|
Introduction to the Courses
The AIPR
Certificate in Parapsychology and the AIPR Advanced Certificate in Parapsychology courses give students an education in the field of parapsychology by
providing a comprehensive understanding and awareness of claims of, and
evidence for, paranormal phenomena. The main aim of these courses is to
instil in students an orientation towards parapsychology that gives them
the capacity to:
-
acquire and apply knowledge relevant to a range of
areas in parapsychology
-
appreciate the necessity of applying scientific
principles to parapsychological studies
-
understand the problems faced by researchers in the
study of paranormal phenomena
-
engage in critical thinking and objective evaluation
of parapsychological research findings and other paranormal claims
-
accept the view that parapsychology is an
accumulative field of inquiry that grows through continual
break-through in theory development and experimental discoveries
-
communicate, clearly and concisely, basic assumptions
and findings in the science of parapsychology
Structure of the Courses
There are no other parapsychology courses like these in Australia or overseas, but they follow the
conventional higher-education (tertiary) course design. That is, they are
comprised of specific units (i.e., learning-area modules of study), which
cover a representative range of themes and issues in contemporary
parapsychology.
The courses consist of integrated programs of readings only, and most of these
are accessed on-line through the Australian Institute of Parapsychological
Research (AIPR), Incorporated. The AIPR acts as authorising institute and
agent for the courses. Please note that there are no accompanying
lessons or lecture materials, no work-books, or study guides for the
units; The only work expected of students is that they read the readings
and write one essay for each unit (for further details, see the ASSESSMENT section below).
There is no entry requirement for enrolment, though students who have
completed secondary school will be better suited to the demands of the
courses. It is advised that students unfamiliar with formal scientific
parapsychology, or have no training in the use of statistics to analyse
quantitative data, complete the Certificate course first, before
attempting the Advanced Certificate. Completion of either course in
5 (five) appropriate units leads to the award of the AIPR
Certificate in Parapsychology or AIPR
Advanced Certificate in Parapsychology.
Fees
As a special introductory offer,
and for a limited time only, the fee for a unit will be AUD$125.00
(USD$96.00; EUR€75.00; GBP£50.00), except Contemporary
Issues I and II which are AUD$100.00 each (USD$75.00; EUR€60.00; GBP£40.00).
The standard fees are generally twice these amounts.
Students who pay for 5 (five) units in advance will receive one year’s free subscription to the Australian
Journal of Parapsychology (published by AIPR in June and
December) valued at AUD$50.00 (USD$38.00; EUR€30.00;
GBP£20.00).
If a unit is not attempted (i.e., an essay is not submitted and
the student notifies an administrator of their withdrawal), payment for
that unit is redeemable, but not in full (10% of the fee will be
retained for administrative purposes). If a student fails a unit, the fee for that unit is not refundable.
Upon payment for a unit or units, the applicant will
be sent a receipt and will be officially registered as a student. Unit
outlines can be accessed from this page (see The Units below). Unit
outlines contain links to the course material, which can be downloaded,
including essay topics, relevant articles, most book chapters, and other
support material. Students who do not have Internet access can have
materials mailed to them. (Please note that Course material is
accessible before payment so that informed choices about units can be
made, but only enrolled students are entitled to submit assignments for
assessment.)
Assessment
In order to qualify for either of the two Certificates, students must
complete 5 (five) designated units appropriate to the course they
undertake. Units in each course are not interchangeable. There is no
time frame for completion of the course.
Satisfactory
completion of a unit entails at least a ‘Pass’ for a
submitted written assignment that takes the form of a review or
theoretical essay. Essays for the Certificate
course are to be no more
than 2000 words each,
and essays for the Advanced
Certificate course are to be no
more than 3000 words each. Essays are assessed (double-marked) by the two course administrators, Dr.
L. Storm and Dr. H. Jenkins, or qualified associates, and
graded according to the following marks scheme:
|
Classification
|
Grade
|
|
Fail
|
< 30%
|
|
Compensatable Fail
|
30% to 39%
|
|
Pass
|
40% to 64%
|
|
Credit
|
65% to 74%
|
|
Distinction
|
75% to 84%
|
|
High Distinction
|
85% to 100%
|
Essays may be typed (double-spaced) on computer (with back-up) and
submitted as an e-mail attachment, or typed as a manuscript on a
typewriter. Hardcopy versions from typewriters must be photocopied
by the student for their own security, and posted in
duplicate
to the markers.
The essay topic is provided in each unit. The essay
will consist of a review or discussion of the theme with arguments
backed up by reference to relevant material. References must include
articles or book chapters that appear in the lists provided
specifically for that unit. There are two types of readings: Required
Reading, which students must read, and Optional
Readings, which are used mainly as reference
sources for essays, though it is expected that any optional
reference be read if it is to be used as a reference. A
total of at least
4 (four) references from the two lists must be reviewed in the essay. Students should also use references from
other sources (e.g., HighBeam,
FindArticles, Parapsychological
Association, Parapsychology
Foundation, and university and local libraries), but these
references must be in addition to the count of 4
(four) mandatory references from the two lists in the given unit.
Students may find other relevant references at Parapsychology
Sources and Psi
Research. Students should regard the unit readings as starting
points only in their research.
Students are invited to contact either Dr. Storm or
Dr. Jenkins via e-mail or telephone if they need advice on article
selection, or any other aspect of research and essay writing.
Students are expected to use the APA-style of the American
Psychological Association in their essays and should consult
appropriate texts or online services for guidelines (e.g., APA
Style Tips or
WTS
Indiana University). Note that the Australian Journal
of Parapsychology is formatted in the APA style, and
students can use their complimentary copies as guidelines to
formatting citations and references in their essays.
Grading Procedure
To complete
the whole course, a student must:
·
reach the
minimum pass mark overall of 40%, the average mark for all 5 (five) essays,
and;
·
reach the
compensatable fail mark (30%) for no more than 2 (two) essays.
If
the 5-essay average falls below 40%, a student can resubmit one
or both essays that reached the compensatable fail mark of 30%,
provided that the markers’ recommended changes be made to the essay(s).
Essays that scored marks of 40% (or higher) in the first round cannot be
re-submitted. An average of marks for all 5 (five) essays is then
re-calculated, and a classification is determined. If the overall grade is at
least a ‘Pass’, the student is awarded the Certificate. If the overall
grade is still a ‘Fail’ on average (i.e., below 40%), the student must
take up a sixth unit, and submit an essay for that unit in order to get a
grade that will make up the difference needed to reach a ‘Pass’.
Course Texts
(These two books are the official textbooks for both
courses, so students are encouraged to purchase them. You can order copies of these and other texts when you enrol--postage
is free! You can
also purchase a copy of Parapsychology
in the Twenty-First Century from Michael
Thalbourne.
Storm, L., & Thalbourne, M. A. (Eds.). (2006). The survival
of human consciousness: Essays on the
possibility of life after death. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Thalbourne,
M. A. & Storm, L. (Eds.). (2005). Parapsychology in the twenty-first
century: Essays on the future of psychical research. Jefferson, NC:
McFarland.
Introductory Texts
(Recommended reading. The following texts
are reliable preparatory texts for both courses (see
also, Introduction
to Scientific Literature on Parapsychology).
Braude, S.
E. (2003). Immortal remains: The evidence for life after death. New
York: Rowan and Littlefield.
Broughton,
R. S. (1991). Parapsychology: The controversial science. New York:
Ballantine.
Irwin, H. J.
(2004). An introduction to
parapsychology (4th
ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Lester, D. (2005). Is
there life after death? An examination of the empirical evidence. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Radin, D. I.
(2006). Entangled minds.
New York: Paraview/Pocket Books.
Further Reading
Heath, P. R.
(2000). The PK zone: A
cross-cultural review of psychokinesis (PK). New York: iUniverse Inc.
Kurtz, P.
(Ed.). (1985). A skeptics’s handbook
of parapsychology. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus.
Thalbourne,
M. A. (2003). A glossary of terms used in parapsychology. Charlottesville, VA: Puente.
Thalbourne,
M. A. (2004). The common thread between ESP
and PK. New York: The Parapsychology Foundation.
Wolman, B.
B. (Ed.). (1977). Handbook of
parapsychology. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Other Reading
See
the AIPR website:
Course Administrators/Assessors
Dr.
Lance Storm
Anomalistic
Psychology Research Unit
School
of Psychology
University
of Adelaide
Adelaide
SA 5005
AUSTRALIA
E-mail: lance.storm@adelaide.edu.au
TEL.
+61 8 8303 5230 (W)
+61 8 8443 5059 (H)
FAX. +61 8 8303 3770
Dr. Hannah
Jenkins
University
of Tasmania
Hobart
TAS 7005
AUSTRALIA
E-mail: hjenkins@utas.edu.au
MOB. +61
0417 175 875
biographies
Hannah
Jenkins earned a B.A. (Honours) in
philosophy (1992) at the University of Sydney,
an M.A. (Honours) in
philosophy (2004) at the University of New South Wales, and
a Ph.D. in philosophy at the
University of Tasmania.
She has published in
the Australian Journal of Parapsychology
and for a series on Consequentiality
published by the Expanding Consciousness Network as well as presented papers
at various philosophy conferences in Australia. She is
President
of the Australian Institute of
Parapsychological Research, Inc.
Lance
Storm earned a B.A. (Honours) in psychology (1998) and a
Ph.D. in parapsychology (2002) at the University of Adelaide, South Australia.
He has published in Psychological
Bulletin, the Journal of
Parapsychology, Journal of Scientific Exploration, the Jungian
journal Quadrant, and elsewhere. He is a full member of the Parapsychological
Association, and the Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research, Inc.,
of whose journal the Australian Journal
of Parapsychology he is
current editor. He is co-recipient with Dr. Michael
Thalbourne, of the D. Scott Rogo Award for Literature (2002) from the
Parapsychology Foundation. In 2003, he was
awarded the Gertrude R. Schmeidler Student of the Year Award
by the
Parapsychology Association for work in
parapsychology, and
in 2007
the Parapsychology Foundation honoured him again by awarding him the
Frances P. Bolton Fellowship.
He is co-editor of the books Parapsychology
in the Twenty-First Century
(2005), and The
Survival of Human Consciousness
(2006), and author of the book
The Enigma of Numbers (2008).
As a Research Fellow, he regularly conducts parapsychological
research at the School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, where he
assisted Dr. Michael A. Thalbourne in establishing an Anomalistic
Psychology Research Unit.
Free Hit Counters
|
