University of the West Online

This course explores unique issues in Buddhist chaplaincy. Attention is given to an overview of scriptures across Buddhist traditions that have informed ministry, spiritual care and counseling techniques, and the chaplain’s personal spiritual practice.

The Counseling Children and Adolescents course is designed to provide students in the Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) graduate program with a comprehensive understanding of the intricate and dynamic process of child and adolescent psychotherapy within the context of family systems. This course aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and ethical considerations necessary to effectively work with children and adolescents in the context of therapeutic interventions. Recognizing the pivotal role that children and adolescents play within family dynamics, this course holds immense relevance for future marriage and family therapists.

Introduces the concept of mindfulness and its influence on Western psychotherapeutic research and practice and historical and contemporary literature on the efficacy and effectiveness of mindful-based therapeutic approaches on the process and outcome of treatment. (UWEST Graduate Course Descriptions)

This course will prepare students for informed, active engagement with personal and community challenges involving the natural world and human impacts on the environment.

The fundamental premise of this course is that human health and well being are fully equivalent to environmental health. "Environmental leadership," in every respect, aligns directly with the primary Buddhist values of relieving suffering and sustaining the health of all beings.

We will explore historical understandings of the environment in diverse traditions, the modern scientific understanding of the environment – including earth systems, the biosphere and ecology, the evolving human relationship to the environment and to all life, environmental justice, anthropocentrism and alienation from nature, just solutions to environmental problems (involving adaptation and mitigation) -- leading to equilibrium and sustainable, steady-state human relationships to the environment. Students will be asked to evaluate selected environmental issues at global, national, regional, state, and local levels and to identify sustainable solutions. Course will include introduction to basic tools and skills necessary for informed analysis of environmental issues (these will include: analytical logic, statistics, field biology, mapping and GIS, evaluation of data as evidence). In-class discussions and individual or group presentations will be an import aspect of ths course.

Introduction to the basics of Japanese including pronunciation, grammar, & basic reading & writing of Hiragana & Katakana with an emphasis on speaking & listening to standard conversational Japanese.

Provides an understanding of, & competency in, basic mathematics, including operations in whole numbers, fractions, mixed numbers, decimals, geometry, measurement, ratio, proportion, percent, statistics & emphasis on problem solving.

Dear Students,

BUS 417 Federal Tax Law course teaches the fundamental concepts, theories, techniques & regulations of the Federal individual and corporate taxation in the United States. This course examines the tax treatment of topics, such as gross income & exclusions, general deductions & losses, business deductions & losses, cost recovery, employee business expenses, itemized deductions, certain tax credits, and tax treatment of corporations. Emphasis is placed on the mechanics and problem-solving skills, based on actual, hand-on completion of tax forms and tax calculations to enhance students' understanding of the underlying tax theories and practices.

I hope that you will enjoy this course and wish you the best luck!

Professor Sahakyan

A lab-comparable component to the study of Buddhist meditation, this class takes a hands-on approach to the understanding and experimentation of traditional and/or contemporary methods of mental cultivation. The methods of meditation will primarily be based on the 16 steps of breathing exercise as outlined in the Ānāpānasati-sutta, a foundational early Buddhist text that has been a source of much inspiration and controversies. The class will perform detailed analysis of those canonical meditation techniques, as well as resourceful ways of applying them in different situations. Much class discussion will be dedicated to exploring how these techniques map onto what we know about the connections between psychological behaviors and the generation of stress—the key theme in the Buddha’s path of resolving suffering.

Surveys international trade theory, commercial trade policy, international finance, & open-economy macroeconomics. Discusses international flow of goods, services, assets, & payments & regulating policies. Evaluates government policies & current trends.

Reviews relevant philosophies; discusses ethics from different religious perspectives, particularly humanistic Buddhism, & emphasizes how such philosophy & ethics can be effectively used in modern organizations & management.

Why This is Important?

How can you be an ethical corporate citizen in an increasingly complex, multiple-stakeholder world?

This is the most pressing question facing businesses today, small and large, local and global. Business Ethics is a thorough yet accessible exploration of the main ethical theories and how these apply to the major stakeholders facing this question.

This online course gives Doctor of Buddhist Ministry students an opportunity to engage in an advance critique of literature related to Buddhist ministry and explore the issues that contextualize their research area. Students will investigate how other scholars have addressed Buddhist issues in pragmatic contexts through textual and applied research. During the course, they will begin constructing a framework from which to develop a research project.

Reviews relevant philosophies; discusses ethics from different religious perspectives, particularly humanistic Buddhism, & emphasizes how such philosophy & ethics can be effectively used in modern organizations & management.

Why This is Important?

How can you be an ethical corporate citizen in an increasingly complex, multiple-stakeholder world?

This is the most pressing question facing businesses today, small and large, local and global. Business Ethics is a thorough yet accessible exploration of the main ethical theories and how these apply to the major stakeholders facing this question.

This class is a survey of the doctrinal contexts, theoretical frameworks, and the practice of and approaches to early Buddhist meditation. The course will contain both the emic/practitioner’s perspective as well as the study of meditation as an academic discipline.

Topics to be covered and discussed in this course include (primarily presented in this order): The etymology of meditation; the soteriology of Buddhist meditation; The dynamics of Calm and Insight (śamatha-vipaśyanā); the role of concentration and the nature of attention; mindfulness, clear comprehension, ardency, and other requisites in the culture of Buddhist mental development; meditative absorption/immersion/composure (jhāna); the controversies over jhāna and other aspects of meditation; stages of insight and the supramundane fruitions; eidetic and “antidotal” meditations; and new horizons in the study of meditation and consciousness.

Introduces the manner in which research studies are created through quasi-experimental and experimental designs, ways in which research data is analyzed, and the implications of data interpretation, while applying the key lenses of ethics and culture.

This course will explore the historical views and current perspectives of abnormal behavior, including categorical versus dimensional perspectives. Major diagnostic categories and criteria, individual and social factors of maladaptive behavior, and types of therapy are reviewed. Additionally, various methods of clinical assessment and research strategies are covered. Special attention is paid to the impact of culture on abnormality.

Examines the theories, etiology, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of alcohol and substance use disorders and addiction through the lenses of resiliency, recovery, medical, and Buddhist psychology models, with special attention to co-occurring disorders.

Use and interpretation of financial statements; evaluation of accounting information systems; accounting for and analysis of costs; managerial use of accounting data for planning and decision making.

Reviews relevant philosophies; discusses ethics from different religious perspectives, particularly humanistic Buddhism, & emphasizes how such philosophy & ethics can be effectively used in modern organizations & management.

Why This is Important?

How can you be an ethical corporate citizen in an increasingly complex, multiple-stakeholder world?

This is the most pressing question facing businesses today, small and large, local and global. Business Ethics is a thorough yet accessible exploration of the main ethical theories and how these apply to the major stakeholders facing this question.

Discusses the risks and rewards associated with investment and financing of residential and commercial real estate, including investing, development financing, appraising, consulting, and managing of portfolios, leasing, and corporate real estate.

Course Objectives

• Able to describe the risks and rewards of real estate financing
• Able to describe the risks and rewards of real estate investments
• Able to develop a comprehensive analysis and plan for real estate financing and investments

This course examines aspects of suffering, social engagement, spiritual maturity and leading from within, through a developed meditation practice, ritualized life, awareness of conditioning, perspective taking, and spiritual bypass as seen in traditional and contemporary texts.

In this course, we explore meaning and purpose through the lens of storytelling, examining how cognitive narratives shape our perceptions of reality, ethics, and human experience. We are fundamentally storytelling beings, crafting stories to make sense of the world and, in turn, being shaped by the narratives we inherit and encounter. Religion and science, as two dominant storytelling frameworks, inform societal structures, individual identities, and our collective worldview. Stories tell about who we are, where we come from, and what our future holds.
Key Questions:
•    How do religion, science, and society intersect to shape our understanding of the world and ourselves?
•    What does it mean to be "storytelling beings," and how do stories guide our perception of reality?
•    How do information and misinformation shape beliefs, behaviors, and societal structures?
•    How do we ethically engage with stories and ideas in a world saturated with distractions?
•    How does our place in the universe influence the stories we tell about existence and meaning?

Introduction to the basics of Japanese including pronunciation, grammar, & basic reading & writing of Hiragana & Katakana with an emphasis on speaking & listening to standard conversational Japanese.

Provides an understanding of, & competency in, basic mathematics, including operations in whole numbers, fractions, mixed numbers, decimals, geometry, measurement, ratio, proportion, percent, statistics & emphasis on problem solving.

This is a self-paced course on learning how to use Zotero. 

Zotero is a reference manager that allows you to quickly collect, organize, and cite your sources. Here's quick 4 minute video on