Online Courses – The Australian Institute of Parapsychological Research

AIPR Certificate in Parapsychology and AIPR Advanced Certificate in Parapsychology

Introduction to the Courses

The AIPR Certificate in Parapsychology and the AIPR Advanced Certificate in Parapsychology online 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 instill 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. However, the courses are not accredited.

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 original 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 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, except Contemporary Issues I and II which are AUD$100.00 each. 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$70.00.

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 (20% of the fee will be retained to cover administrative costs). 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.)

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 due date for essays, or completion of the course, but students are advised to make a start on their first essay within a few months of enrolment when motivation is high.

Satisfactory completion of a unit entails at least a ‘Pass’ for a submitted written assignment that takes the form of an original review or theoretical essay. NB: WE DO NOT ACCEPT PLAGIARISED MATERIAL IN ESSAYS–STUDENTS MUST DEMONSTRATE COMPREHENSION OF THE READINGS BY WRITING THEIR ESSAYS IN THEIR OWN WORDS. 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. Essays are assessed (double-marked) by the course director, Dr. L. Storm and AIPR qualified associates, and graded according to the following marks scheme:

Classification	Grade
High Distinction	85% to 100%
Distinction	75% to 84%
Credit	65% to 74%
High Pass	55% to 64%
Pass	40% to 54%
Compensatable Fail	30% to 39%
Fail	< 30%

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. Hard-copy versions from typewriters must be photocopied by the student for their own security, and posted in duplicate to the examiners.

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 drawn from either or both lists must be reviewed in the essay. Students should also use references from other sources (e.g., Google Scholar, FindArticles, 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 the Society for Psychical Research’s The Psi Encyclopedia and the Parapsychology Foundation’s Abstracts & Articles. Students should regard the unit readings as starting points only in their research.

Students are invited to contact Dr. Storm 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 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% to 39%) for no more than 3 (three) essays.

If the 5-essay average falls below 40%, a student can resubmit an essay that reached the compensatable fail mark, provided that the examiners’ recommended changes are made to the essay. An average mark for all 5 (five) essays is then re-calculated, and a classification is determined. If then 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

The following two books are used in some units of both courses (i.e., Survival or Super-Psi?; Parapsychology—Present and Future; Experimental Issues in Parapsychology; Sociological and Phenomenological Issues in Parapsychology; Survival Issues in Parapsychology; and The Theory of Psychopraxia) so students are encouraged to purchase them if they undertake any of these units:

Storm, L., & Thalbourne, M. A. (Eds.). (2006). The Survival of Human Consciousness: Essays on the Possibility of Life after Death. McFarland. Click Here to Order

Thalbourne, M. A. & Storm, L. (Eds.). (2005). Parapsychology in the Twenty-First Century: Essays on the Future of Psychical Research. McFarland. Click Here to Order

This book by Dr. Harvey Irwin is helpful in providing a background to the field of parapsychology:

Irwin, H. J. (2013). Education in Parapsychology: Student and Instructor Perspectives. AIPR, Inc. Click Here to Order

You can order copies of these and other texts when you enrol — postage is free!

The Units

AIPR Certificate in Parapsychology course units:

History of Parapsychology (1882-1932)
The Parapsychology of J. B. Rhine
Survival or Super-Psi?
Extra-Ordinary Paranormal Feats
Conspiracy and Controversy in Parapsychology
Parapsychology—Present and Future
Contemporary Issues in Parapsychology I (Open Unit)

AIPR Advanced Certificate in Parapsychology course units:

Methodology in Parapsychology (recommended)
Experimental Issues in Parapsychology
Sociological and Phenomenological Issues in Parapsychology
Survival Issues in Parapsychology
Characteristics of Believers in the Paranormal
Psi and Mainstream Science
The Theory of Psychopraxia
Synchronicity and Psi
Parapsychology and Astrology
Contemporary Issues in Parapsychology II (Open Unit)

AIPR Certificate in Parapsychology
AIPR Advanced Certificate in ParapsychologyClick Here to Enrol

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. Rowan and Littlefield.

Cardeña, E., Palmer, J., & Marcusson-Clavertz, D. (Eds.). (2015). Parapsychology: A handbook for the 21st century. McFarland.

Irwin, H. J., & Watt, C. A. (2007). An introduction to parapsychology (5^th ed.). McFarland.

Lester, D. (2005). Is there life after death? An examination of the empirical evidence. McFarland.

Radin, D. I. (2006). Entangled minds. Paraview/Pocket Books.