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.
