Fielding Graduate University (previously Fielding Graduate Institute and The Fielding Institute) is a private graduate-level university in Santa Barbara, California. It offers postgraduate and doctoral studies mainly in psychology, education, and organizational studies, primarily through distance education programs.  

Fielding Graduate University was founded in 1974 by Frederic M. Hudson, Hallock Hoffman, and Renata Tesch.

Academics
The university offers graduate-level degrees (certificate, master's, and doctoral programs) in clinical psychology, media psychology, educational leadership, organizational leadership, and human development.

, its School of Leadership offers "accelerated" Ph.D. degrees that can be earned in as little as three years, and its School of Psychology offers a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology that can be earned in five or six years. The average (mean) time to complete a PhD program at Fielding is 7.5 years.

The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). The program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA Commission on Accreditation). The APA accreditation of the university's clinical psychology PhD program was restored in 2019 after being listed on probation.

Partnerships
Fielding offers a doctorate in Creative Leadership through the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), is developing a doctoral program in urban leadership and entrepreneurship with the University of District of Columbia and Tulane University’s Payson Center for Global Development, and established the Center for the Advancement of STEM Leadership with UVI, North Carolina A&T, and the Association of American Colleges & Universities. The latter earned a $9 million National Science Foundation grant in 2018.

In 2015 the university was granted special consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Notable alumni 
 Evelyn Torton Beck - Writer and feminist
 Randall Bell - Real estate economist and author
 Tara Brach - Psychologist and meditation expert
 Dave Caplan - Producer and television writer
 Salud Carbajal - United States Representative from California's 24th congressional district
 Marshall Colt - Television actor, psychologist
 K. Drorit "Dee" Gaines - Neuropsychologist and radio host
 Steven Hassan - Founder of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center, author, speaker, de-programming expert
 Devon Jersild - Psychologist and author
 Janja Lalich - Sociologist studying cults
 Gina Loudon - Republican activist
 Lyle Nelson - Four Time Olympian in the Biathlon, 13-time United States or North American Champion
 Marilyn Price-Mitchell - Psychologist and columnist
 Ref Rodriguez - Former Los Angeles Unified School District board member
 Judith Sewell Wright - American author, speaker, lifestyles expert, and life coach

Notable faculty 
 Four Arrows - Education, leadership, and psychology scholar
 Tiffany Field - Psychologist
 Ruthellen Josselson - Clinical psychologist
 Malcolm Knowles - Adult education scholar
 Jeremy J. Shapiro - Psychologist and social theorist

References

External links
Official website

Fielding Graduate University
Universities and colleges in Santa Barbara County, California
Buildings and structures in Santa Barbara, California
Educational institutions established in 1974
1974 establishments in California
Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges