1453 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Ph: 415.576.6100
Fx: 415.576.1268
Joseph L. Subbiondo - President
Established in 1968

Curriculum: CIIS has 19 academic programs - 4 master's and 1 doctoral program in Professional Psychology: 7 master's and 6 doctoral programs in Consciousness and Transformation Studies; and, one undergraduate program. It’s library has more than 35,000 volumes, 300 journal, 1300 audio and video titles

Faculty: - More than 50 full-time core faculty and as many adjuncts, includes leaders in their fields, authors of international acclaim, diverse practitioners, and student-centered scholars. They are the linchpin of the strong community experience at CIIS, with a commitment to integral education that invites powerful discourse in and out of the classroom.

Mission: California Institute of Integral Studies is an accredited institution of higher learning that strives to embody spirit, intellect, and wisdom in service to individuals, communities, and the Earth. Honoring the spiritual dimension of intellectual life, CIIS prepares students to work in the areas of psychology, religion, philosophy, and the humanities by fostering rigorous scholarship and supportive community.

California Institute of Integral Studies was founded in 1968 by Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri, a philosopher, educator, and humanist from Bengal. In 1951, Dr. Chaudhuri was invited by Frederic Spiegelberg of Stanford University to join the staff of the newly formed American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco. He accepted the invitation, eager to implement in a Western educational institution the integral approach to education that he had developed as a student of Sri Aurobindo, the renowned Indian philosopher and yogi. Soon after his arrival in San Francisco, Dr. Chaudhuri and his wife Bina established the Cultural Integration Fellowship, from which emerged an educational branch later to become California Institute of Integral Studies. Over the past 30 years, the Institute's original emphasis on Asian religions and cultures evolved to include comparative and cross-cultural studies in philosophy, religion, psychology, counseling, cultural anthropology, organizational studies, health studies, and the arts. As the Institute continues to grow and expand, it remains steadfast in its commitment to small classes, a personal learning environment, and to nurturing a strong sense of community among its students, faculty, alumni, and staff.

Stated Ideals: 

Practice an integral approach to learning and research - The Institute facilitates the integration of body-mind-spirit. It values the emotional, spiritual, intellectual, creative, somatic, and social dimensions of human potentiality. Students are encouraged to take an interdisciplinary approach to learning by complementing their specialized program of study with courses in other departments.

Affirm spirituality - The Institute is committed to the study and practice of multiple spiritual traditions and to their expression and embodiment throughout all areas and activities of the Institute community.

Commit to cultural diversity - Promoting a dialogue of difference, the curriculum reflects a commitment to the diversity of the world's cultures and spiritual traditions while seeking their holistic integration.

Foster multiple ways of learning and teaching - The Institute honors many learning modalities and ways of knowing–intuition, body-knowledge, creative expression, intellect, and spiritual insight.

Advocate feminism and sustainability - The Institute embraces intellectual, cultural, and spiritual traditions which further the effectiveness of emancipatory movements such as feminism, social and political liberation, cultural self-expression, and ecological activism.

Support community - Community at the Institute is understood to be founded upon an underlying core of values which affirm shared understandings and differences, scholarly efforts, and humane concerns. Such community is a vital part of the Institute's effort to provide an effective, visionary, and nurturing environment for study and training.

Strive for an integral and innovative governance - The Institute recognizes the importance of a mode of governance which would eliminate, or at least reduce, the polarities and fragmentation which typically plague institutions. As with other ideals, integral governance is difficult both to formulate and to practice. This ideal stands among the seven as a constant challenge and encouragement to try new forms, procedures, criteria, and language as aids to a more shared and collaborative decision making process.

CIIS is comprised of people committed to transforming themselves and the world. Here you pursue an education that connects the spiritual and practical dimensions of intellectual life, in a stimulating environment that fosters rigorous scholarship and supportive community. The Institute offers an integral, interdisciplinary education—a unique intersection between theory and practice, passion and reason. CIIS advances its mission by offering courses of study that are on the frontiers of knowledge, taught by faculty members who are recognized scholars and student-centered teacher.

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