Professional Parapsychology Courses Online
Fall Courses Begin in October
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FEATURED CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS:
Investigating the Paranormal, Scientific Parapsychology, & Expressing Conscious Living certificates. Click through for details about ALL Certificate Programs.
Fall Courses 2026
This course is required for all certificate programs.
In this course students will be introduced to the topics that are studied by professional parapsychologists. Topics will include an overview of the phenomena (Telepathy, Clairvoyance, Precognition, Psychokinesis, and Survival Issues), history, research methodologies and researchers that make up the vibrant field of scientific parapsychology. The course textbook is Introduction to Parapsychology, 5th edition by Harvey Irwin and Caroline Watt. Besides the weekly class broadcasts, there is an online discussion forum for students to share their ideas, answer questions about the lectures, and communicate with the instructors.
Students who choose to be graded in this course will receive letter grades based on their participation in the weekly discussion forums, and their scores on two multiple choice/short answer essay tests given in weeks 4 and week 8. Students who complete this course with a passing grade will receive a certificate of completion from the Rhine Education Center.
This 6-week course provides a discussion of the ethical issues that can arise in psi research and field investigations and introduces practices to ensure ethical considerations are being addressed. Topics will include the basic foundation of ethics including an introduction to Institutional Review Boards and the ethical guidelines used by professional researchers. In addition, examples will be provided from real-life investigations and situations that are often encountered by field investigators.
Besides paranormal investigations, investigations also include exploring reincarnation, and practices related to mediumship and after-death communications.
This 5-session seminar course will follow the text An Artist’s Thought Book: Intriguing thoughts about the artistic process. Through an examination of five main topics (To be an artist, singing and music, painting, poetry, and the nature of creativity) students will explore their own artistic reactions to 80 maxims – one or two sentence observations – presented in the text and discussed in the context of an interactive class.
This course will integrate discussions of the dream process and how dreams can inspire or assist in the creative process. Does psi emerge through dreams or can it be expresses in artistic project or works?
This is a seminar course with a limited enrollment to accommodate live discussion, but students may also participate asynchronously in the online discussion forums in order to expand their exploration or attend classes they miss. Attendance of the live class meetings is strongly encouraged to get the most out of this course.
In this eight-week academic course, students will examine two of the most carefully studied phenomena connected to the question of survival after death: Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and Cases of the Reincarnation Type (CORT). The first four weeks focus on NDEs—their characteristic features, the methods researchers use to investigate them, the range of physiological, psychological, and survival-oriented explanations, and what the strongest evidence currently reveals about consciousness near the point of death. The second four weeks turn to Cases of the Reincarnation Type, exploring the classic research approaches developed in this field, the hallmarks of the most evidential cases, possible explanations, and the implications these reports hold for personal identity and the possibility of life after death.
The course emphasizes what science can—and cannot—currently tell us about the afterlife while remaining grounded in the evidence. For both phenomena, students will learn the factual findings from decades of systematic investigation, how to evaluate competing interpretations with clarity and balance, and how these spontaneous experiences are studied outside the laboratory.
This is a Seminar course that will involve live student interaction and discussion. Limited Enrollment.
Is the truth really out there?
Movies and TV shows like the Exorcist, Ghost, Stranger Things, The OA, and the X-Files all represent psychic phenomena and the paranormal with great insight and often engaging stories. Of course, many of the events in these shows are completely fictional, but some of the stories actually reflect real events or results that have been observed by parapsychologists! On the other hand, paranormal reality shows claim to present events and phenomena truthfully, but actually reflect a “reality” created by uninformed television producers.
This fun course will explore movies, TV (fictional and reality), and literature and separate the truth from fiction. It will explore how popular culture is influenced by psi experiences, beliefs, and misconceptions about the phenomena. More importantly, it will explore how media representations of psi influence the public's beliefs in and about psi, even to the point of affecting how people experience psi events when they happen.
This 4-week course will explore some of the important people who helped to build the field of parapsychology and who made major breakthroughs that revolutionized the sciences. This course focuses on the people, their lives and their contributions, to give depth to our understanding of the evolution of parapsychology from the 19th century through modern times.
This course will include some of the original psychical researchers, the early years of parapsychology in academic environments, major contributors through the mid to late 20th century, and some more recent researchers who have made their marks on the field.
How do we explore spontaneous psi experiences and very unusual activity that happens in daily life?
This 8 week academic course will discuss the nature of spontaneous experiences, the types of experiences explored by parapsychologists, and how researchers take a structured approach to understanding what people experience and how they understand their own experiences.
We will explore topics like precognitive dreams, clairvoyant experiences, poltergeists, near-death experiences, spontaneous after-death communication, ghosts & apparitions, and reincarnation experiences. From classifications of experiences to examinations of peer-reviewed research articles, this course provides a foundation for understanding psi in daily life.
Recommended prerequisites: Introduction to Parapsychology or experience or courses that include reading and evaluating scientific parapsychology articles from peer reviewed journals.
Fall Courses Begin in October
Click Here to Apply For These Courses
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What is the Rhine Education Center?
Mission
The Rhine Education Center is dedicated to providing a high quality educational opportunity for students around the world who are interested in parapsychology. Professional courses are presented in an online environment to enable adults to attend the courses at their convenience and to interact with the faculty and students to provide a complete academic experience.
Why Choose the Rhine Education Center?
The Rhine Education Center is backed by the integrity and knowledge of the Rhine Research Center which is the oldest and most respected parapsychological research center in the United States. Since 1935 the Rhine has provided a sound scientific basis for the phenomena studied by parapsychologists, and the academic quality of the research at the Rhine is the foundation for modern parapsychology.
Courses with the Rhine Education Center are provided to give students the opportunity to learn about the science and practices of parapsychology in a professional and fun environment. To adhere to this goal, the Rhine Education Center offers academic certificates in parapsychology as well as adult-education courses for those who would like to learn more about parapsychology but may not have the time or interest in pursuing a more academic program. Courses taken at the Rhine Education Center are not accredited or associated with a University in any way. They are academically oriented, but these courses cannot be transferred to other universities without special arrangements.
We recognize that our student base is diverse, and we are providing classes to better suit the needs of all of our students. Academic studies will be complemented by professional seminar courses to allow students to learn about more topics with the assurance and integrity of the Rhine Education Center.
Grading
By default, every student will be considered to be auditing their courses unless they indicate otherwise when they apply for the course. This will provide students the opportunity to learn without the pressures of working towards a grade.
Whether participating for a grade or auditing a course, every student will have full access to the course broadcasts and the forums in the classroom. All students can post in the classroom forums, ask questions of the instructors, and get feedback on their postings in the courseroom.
Courses taken to fulfill the requirements of a certificate program must be taken for a grade. Additional information is available in the administrative policies for the Rhine Education Center.
Certificate Programs Available
The Rhine Education Center has a number of certificate programs that are available to students. Certificates are available in Scientific Parapsychology, Investigating the Paranormal, Professional Field Investigations, and Expressing Conscious Living. For complete information, see the document describing ALL Certificate Programs.
Diversity of Courses
Courses from the Rhine Education Center are distributed across three schools: The School of Consciousness Studies, Applied Sciences, and Liberal Arts and Creative Sciences. Eight week courses are supplemented by four week courses to better address the desires of our students. In addition, continuing education and seminar courses are offered to provide a diversity of courses related to the field of parapsychology. All of the courses are professionally provided by hightly qualified and experienced instructors.
Courses offered by the Rhine Education Center are designed as professional courses to provide education in Parapsychology. Students are able to participate in weekly discussion forums and progress is evaluated throughout the courses.
Many courses are strictly for informational purposes, but some courses can be applied to certificate programs offered by the Rhine Education Center. Though not an accredited institution, the Rhine Education Center provides a professional educational opportunity for students.
Classes are broadcast once a week, but they are also recorded if you are not able to attend the live broadcast. You can watch the recordings and post in the forums at your convenience.
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