Recently I have been researching alternative MA programs. Two of the schools I’m looking into are John F Kennedy University and California Institute of Integral Studies. During this process I uncovered an interesting conflict between Ken Wilber and CIIS from back around 2000.

It seems that Christian de Quincey, a professor at CIIS, published a criticism of Ken Wilber that Wilber took as a personal attack. Wilber’s response and de Quincey’s counter response seem to indicate something of a feud between the Integral and CIIS camps and a nasty one at that:

It should also be said that virtually every one of the theorists that I criticized has taught at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). When I was first criticizing these theorists, I did not know that they all shared a CIIS connection; it was only after the fact that I realized that, for whatever reason, CIIS was attracting this type of (what I claimed to be dubious) scholarship. (Ken Wilber)

Although this conflict arose eight years ago, I wonder if it continues today. I plan on visiting both CIIS and JFKU (which offers programs officially endorsed by Ken Wilber). I am looking forward to comparing their approaches. If you know anything about the conflict or either school please let me know.