# Brown University
**Source**: https://bulletin.brown.edu/the-college/concentrations/ctmp/
**Parent**: https://bulletin.brown.edu/the-college/concentrations/
The concentration in Contemplative Studies investigates the underlying philosophical, psychological, and scientific bases of human contemplative experience. Students pursue a "third person" academic approach drawn from the humanities and sciences to analyze the cultural, historical, and scientific underpinnings of contemplative experiences in religion, art, music, and literature. This is developed in combination with a "critical first-person" approach based in practical experience of contemplative techniques and methods to provide an integrated understanding of the role of contemplative thought and experience in societies and on the individuals who constitute them.
### Concentration Core (6 courses including the Senior Concentration Seminar)
| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [COST 0100](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%200100 "COST 0100") | Introduction to Contemplative Studies | 1 |
| Two introductory science courses addressing the biological, psychological, and neurological functionsing of the human body/mind complex with health implications, and how contemplative practices affect it. | | |
| Select one from the following list: | | 1 |
| [BIOL 0200](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%200200 "BIOL 0200") | The Foundation of Living Systems | |
| [CPSY 0200](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%200200 "CPSY 0200") | Human Cognition | |
| [CPSY 0500](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%200500 "CPSY 0500") | Perception and Mind | |
| [NEUR 0010](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=NEUR%200010 "NEUR 0010") | The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience | |
| Others with approval | | |
| Select one from following list: | | 1 |
| [COST 0200](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%200200 "COST 0200") | Meditation and the Brain | |
| [COST 1020](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%201020 "COST 1020") | Cognitive Neuroscience of Meditation | |
| Two humanities courses that present important themes that can emerge from bringing a Contemplative Studies perspective to the study of contemplative religious traditions and to the philosophical analysis of the key questions of human existence. | | 2 |
| [ANTH 1240](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=ANTH%201240 "ANTH 1240") | Religion and Culture | |
| [CLAS 0990](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CLAS%200990 "CLAS 0990") | Karma and Free Will: The Self in Indian Philosophy | |
| [CLAS 1120G](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CLAS%201120G "CLAS 1120G") | The Idea of Self | |
| [COST 0040](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%200040 "COST 0040") | Great Contemplative Traditions of Asia | |
| or [RELS 0040](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%200040 "RELS 0040") | Great Contemplative Traditions of Asia | |
| [COST 0145](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%200145 "COST 0145") | Karma, Rebirth and Liberation: Life and Death in South Asian Religions | |
| or [RELS 0145](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%200145 "RELS 0145") | Karma, Rebirth and Liberation: Life and Death in South Asian Religions | |
| [COST 0450](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%200450 "COST 0450") | Stages of the Contemplative Path | |
| [PHIL 0010](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%200010 "PHIL 0010") | The Place of Persons | |
| [PHIL 0015](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%200015 "PHIL 0015") | Introduction to Philosophy | |
| [PHIL 0510](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%200510 "PHIL 0510") | Psychology and Philosophy of Happiness | |
| [PHIL 1800](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%201800 "PHIL 1800") | Philosophy of Mind | |
| [PHIL 1825](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%201825 "PHIL 1825") | Consciousness | |
| [RELS 0056](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%200056 "RELS 0056") | Spiritual But Not Religious: Making Spirituality in America | |
| [RELS 0065](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%200065 "RELS 0065") | On Being Human: Religious and Philosophical Conceptions of Self | |
| [RELS 1370B](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%201370B "RELS 1370B") | Philosophy of Mysticism | |
| Others with approval | | |
| [COST 1950](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%201950 "COST 1950") | Senior Concentrators' Seminar | 1 |
| Students must complete six addtional courses in either a Science or Humanities track. | | 6 |
| Total Credits | | 12 |
### Track Requirements (6 additional courses Including a Capstone Course)
Students must complete either a Science or Humanities track in addition to the concentration core.
### Science Track
The Science track in Contemplative Studies gives concentrators a foundational understanding of the scientific methods used to investigate the biological, psychological, and neurological effects of contemplative practice and their potential implications on physical and mental health both for individuals and for the general public. Students will be taught how to critique current research as well as how to develop, operationalize, and test hypotheses related to contemplative practice. Students will become well-versed in how to study first-person reports related to the *phenomenology* of contemplative experience as a foundation for formulating third-person tests of the effects of practice on brain function and behavior. The Contemplative Studies Science Track trains students to investigate these types of questions not only for academic scholarship, but also to provide a method of self-inquiry that can be used to augment any area of life.
| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Five thematic science courses, including a Capstone Course, drawn primarily from BIOL,COST, NEUR, CLPS, and PHP, at least one of which must include laboratory work and two of which must be 1000-level; and one Statistics course for a total of six courses. | | 5 |
| The Capstone Course is intended to be a culmination of the students' concentration in which they will bring to bear what their interests have been in developing their focused work in the program. The Capstone course can be either: | | |
| a. A one semester Indepenent Reading and Research course, either [COST 1910](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%201910 "COST 1910") or [1920](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%201920 "COST 1920") OR [BIOL 1950](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%201950 "BIOL 1950") or [1960](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%201960 "BIOL 1960"), depending on the semester; OR | | |
| b. A special project done within an existing Contemplative Studies core or related course at the 1000-level in which the student brings to bear the larger concerns of her concentration on a problem or issue within the course. It is expected that such Capstone research papers will be more substantial than a term paper. | | |
| [BIOL 0280](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%200280 "BIOL 0280") | Biochemistry (lab) | |
| [BIOL 0470](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%200470 "BIOL 0470") | Genetics (lab) | |
| [BIOL 0530](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%200530 "BIOL 0530") | Principles of Immunology | |
| [BIOL 0800](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%200800 "BIOL 0800") | Principles of Physiology (lab) | |
| [BIOL 1880](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%201880 "BIOL 1880") | Comparative Biology of the Vertebrates | |
| [CPSY 0700](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%200700 "CPSY 0700") | Social Psychology | |
| [CPSY 0710](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%200710 "CPSY 0710") | The Psychology and Philosophy of Happiness | |
| [CPSY 1193](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%201193 "CPSY 1193") | Laboratory in Genes and Behavior | |
| [CPSY 1194](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%201194 "CPSY 1194") | Sleep and Chronobiology Research | |
| [CPSY 1291](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%201291 "CPSY 1291") | Computational Methods for Mind, Brain and Behavior | |
| [CPSY 1400](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%201400 "CPSY 1400") | The Neural Bases of Cognition | |
| [CPSY 1490](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%201490 "CPSY 1490") | Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Theory and Practice | |
| [CPSY 1492](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%201492 "CPSY 1492") | Computational Cognitive Neuroscience | |
| [CPSY 1570](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%201570 "CPSY 1570") | Perceptual Learning | |
| [CPSY 1590](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%201590 "CPSY 1590") | Visualizing Vision | |
| [CPSY 1791](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%201791 "CPSY 1791") | Laboratory in Social Cognition | |
| [COST 0200](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%200200 "COST 0200") | Meditation and the Brain | |
| [COST 1020](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%201020 "COST 1020") | Cognitive Neuroscience of Meditation | |
| [NEUR 1020](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=NEUR%201020 "NEUR 1020") | Principles of Neurobiology | |
| [NEUR 1030](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=NEUR%201030 "NEUR 1030") | Neural Systems | |
| [NEUR 1540](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=NEUR%201540 "NEUR 1540") | Neurobiology of Learning and Memory | |
| [NEUR 1600](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=NEUR%201600 "NEUR 1600") | Experimental Neurobiology | |
| [NEUR 1940I](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=NEUR%201940I "NEUR 1940I") | Neural Correlates of Consciousness | |
| [PHP 1600](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHP%201600 "PHP 1600") | Obesity in the 21st Century: Causes, Consequences and Countermeasures | |
| [PHP 1920](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHP%201920 "PHP 1920") | Social Determinants of Health | |
| Others with approval | | |
| One statistics course (others with approval) | | 1 |
| [APMA 0650](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=APMA%200650 "APMA 0650") | Introduction to Probability and Statistics | |
| [APMA 1650](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=APMA%201650 "APMA 1650") | Introduction to Probability and Statistics with Calculus | |
| [BIOL 0495](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%200495 "BIOL 0495") | Statistical Analysis of Biological Data | |
| [CPSY 0900](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CPSY%200900 "CPSY 0900") | Statistical Methods | |
| [PHP 1501](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHP%201501 "PHP 1501") | Essentials of Data Analysis | |
### Humanities Track
The Humanities track explores the origin and development of contemplative practices within specific religious, cultural, and historical contexts and gives students a foundation in the Philosophy of Mind relevant to the scientific study of contemplative practice. Students will choose a concentration program that includes three intermediate and three advanced seminars drawn from the two areas below. While it is recommended that students focus primarily on one of these two areas, the precise balance of the individual concentration program for each student will be established with the concentration advisor when the student applies to enter the concentration, normally in their fourth semester of study.
| | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Six courses, including a Capstone Course, from across the two areas below: | | 6 |
| The Capstone Course is intended to be a culmination of the students' concentration in which they will bring to bear what their interests have been in developing their focused work in the program. The Capstone course can be either: | | |
| a. A one semester Independent Reading and Research course, either [COST 1910](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%201910 "COST 1910") or [1920](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%201920 "COST 1920") OR [BIOL 1950](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%201950 "BIOL 1950") or [1960](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=BIOL%201960 "BIOL 1960"), depending on the semester; OR | | |
| b. A special project done within an existing Contemplative Studies core or related course at the 1000-level in which the student brings to bear the larger concerns of her concentration on a problem or issue within the course. It is expected that such Capstone research papers will be more substantial than a term paper. | | |
| Contemplative Religious Traditions | | |
| [CLAS 0210Y](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CLAS%200210Y "CLAS 0210Y") | The Philosophy of Classical Indian Yoga | |
| [CLAS 0820](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CLAS%200820 "CLAS 0820") | Epics of India | |
| [CLAS 0850](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CLAS%200850 "CLAS 0850") | Mythology of India | |
| [CLAS 0990](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CLAS%200990 "CLAS 0990") | Karma and Free Will: The Self in Indian Philosophy | |
| [CLAS 0995](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CLAS%200995 "CLAS 0995") | India’s Classical Performing Arts | |
| [CLAS 1140](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CLAS%201140 "CLAS 1140") | Classical Philosophy of India | |
| [CLAS 1160](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=CLAS%201160 "CLAS 1160") | Love and Devotion, Power and Poverty: India's Literary Classics | |
| [COST 0145](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%200145 "COST 0145") | Karma, Rebirth and Liberation: Life and Death in South Asian Religions | |
| [COST 0535](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%200535 "COST 0535") | Self Transformation and Transcendence in Later Daoist Contemplative Traditions | |
| [COST 0550](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%200550 "COST 0550") | Tibetan Buddhism and the West | |
| [COST 1420](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=COST%201420 "COST 1420") | The Contemplative Foundations of Classical Daoism | |
| [EAST 1420](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=EAST%201420 "EAST 1420") | The Confucian Mind | |
| [RELS 0045](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%200045 "RELS 0045") | Buddhism and Death | |
| [RELS 0100](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%200100 "RELS 0100") | Buddhist Thought, Practice, and Society | |
| [RELS 0120](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%200120 "RELS 0120") | The Classical Chinese Philosophy of Life | |
| [RELS 1441](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%201441 "RELS 1441") | Zen Meditation in China, Korea, and Japan | |
| [RELS 0570](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%200570 "RELS 0570") | Science, Religion, and the Search for Happiness in Traditional Asian Thought | |
| [RELS 0580](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%200580 "RELS 0580") | Experiencing the Sacred: Embodiment and Aesthetics in South Asian Religions | |
| [RELS 1370B](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%201370B "RELS 1370B") | Philosophy of Mysticism | |
| [RELS 1425](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%201425 "RELS 1425") | Buddhist Poetry | |
| [RELS 1442](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=RELS%201442 "RELS 1442") | The History, Philosophy, and Practice of Rinzai Zen Buddhism | |
| The Pholosophy of Mind | | |
| [PHIL 0110](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%200110 "PHIL 0110") | Ancient Greek Philosophy | |
| [PHIL 0510](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%200510 "PHIL 0510") | Psychology and Philosophy of Happiness | |
| [PHIL 1230](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%201230 "PHIL 1230") | Kant: The Critique of Pure Reason | |
| [PHIL 1240](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%201240 "PHIL 1240") | Kant's Moral Philosophy | |
| [PHIL 1430](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%201430 "PHIL 1430") | Moral Theories | |
| [PHIL 1705](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%201705 "PHIL 1705") | Epistemology | |
| [PHIL 1735](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%201735 "PHIL 1735") | Metaphysics | |
| [PHIL 1755](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%201755 "PHIL 1755") | Philosophy of Science | |
| [PHIL 1800](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=PHIL%201800 "PHIL 1800") | Philosophy of Mind | |
| [UNIV 1520](https://bulletin.brown.edu/search/?P=UNIV%201520 "UNIV 1520") | The Shaping of World Views | |
| Others with approval | | |
### Honors Requirement
Students with a minimum GPA of 3.5 in the concentration may apply for entrance into the Honors program in the middle of their sixth semester. To apply, students submit a proposal for a senior thesis project describing the work to be undertaken and its relevance to the field of Contemplative Studies, along with a copy of their academic transcript. Students accepted into Honors must complete the required Capstone seminar, UNIV 1010, and enroll in an additional semester of independent study in their advisor’s department. Students must complete an Honors Thesis to the satisfaction of their advisor and present the results of their studies in formal talks or poster sessions open to all interested faculty and students.