Bachelor’s Specialization in Life & Wellness Coachingonline

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Integrate mind & body for a unique approach

Discover powerful Ayurveda wellness techniques for balancing body, mind, and emotions
Learn to empower clients to make improvements in their lives and to facilitate change
Develop a business plan for your own coaching or wellness career
Study online for maximum flexibility
Graduate with a BA degree and MIU Life Coaching certification

Federal grants and loans typically cover all or most costs for US students

Explore the program

Apply Now >Next entry: Feb 2024Request Info >

Integrate mind & body for a unique approach

Discover powerful Ayurveda wellness techniques for balancing body, mind, and emotions
Learn to empower clients to make improvements in their lives and to facilitate change
Develop a business plan for your own coaching or wellness career
Study online for maximum flexibility
Graduate with a BA degree and MIU Life Coaching certification

Federal grants and loans typically cover all or most costs for US students

Explore the program

Awaken your innermost Self

At the heart of this one-of-a-kind program is the understanding that each person is a unique individual.

We’ll teach you to identify a client’s unique mind-body constitution and apply techniques that are compassionate, motivating, and specific to each person to promote change.

Our mission is to help you awaken your innermost self so that you can guide others in the same process of self-realization.

Help create a better world

Widespread change begins within each individual, so the work of a life coach is impactful not only for their clients but for their community and the world.

In this program, you’ll learn to help people enact lasting change and achieve goals, as well as instill self-confidence, develop intrinsic motivation, boost self-esteem, and even help to build a foundation of trust in oneself and others.

Ayurveda wellness

We teach the Maharishi AyurVeda^SM health system – the modern, scientific revival of complete Ayurveda. Maharishi AyurVeda includes balancing the deepest value of mind – consciousness, which is the basis of balancing the body. It incorporates all aspects of mind, body, behavior, and environment in a scientific framework.

Watch the webinar about the Bachelor's with a Specialization in Life & Wellness Coaching, 10 minutes long

Get started by contacting Adriene

Adriene Crimson is this program’s admissions counselor for US students. Adriene will provide you with all the details of becoming a student, including connecting you with program faculty when you have questions. International students may connect with their admissions counselor through our contact form.

Contact Adriene >

Next entry: Feb 2024Apply Now >

Cultivate a balanced approach to life coaching

As a graduate of this program, you’ll take with you a deep understanding and personal mastery of:

Fundamental coaching skills, including active listening, mirroring, motivating, being self-aware, and providing feedback and suggestions.
Principles of healthy living, as described in Maharishi AyurVeda and other contemporary disciplines of health and wellness (e.g., positive psychology, diet and nutrition, and health-related fitness).
Business planning, such as documenting client intake, progress, and outcomes, keeping financial records, managing a schedule, and developing a network of connections to the local community.
Applying the principles of healthy & effective living to your own life to develop radiant health and expanded self-awareness that will serve as a strong foundation for life and wellness coaching.

Online and easy for transfer students

If you transfer in 60+ credits, this degree will only require you to earn 69 additional credits, which can be completed in four semesters. (Inquire with an admissions counselor to learn the exact number of credits needed to graduate.)

This online program allows for maximum flexibility – live and learn wherever suits you best!

Transcendental Meditation & Consciousness-Based Education

Self-knowledge is at the heart of the Consciousness-Based^SM education provided by MIU. Discover how to directly experience your innermost nature through practice of the Transcendental Meditation^® technique, so you can easily connect what you learn to your own life.

The TM technique is an especially powerful tool for life coaching and wellness. Evidence-based benefits include clearer thinking, greater happiness, reduced stress, improved health, and increased motivation.

Degree requirements

To graduate with a Specialization in Life & Wellness Coaching, students must complete:

required courses for the Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences or any other bachelor’s degree program you choose.
32 additional credits of Life & Wellness Coaching courses

Featured courses

A Pathway from Knowledge to Practice

This course lays the foundation for a system of holistic health that can be embodied and shared with others. You’ll learn a code of ethics, how to establish local connections to aid in professional growth, how to explore your vision and priorities and help others do the same, and how to connect with your own personal power. This course gives you the necessary tools to embark on a successful life and wellness coaching career, not to mention building a foundation of trust and compassion with clients.

Life Coaching and the Body

In this course, you’ll learn about common-sense life and wellness coaching through a holistic approach that integrates the Maharishi Ayurvedic principles of cultivating a life that is intrinsically and extrinsically balanced. You’ll practice putting care and focus into the core of everyday life, and learn what holistic care means in terms of considering the physical well-being and health of individuals when working to address imbalances.

During this course, you’ll begin to put knowledge into practice by working towards a health goal of your own. You’ll build a map that will help establish the health goal and aid you in learning how to teach habit changing and goal planning to others.

Capstone Project: Integrating Knowledge and Skills into Coaching

With the help of a volunteer “client,” you’ll document your ability to establish goals for the client’s personal development and assist the client to make progress towards those goals. As a part of this capstone project, you’ll apply and integrate all knowledge you’ve learned, including proper record keeping, scheduling of sessions, active listening, motivational coaching, and forming a coach/client relationship that is built on trust, compassion, understanding, and professionalism.

All Life & Wellness Coaching courses may include:

Maharishi AyurVeda Course on Self-Pulse Reading for Good Health

Self-Pulse Reading is the most ancient and most natural means of determining the level of balance or imbalance in the mind and body. Feeling the pulse enlivens the connection between mind and body, consciousness and matter. Furthermore, the procedure of feeling the pulse produces a balancing effect on the mind and body. This course presents Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s revival of this ancient technology. In this course, students learn how to assess their pulse and detect imbalances early, before they manifest as symptoms of a disease, and how to determine where imbalances are, and how to restore balance. This course includes public speaking exercises. Materials fee: $6

Maharishi AyurVeda Course on Diet, Digestion, and Nutrition

Diet, digestion, and nutrition are fundamental to health. How we metabolize food and drinks directly affects our physiology’s strength, vitality, immunity, and longevity. This course provides practical knowledge of what to eat, how to prepare it, when to eat, and how to eat to maintain or restore balance of the three doshas — the three principal governing factors of intelligence in the mind body system. Topics include the influence of consciousness on the process of digestion and nutrition, gut health, effects of different foods on physiology, categories of food according to their influence on the three doshas, and basic principles of Dravya Guna (Materia Medica) — Vedic herbology. This course includes public speaking exercises and four client encounters. Based on availability, AyurVedic cooking demonstrations are included. Materials fee: $30

Maharishi Yoga Asanas

Yoga is one of the 40 aspects of the Veda and Vedic Literature, representing the unifying quality of consciousness. According to Maharishi, Yoga provides technologies to unfold the experience of the unified level of consciousness or Transcendental Consciousness. The theoretical part of this unique course presents the knowledge of Yoga as unity and provides an understanding of the specific effects of Yoga Asanas on the mind and body — physiology and consciousness. Proper practice of Yoga Asanas — a major aspect of this course — provides students with the experience of deep relaxation, bliss, and expansion of awareness. This course includes public speaking exercises on the effects of Yoga Asanas on specific mental and physical health conditions and the readings of Maharishi’s commentary to the Bhagavad-Gita as the essence of Vedic knowledge and the discipline of Yoga. Onsite materials fee: $5

Foundation of Life and Wellness Coaching: A Pathway from Knowledge to Practice

This introductory course presents the foundational knowledge for Life and Wellness
Coaching to bring balance to the body, mind, and spirit. This lays the foundation for a system of holistic health that can be embodied and shared with others. Students will learn a code of ethics, how to establish local connections to aid in professional growth, how to explore their vision and priorities and help others do the same, and how to connect with their own personal power. This course will offer students the chance to understand their own Self through journaling, class discussion, and self-reflective exercises. This gives the student the necessary tools to embark on a successful Life and Wellness Coaching career, not to mention building a foundation of trust and compassion with clients.

Life and Wellness Coaching I: Life Coaching and the Body

In this course, students will begin to learn common-sense Life and Wellness Coaching through a holistic approach which integrates the Maharishi AyurVeda principles of cultivating a life that is intrinsically and extrinsically balanced. This course provides coursework that will include putting care and focus into the core of everyday life. Students will learn what holistic healthcare means in terms of considering the physical well-being and health of individuals when working to address imbalances. This course puts knowledge into practice as each student begins to work towards a health goal of their own, reflecting on each step through journaling, class discussion, and class activities. Students will build a map that will help establish the health goal and will aid them in learning how to teach habit changing and goal planning to others. This course will provide the knowledge to be successful in goal setting by explaining the different variables that can impede success such as environment, lifestyle, and routine. The goal of this course is to develop Life and Wellness Coaches that lead by example, living a healthy lifestyle in every aspect such as lifestyle, routine, and environment.

Life and Wellness Coaching II: Life Coaching the Mind and Self

This course looks at the mind and Self and their affects over how well a person can commit to change. Students will learn multiple evidence-based approaches to coaching that will promote the client’s will to change. Students will learn how to empower their client’s mind and Self in a holistic and Consciousness-Based approach. Some of the most important aspects of Life and Wellness Coaching is the coach’s ability to ask questions that enliven discussion, lends to credibility, and strengthens trust. Students will learn motivational enhancement techniques, cognitive behavioral coaching, acceptance and commitment coaching, and dialectical behavior coaching as evidence-based coaching tools. Each step will help to enrich the students understanding of how to coach the mind and Self to ensure maximum success for their clients. This online course will provide material for self-reflection exercises, telehealth coaching sessions, and written assignments to promote student understanding in both the classroom and real-world experiences.

Life and Wellness Coaching III: Integrating the Knowledge of Life Coaching into Skills

This course is a culmination of all knowledge from previous courses and prerequisites. Here, students will be able to present the knowledge obtained in a professional, clear, and concise manner as well as apply it in real world scenarios. Choosing a client of their own, students will begin to work towards a faculty approved health goal. Each step of life coaching will be used as students navigate how to instill change in their client. Creating a habit map, offering support at every step, and integrating the knowledge from the previous courses, students will begin documenting their journey towards becoming a Life
and Wellness Coach. The course will include one on one student coaching, written and spoken presentations, and case studies. Students will also begin working with a client of their choosing towards a health goal. This is intended to fully integrate the information learned into a format that can then be carried into professional development and business planning.

Life and Wellness Coaching Telehealth Externship: Applying the Skills of Life and Wellness Coaching

This course will allow students to apply coaching knowledge and skills in a telehealth environment. Students will work 12 hours weekly with the Personal Support Services Life and Wellness Coaching program, helping other MIU students as they navigate academic and everyday life. Coaches will help these students to make plans regarding their personal and academic lives, create habits to become better students, and will help guide them towards balance personally, academically, physically, and emotionally. Coaches will document their interactions with each client, schedule meetings, and submit work that shows their clear understanding of the different approaches taken including the client’s mind-body constitution. This course will prepare students for working with multiple clients in an online setting. Lab fee: $25

Capstone Project: Integrating Knowledge and Skills into Life and Wellness Coaching

Using a volunteer of their choosing, students will continue their work including documenting their ability to establish goals for the client’s personal development and assist the client to make progress towards those goals. Students will apply and integrate all knowledge they have learned to include proper record keeping, scheduling of sessions, active listening, motivational coaching, and forming a coach/client relationship that is built on trust, compassion, understanding, and professionalism. Students will write an essay to reflect on the experience, focusing on what they have learned and how they applied the techniques taught to them. The goal of this project is to instill confidence in students’ ability to successfully coach each client.

Cost & aid for bachelor’s degree programs, 2023-24

US Online Students

Tuition is based on the total number of credits per semester – two semesters per year. Typically, enrollment is two courses at a time, 17 credits (full-time) or one course at a time, 9 credits (3/4 time)

¾ time per semester (9-11 credits)

US Online Undergraduate, ¾ time

The example below can vary by FAFSA analysis of independent student finances or dependent family finances.

Semester Cost and Typical Financial Aid
Tuition and fees	$4,895
Federal grants (maximum)	-$2,450
Net cost per semester	$2,445
Federal student loan	-$2,445
Your payment	$0

Additional Financial Aid Information

Federal Grants

Federal grants are available for full-time and part-time students. The grants vary depending on income level as determined by the FAFSA, and by credit load per semester. Students in higher-income categories may not qualify for federal grants.

Employer Waiver Program

Many companies offer tuition assistance programs to their employees. If you’re currently employed, we encourage you to check on this. If they offer assistance, please contact MIU’s Financial Aid office.

Scholarship from MIU

Part-time online students benefit from a proportionately lower tuition than the full-time rate. For example, a half-time student’s tuition is less than half the full-time tuition. Because these discounts are included in the part-time tuition, an additional MIU scholarship isn’t available for part-time students.

Federal Student Loans

Federal Student Loans have limits based on lifetime usage, annual limits, and limited to the educational costs for each semester. Here are the annual maximum limits:

$5,500 per year for first-year dependent
$6,500 per year for second-year dependent
$7,500 per year for third, fourth, fifth-year dependent
$9,500 per year for first-year independent
$10,500 per year for second-year independent
$12,500 per year for third, fourth, fifth-year independent

Federal Student Loan Repayment

Federal Student Loan Repayment is postponed as long as you are enrolled at least half-time each semester. If your enrollment drops below half-time, you have a six-month grace period before repayment begins. There are also postponements for low income and unemployment, as well as repayment based on income and Public Service Forgiveness.

Education Tax Incentives

There are a variety of money-saving tax benefits to assist in reducing the cost of education expenses. More about education tax benefits.

Veterans

Veterans should contact the VA for information on Veterans Education Benefits. Veterans eligible for BAH monthly benefits: The VA utilizes a scale of credits per block of courses; therefore, the VA sometimes pays part-time benefits for an individual month while the university delivers full-time federal aid for an entire semester. Our Veterans Certifying Official is our Director of Financial Aid.

Loan Repayment Options

Standard

Payments are a fixed amount that ensures your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).

Extended

Payments may be fixed or graduated and will ensure that your loans are paid off within 25 years.

Graduated

Payments are lower at first and then increase, usually every two years, and are for an amount that will ensure your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).

Income-Based

Your monthly payments will be either 10 or 15 percent of discretionary income (depending on when you received your first loans), but never more than you would have paid under the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan.

Income Contingent

Payments are recalculated each year and are based on your updated income, family size, and the total amount of your Direct Loans. Any outstanding balance will be forgiven if you haven’t repaid your loan in full after 25 years.

Income Sensitive

Your monthly payment is based on annual income, but your loan will be paid in full within 15 years.

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date. For more information, contact us at finaid@miu.edu for a quick reply — normally one business day — or see more about financial aid.

½ time per semester (6-8 credits)

US Online Undergraduate, ½ time

The example below can vary by FAFSA analysis of independent student finances or dependent family finances.

Semester Cost and Typical Financial Aid
Tuition and fees	$2,895
Federal grants (maximum)	-$1,850
Net cost per semester	$1,045
Federal student loan	-$1,045
Your payment	$0

Additional Financial Aid Information

Federal Grants

Employer Waiver Program

Scholarship from MIU

Federal Student Loans

Federal Student Loans have limits based on lifetime usage, annual limits, and limited to the educational costs for each semester. Here are the annual maximum limits:

$5,500 per year for first-year dependent
$6,500 per year for second-year dependent
$7,500 per year for third, fourth, fifth-year dependent
$9,500 per year for first-year independent
$10,500 per year for second-year independent
$12,500 per year for third, fourth, fifth-year independent

Federal Student Loan Repayment

Education Tax Incentives

There are a variety of money-saving tax benefits to assist in reducing the cost of education expenses. More about education tax benefits.

Veterans

Loan Repayment Options

Standard

Payments are a fixed amount that ensures your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).

Extended

Payments may be fixed or graduated and will ensure that your loans are paid off within 25 years.

Graduated

Payments are lower at first and then increase, usually every two years, and are for an amount that will ensure your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans).

Income-Based

Income Contingent

Income Sensitive

Your monthly payment is based on annual income, but your loan will be paid in full within 15 years.

Summer – One course (4 credits)

US Online Undergraduate, less than ½ time (4 credits)

The example below can vary by FAFSA analysis of independent student finances or dependent family finances.

Cost – less than ½ time
Tuition	$2,000
Federal grants (maximum)	-$900
Net cost	$1,100
Federal student loans (not available)	0
Your payment	$1,100

Full-Time (12 or more credits)

International Online Students

International Online Undergraduate

Typically, online enrollment is two courses at a time (17 credits) or one course at a time (9 credits), per semester (two semesters per year).

Tuition and Fees per Semester
Full-time (12 or more credits)	$8,095
¾ time (9-11 credits)	$4,895
½ time (6-8 credits)	$2,895
Fewer than 5 credits	$500 per credit

Tuition, other fees, scholarships, and financial policies are subject to change prior to the entry date.

FAQ

What career opportunities are available to graduates of this program?

Many life coaches choose to be self-employed and often specialize in specific client needs, such as career coaching, relationships, spirituality, fitness, retirement, work-life balance, general wellness, etc.Corporations also hire coaches to help ensure a good work environment for employees. Coaches can work in the healthcare industry alongside doctors to help patients meet health goals. There are also many gyms and studios that employ coaches to help clients meet goals and enact change.

How many hours per week should I expect to spend on this online program?

You should plan to spend 12-14 hours per week for a 4-credit eight-week course. If you are taking 2 courses during an eight-week period, you should plan to spend 24-28 hours per week reading, creating assignments and discussion forum posts, and studying course materials.The time it takes to complete an online course successfully depends on your willingness to stick to a regular schedule and learn to study effectively more than on any other factor.

How do you make the online learning experience effective and fulfilling?

We accomplish this by using an online learning platform that students find highly engaging. The program also features an extensive collaboration between students and one-on-one interaction between our faculty and each student.

What is the difference between a major and a specialization?

An undergraduate major is a primary field of study during your undergraduate years. This major defines the actual degree and specifies core courses, electives, and the foundational knowledge that you will acquire. An academic specialization is a more concentrated area of courses which you can choose in addition (32 additional credits) to your major field, which may be in the same disciplinary area or something different.