Fielding Graduate University

What is the history of Fielding Graduate University?

Fielding Graduate University is a private graduate institution founded in 1974 to serve adults whose work and other responsibilities made conventional, campus-based graduate study difficult. It began as the Fielding Institute and later adopted its current name as its academic offerings expanded.

Fielding's history helps explain its educational model: students generally combine independent work and faculty guidance with online interaction and scheduled in-person activities, rather than attending a traditional residential campus full time. The format has changed over time, so applicants should examine the current residency and attendance requirements for their particular degree.

What are the faculties and departments at Fielding Graduate University?

Fielding specializes in graduate and professional education, not associate or bachelor's degrees. Its offerings span psychology, education, leadership, and human and organizational development.

Representative programs include clinical psychology, media psychology, organizational development and change, and leadership-focused doctoral study. Degree titles, departmental homes, and available concentrations can change; the current academic catalog is the appropriate place to compare a program's credential, required coursework, research expectations, and in-person components. For applicants considering clinical practice, the precise degree and training pathway matter more than a broad subject label such as "psychology."

What is the location of Fielding Graduate University?

Fielding is based in Santa Barbara, California, but its students do not all study there on a conventional daily campus schedule. Its distributed-learning model allows students to complete substantial work away from Santa Barbara while attending the in-person activities their programs require.

Santa Barbara is a coastal city served by regional air, rail, and highway connections. Travel planning matters even for students who live elsewhere: a required session may involve transportation, lodging, time away from work, and accessibility arrangements. Applicants should check the location and frequency of their specific program's meetings rather than assume every in-person requirement takes place at the university's administrative address.

What is the mission and vision of Fielding Graduate University?

Fielding describes its mission in terms of graduate education for adult learners and the application of scholarship to social and organizational change. Its approach emphasizes inquiry, collaboration, and connecting academic work with professional practice.

That is a statement of institutional purpose, not evidence that every program produces a particular career or social outcome. Prospective students can assess how the stated approach appears in a program's curriculum, faculty supervision, research requirements, and opportunities to work with peers. Fielding is a private, nonsectarian institution.