What it is
This is a different animal from the CIIS certificate and it is easy to confuse the two. The B.S. in Psychedelic Studies is an undergraduate degree-completion program run by CIIS' School of Undergraduate Studies, not by the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research. You cannot start it from scratch: you must transfer in at least 54 semester units of prior college work. It is designed to take three semesters (Fall, Spring, Summer) and is 37–60 units depending on what you bring. CIIS calls it the first program of its kind in the nation. The first cohort started in Fall 2025.
Delivery is online and mostly asynchronous through Canvas, with four synchronous 'Cohort Weekend Intensives' held virtually across the year. Students move through as a small cohort. Coursework is genuinely science-weighted — psychopharmacology, neuroscience, research methods — alongside global and Indigenous knowledges, ethics and law, and advocacy, finishing with a senior research project of the student's own design. Program chair Dr. Anne Huffman is blunt about the framing: "I don't want people to think that this is the shiny, happy people degree. We are not sitting on the hill sipping psilocybin tea and singing kumbaya. It's a Bachelor of Science degree."
For the audience this directory serves — California LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, psychologists and associates — the honest advice is that this is not for you. You already hold a master's degree; a bachelor's completion program is a step backwards, and it confers nothing clinical. CIIS' own FAQ says so directly: it is not a facilitator training, and no psychedelic use is involved. The people it actually fits are career-changers without a finished bachelor's degree who want to enter the field, or people planning to apply to clinical graduate programs later. CIIS reports its first cohort included tech career-changers, bodyworkers, first responders and veterans, and that several members are going on to clinical graduate study specifically so that they can eventually deliver psychedelic-assisted therapy themselves.
One practical connection to the clinical side: CIIS opened a university-affiliated ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic in San Francisco in May 2026, and its president said at the opening that graduates of the Psychedelic Studies B.S. "will have direct opportunities to gain clinical experience at the new clinic" — a claim from CIIS, with no published detail on what those opportunities are or how they are supervised.
See it and hear it
What it lets you do
This is the section the program’s own marketing is least specific about, so it runs before everything else. It was established against the program’s own materials and against the two state registers that matter — Oregon’s approved-curriculum list and Colorado’s.
- Finish a bachelor's degree with a psychedelics specialization, if you do not already have one. That is the actual product.
- Build a genuinely science-weighted academic foundation — neuroscience, psychopharmacology, research methods, ethics and law, Indigenous and global histories — and produce an original senior research project.
- Prepare to apply to clinical graduate programs (MFT, MSW, counseling, clinical psychology) or other graduate work in psychedelics. CIIS lists graduate study as a primary destination, and reports that several first-cohort graduates are pursuing clinical graduate study specifically so they can eventually provide psychedelic-assisted therapy themselves.
- Pursue non-clinical roles CIIS names as career paths: psilocybin facilitation (via a separate, state-approved facilitator training — not this degree), psychoactive pharmaceuticals, social science research, advocacy and outreach, and psychedelic clinic management.
- Use the Bachelor's-to-Graduate Accelerated Pathway to take some CIIS graduate courses at undergraduate tuition rates and double-count the units.
- Do integration-adjacent education, writing, harm-reduction and advocacy work, which requires no license — with the caveat that providing psychotherapy of any kind does require a license, which this degree does not confer.
- Access federal financial aid, which the CIIS certificate (a non-degree program) does not carry.
- Cannot practice therapy of any kind. A bachelor's degree is not a clinical credential in California; psychotherapy requires a BBS license (or registration and supervision as an associate) built on a qualifying master's or doctoral degree. This degree is not that degree and is not a step in the BBS licensure sequence.
- Cannot facilitate psychedelic sessions. CIIS states it flatly in its own FAQ: "Will I be trained as a facilitator to sit with people taking psychedelics or plant medicine? No. This is not a facilitator training program. This program is designed to give students a foundation knowledge in psychedelics and plant medicine."
- Cannot administer or possess Schedule I psychedelics. Psilocybin and MDMA remain Schedule I federally as of August 2026, and California has no therapeutic framework — SB 58 was vetoed in 2023, SB 1012 pulled in 2024, and the SB 751 veterans/first-responder psilocybin pilot was killed in Senate committee in May 2025.
- Does not qualify a graduate for Oregon psilocybin facilitator licensure. The Oregon Health Authority approves specific facilitator curricula; the approved CIIS entry on OHA's public list is the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research certificate (Training Program ID #TP-ce7dd84c), not this B.S. Oregon separately requires a bachelor's degree or equivalent of its facilitator applicants, so this degree could satisfy that prerequisite — but the facilitator training itself would still have to be taken elsewhere or through the CIIS certificate's Oregon subcohort.
- Does not qualify a graduate for Colorado facilitator licensure. CIIS appears nowhere on Colorado DORA's Approved Natural Medicine Training Programs list (verified 6 August 2026).
- Includes no psychedelic use by students. CIIS: "NO. At no time does the program promote or require the use of psychedelic drugs in any manner, in accordance with the CIIS Student Handbook as well as state and federal law."
- Is of essentially no value to someone who already holds a master's degree and a clinical license. If you are an LMFT, LCSW, LPCC or psychologist, this is the wrong CIIS program — the Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research is the one aimed at you.
- Cannot be entered without 54+ transferable semester units. It is not a four-year degree from zero.
Will I be expected to take psychedelics as part of the program? NO. At no time does the program promote or require the use of psychedelic drugs in any manner, in accordance with the CIIS Student Handbook as well as state and federal law. … Will I be trained as a facilitator to sit with people taking psychedelics or plant medicine? No. This is not a facilitator training program. This program is designed to give students a foundation knowledge in psychedelics and plant medicine.— California Institute of Integral Studies — School of Undergraduate Studies, in its own materials
Why the answer is this narrow →
Cost, length and who can apply
What you would study
- BSPDL 1600 — Psychology and Psychedelics (4 units, Semester 1 / Fall)
Listed in CIIS' published full course of study. CIIS does not publish a separate description for this course.
source ↗ - BSPDL 1605 — Neuroscience of Psychedelics (4 units, Semester 1 / Fall)
Listed in CIIS' published full course of study. CIIS does not publish a separate description for this course.
source ↗ - BSPDL 1610 — Global, Indigenous Knowledges, and Ecopsychedelics (4 units, Semester 1 / Fall)
"This course explores the history and global traditions of psychedelics across cultures and societies. Students will examine historical and contemporary uses of psychedelics alongside the impacts of colonialism, psychedelic tourism, and related issues. Through cross-cultural comparison, the course emphasizes cultural sensitivity and informed scholarship in the study of psychedelic traditions and research." CIIS says Indigenous shamans were invited to present to the first cohort's online classes during this first semester.
source ↗ - GEN 1505 — Language of Psychology: APA (1 unit, Semester 1 / Fall)
Required elective for all students.
source ↗ - BSPDL 1645 — Research Methods in Psychedelics (4 units, Semester 2 / Spring)
Listed in CIIS' published full course of study. CIIS does not publish a separate description for this course.
source ↗ - BSPDL 1620 — Ethical and Legal Considerations in the Use of Psychedelics (4 units, Semester 2 / Spring)
"This course evaluates the use of psychedelics within ethical, legal, and practical contexts. As students become familiar with existing regulations, limitations, and guidelines, students will become skilled in evaluating potential future developments in the field. Students will learn a multifaceted approach to psychedelic policies, enabling them to contribute to ongoing debates from an informed, forward-thinking perspective."
source ↗ - BSPDL 1615 — Psychopharmacology of Psychedelics (4 units, Semester 2 / Spring)
Listed in CIIS' published full course of study. CIIS does not publish a separate description for this course.
source ↗ - BSPDL 1650 — Senior Project (4 units, Semester 3 / Summer)
Capstone research project of the student's own design. CIIS reports first-cohort capstones on psychedelics and PTSD, psychedelic-assisted therapy in conflict zones including Ukraine and Gaza, interactions between psychedelics and GLP-1s, psychedelic-assisted therapy for postpartum depression, ecotourism around ayahuasca ceremonies, and legislative reform.
source ↗ - BSDPL 1645 — Psychedelic Advocacy, Equity, Research, and Connection (4 units, Semester 3 / Summer)
"This course examines the psychedelic ecosystem at a pivotal moment of promise and risk. Students will explore current and future directions of psychedelic medicine through perspectives on equity, access, inclusion, and ethical practice. The course also addresses power, solidarity, and decolonial struggles involving Indigenous communities, while introducing key narrative, policy, and funding landscapes shaping the field." (CIIS' own page lists this course code as 'BSDPL 1645', which appears to be a typo and duplicates the Research Methods code.)
source ↗ - BSPDL 1630 — Expanding Consciousness: Psychedelics and Transformation (4 units, Semester 3 / Summer)
Listed in CIIS' published full course of study. CIIS does not publish a separate description for this course.
source ↗
Who teaches it
Faculty is a large part of what these programs actually sell, and it changes between cohorts — check the current list before you decide on this basis.
- Dr. Anne Huffman — Associate Professor and Co-Chair, School of Undergraduate Studies; described by CIIS as Program Chair of the B.S. in Psychedelic Studies and one of its primary architects. The public voice of the program: "You're taking classes in neurobiology, psychopharmacology, law and ethics, indigenous wisdoms, altered states of consciousness, activism — and you are executing your own research. We keep you busy."
- Dr. Nick Walker — Professor (Psychedelic Studies, Psychology, Somatic Psychology, Undergraduate Studies, Blue Sky Leaders); a primary architect of the degree and the faculty member the San Francisco Chronicle and the Guardian quoted at launch. Best known outside CIIS for her work on neurodiversity theory. "We don't want people to dive in recklessly — a wild cowboy thing. We're definitely on the side of doing it carefully. Understanding the science. The risks. The ethics."
- Nicholas Literski, JD, Ph.D. — Senior Program Manager and Senior Adjunct Lecturer, School of Undergraduate Studies; the third named architect of the degree.
- Other School of Undergraduate Studies faculty listed alongside them: Sara Salazar (Associate Professor and Co-Chair, Interdisciplinary Studies), Charlotte María Sáenz (Associate Professor), Sonya Shah (Professor), Robert Clark (Senior Adjunct Lecturer).
- Michelle Domingo — the named admissions counselor for the program.
- Note: CIIS does not publish a course-by-course instructor list for this degree, so it is not possible to say who actually teaches the psychopharmacology or neuroscience courses.
What people say about it
Quoted with the source attached in every case, including the program’s own claims about itself — which are labeled as such — and the critical ones.
Where it stands right now
Enrolling, with Fall starts. Verified 6 August 2026: the program page lists 'Next Cohort: Fall' and CIIS' Fall Open House dates of 3 and 17 October 2026. The inaugural cohort entered in Fall 2025; CIIS reported on 30 July 2026 that 26 students form its first graduating class, finishing in August 2026. For the first cohort the application window closed 15 April 2025; CIIS does not publish the 2026 deadline on the program page.
What I could not establish
These are the things I looked for and could not establish. Take them to the program, and notice how quickly and precisely they answer.
- No total program cost is published. CIIS gives a per-unit rate and a full-time package price but never a degree total, and the 37–60 unit range means the real figure depends entirely on transfer credit. No estimate is asserted here.
- Course descriptions are published for only three of the ten courses (Global/Indigenous Knowledges, Ethical and Legal Considerations, and Advocacy/Equity). The remaining seven — including Psychopharmacology of Psychedelics and Neuroscience of Psychedelics — are listed by title and unit count only.
- No instructor is named for any individual course. Only the program's architects and the undergraduate faculty roster are public.
- No cohort size cap, applicant count or acceptance rate is published. The only number available is that the inaugural class graduated 26 students.
- CIIS' own page lists the Advocacy/Equity course code as 'BSDPL 1645', duplicating the Research Methods code 'BSPDL 1645'. One of the two is a typo on CIIS' site; which one is correct could not be determined.
- CIIS president Brock Blomberg said B.S. graduates 'will have direct opportunities to gain clinical experience' at CIIS' new ketamine clinic, but CIIS publishes nothing about what those opportunities are, whether they are paid, or how unlicensed undergraduates would be supervised in a clinical setting. Treat this as an unsubstantiated marketing claim until CIIS documents it.
- No scholarship specific to this degree was found; CIIS' page links only to general undergraduate scholarship information.
- No graduate outcomes data — no employment rate, no graduate-school admission rate — beyond the chair's anecdotes about the first cohort.
- No independent reviews. Reddit and Trustpilot are blocked from this environment, and the SF Chronicle and Guardian pieces are paywalled or bot-blocked; their content here is only what CIIS itself republished, which is a self-selected excerpt.
Sources for this page (12)
- CIIS — Bachelor of Science in Psychedelic Studies (overview, curriculum, entry requirements, FAQ including the scope disclaimers)
- CIIS — Tuition and Fees (undergraduate per-unit and package rates 2025–26 and 2026–27; $30 application fee; $125 undergraduate enrollment deposit; fixed-rate policy)
- CIIS News — Rigorous, Not Recreational: Inside the First Bachelor of Science in Psychedelic Studies, 30 July 2026 (26 first graduates; Huffman quotes; capstone topics)
- CIIS News — Psychedelics at CIIS: Building Upon Our Success, 10 October 2024 (program announcement; three named architects; Walker quotes)
- CIIS News — CIIS' Groundbreaking New B.S. in Psychedelic Studies in the News, 11 April 2025 (SF Chronicle / Guardian / KTVU coverage; Walker and Bochey quotes; Fall 2025 start, 15 April 2025 deadline)
- CIIS — School of Undergraduate Studies People (faculty roster: Huffman, Walker, Salazar, Sáenz, Shah, Clark)
- CIIS News — CIIS Opens Nation's First University-Affiliated Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Clinic, 14 May 2026 (Blomberg's claim about B.S. graduates and clinical experience)
- CIIS — All academic programs listing (confirms the B.S. is 'the first of its kind in the nation')
- Oregon Health Authority — approved psilocybin training programs (the approved CIIS entry is the CPTR certificate, not this degree; verified 6 Aug 2026)
- Colorado DORA — Natural Medicine: Approved Natural Medicine Training Programs (CIIS absent; verified 6 Aug 2026)
- Executive Order 14401, 'Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness', signed 18 April 2026 (no rescheduling has occurred; the order directs review only)
- YouTube oEmbed verification of video title/channel