online Masters programme in the subject.

“Congratulations to VaYU for launching a post-graduation course, the first such effort outside India,” the Ministry of AYUSH tweeted.

Applications for the Fall 2020 semester are open with the classes scheduled to commence on August 24.

The Online MS (Yoga) is a cohort-based four-semesters program with 30 credits. It’s designed for working professionals as well as those seeking an advanced knowledge of yoga. The program requires completion of 10 courses (24 credits) plus a research project (6-credits) in the last semester.

Each academic year, in the 15th week of the Fall semester, students will attend a week-long Personal Training Program (PTP) when they will get personal, hands-on training in Asanas (postures), Kriya (purification techniques), Mudras (hand locks and gestures), Bandhas (knots), Pranayama (controlled breathing), and Dhyana (meditation).

“In following the pioneering tradition set by Swami Vivekananda who brought yoga to the West in 1893, we are bringing a vision of holistic approach to yoga with its applications supported by modern scientific research. I am pleased that the California Bureau of Private & Postsecondary Education has provisionally approved VaYU to operate as a university and offer the MS (Yoga) degree,” said H R Nagendra, Chairman, Board of Trustees of VaYU. He is also the Chancellor of SVYASA University, the world’s first yoga research university in Bengaluru, India, founded in 2002.

The PTP will be offered at the main campus in Los Angeles, California. Depending on student interest and faculty availability, PTP could be offered through satellite campuses across North America, and, at the SVYASA campus in Bengaluru and Singapore, he said.

The minimum eligibility is a four-year degree from any accredited college or university in the US or equivalent degrees from other countries. No prior exposure to yoga is required.