Spirituality in Higher Education:
A National Study of College Students’ Search for Meaning and Purpose

What is the level and intensity of spiritual experiences among today’s college students? How are spiritual searching and behavior changing on campus? And what does this mean for higher education institutions and students?

These important questions are being investigated through a multi-year research project that assesses and tracks the spiritual growth of students during their undergraduate college years.

Following a pilot survey conducted in 2003, a comprehensive questionnaire was administered to 112,000 entering freshmen at a nationally representative sample of colleges and universities in Fall 2004. We followed up a subsample of 15,000 of these students in Spring 2007 to chart changes in their spiritual development.

In order to understand the impact of faculty on students' spiritual development, a national survey of 65,000 faculty members from participating universities was also conducted during the 2004-05 academic year.

The study is designed to:

	Provide a framework for colleges seeking to expand opportunities for students to explore spirituality;
	Bring to light the beliefs, behaviors and attitudes of American college students; and
	Stimulate discussion of curricular and other transformations in higher education.

The study is being conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) housed in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA, and made possible through a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

A National Advisory Board is providing general oversight for the entire project, and a Technical Advisory Panel is assisting in the development of the survey instruments.