Courses and centers on purpose.

Ashoka University · Navyug Mohnot

Life Design Lab (Designing Your Life)

DYL is a philosophy, framework and process with a set of tried and tested tools and methods based on principles of Design Thinking. The course’s aim is to enable people to figure out where they are now, get ‘unstuck’ and plan what they could do next with their lives.

Course  ·  Design  ·  Career & Leadership

Bates College · College-wide program

Center for Purposeful Work

Preparing students for lives of meaningful work lies at the heart of the liberal arts mission. The Center helps students discover the joy and power that arise from aligning who they are with what they do, and provides opportunities for them to acquire the knowledge, experiences, and relationships necessary to pursue their aspirations with imagination and integrity.

Course  ·  Purpose  ·  Career & Leadership  ·  Character & Service

Boston College · Varies by seminar

Cornerstone Seminar Program

The Cornerstone Seminar Program at Boston College offers first-year students unique courses for which the instructor in the course is also the academic advisor to the students in that course. Seminars invite students into the examined life through close reading, discussion, and reflection on questions of meaning and purpose.

Course  ·  Meaning  ·  Self-Awareness

Centenary University · Tal Ben-Shahar

MA in Happiness Studies

Centenary University’s Master of Arts in Happiness Studies is designed to prepare students to advance into supervisory and management positions in any career field. The program explores evidence-based approaches to well-being in education, organizations, and communities.

Course  ·  Happiness & Well-Being  ·  Science

University of Chicago Booth School of Business · Nicholas Epley

Designing a Good Life

An ethics and wellbeing course for MBA students, about what behavioral scientists have learned about the relationship between ethics and success at work, and between ethics and happiness. (The University of Chicago Booth does not publish a full public course description; the above is the official characterization available.)

Course  ·  Meaning  ·  Career & Leadership  ·  Science

Cornell University · Dr. Rachel Sumner

Exploring Purpose in Life (UNILWYL 1115)

This course aims to provide first-year students with the opportunity to reflect on purpose in life and how being at Cornell might impact their own experiences with identity, meaning, and direction. Informed by perspectives from scholars and peers in the course, students will explore different ways to find a sense of purpose in life, what outcomes are associated with having a sense of purpose, and how the college environment can foster (and potentially hinder) the cultivation of purpose.

Course  ·  Purpose  ·  Meaning

Harvard College · First-Year Experience / Dean of Students Office

Reflecting on Your Life

A series of facilitated small-group reflection sessions for first-year students, on values, the use of one’s time, and the life a student means to lead. (Harvard does not publish a public course description for this program; the above is a factual summary of its published structure.)

Course  ·  Self-Awareness

Harvard Business School · Bill George

Authentic Leadership Development

The purpose of Authentic Leadership Development (ALD) is to enable students to prepare themselves to become leaders of organizations and to embark on paths of personal leadership development. The course holds that leaders who know themselves well and consciously develop their leadership abilities throughout their lifetimes will be more effective and more successful leaders, and will lead more satisfying and fulfilling lives.

Course  ·  Career & Leadership  ·  Self-Awareness

INSEAD · Integrated MBA programme

Personal Leadership Development Programme

The Personal Leadership Development Programme (PLDP) is designed to provide you with a new standard of excellence in personal and interpersonal awareness, as well as communication effectiveness. It introduces a set of tools and experiences throughout the MBA programme that will give you opportunities to enhance your short-term and long-term career success.

Course  ·  Career & Leadership

Leiden University · Certified facilitators

Designing Your Life

Designing Your Life helps students answer the question of what to do with their lives with the innovative method of design thinking to approach one’s life and career path. Students learn to empathize with their current situation, brainstorm about where to go, and prototype and test several possible futures.

Course  ·  Design  ·  Career & Leadership

University of Notre Dame · Meghan Sullivan & Paul Blaschko

God and the Good Life

In God and the Good Life (GGL), you’ll have the opportunity to wrestle with big questions about how to live and what makes life meaningful. The course approaches philosophy as a ‘way of life,’ which means that we’re interested in how different philosophical traditions are embodied, and is organized around four units: morality, epistemology, religion, and meaning.

Course  ·  Meaning  ·  Faith & Religion  ·  Character & Service

Purdue University · Dean Gary Bertoline

Living with Purpose

I will be leading a seminar for first-year students in the Purdue Polytechnic to help them reflect outside of the classroom on what matters to them and why. The seminar explores questions about purpose, happiness, values, and global responsibility through interactive exercise and activities that encourage sharing of different thoughts and ideas, followed by a quiet time for thinking and writing.

Course  ·  Purpose  ·  Meaning

Rutgers University · Suneet Bhatt

Find and Evolve Your Purpose

This course is designed to give you space to slow down, reflect honestly, and move forward with greater clarity and intention. It is predicated on the idea that purpose is not something you pursue; it is something you arrive at as a result of deep self-awareness.

Course  ·  Purpose  ·  Self-Awareness

Stanford University · Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

Designing Your Life (ENGR 104B)

A design thinking approach to help students from any major develop a constructive and effective approach to finding and designing their lives and vocations after Stanford. The course covers integrating work and worldview, ideation, portfolio approaches to thriving, designing for balance and energy, and prototyping, through seminar-style discussions, personal written reflections, guest speakers, and individual mentoring and coaching.

Course  ·  Design  ·  Career & Leadership

Stanford Graduate School of Business · Leadership faculty

Interpersonal Dynamics (Touchy-Feely)

The ability to forge strong relationships with others is crucial to becoming a more effective manager in today’s complex, global, and highly interdependent organizations. Interpersonal Dynamics is a course designed to help students develop this ability, particularly with people who are different than they are, delivering a highly personalized learning experience with the ultimate goal of creating more productive, professional relationships.

Course  ·  Self-Awareness  ·  Career & Leadership

Tecnológico de Monterrey · Continuing education

Proyecto de Vida Plena

With this course you will acquire the conceptual and practical foundations to sketch out a life plan aimed at improving its quality, through reflection on the basic elements that make up your personal philosophy. (Translated from the course’s published Spanish description.)

Course  ·  Design  ·  Purpose

University College Dublin · UCD Innovation Academy

Design Your Purposeful Life

For that one week you would be working in a safe space, with a team of facilitators whose only goal is to help you recognise your own potential, reignite your creative spirit, imagine what is possible in this life that is yours. The course aims to give students a compass, so that they can navigate their future, with all of its turns.

Course  ·  Design  ·  Purpose

University of California, Berkeley · Dacher Keltner & Emiliana Simon-Thomas

The Science of Happiness (GG101x)

The Science of Happiness is the first MOOC to teach the ground-breaking science of positive psychology, which explores the roots of a happy and meaningful life. It zeroes in on a fundamental finding from positive psychology: that happiness is inextricably linked to having strong social connections and contributing to something bigger than yourself, and offers students practical, research-backed strategies for nurturing their own happiness.

Course  ·  Happiness & Well-Being  ·  Science

University of Kentucky · Lewis Honors College

Know Your Why (HON 334)

Students in this seminar will explore the concepts of purpose and vocation to frame a process of self-awareness by completing a variety of leadership and career assessments and engaging with texts that help them compare their idealized versus authentic selves. Learning activities encompass career assessments, guided scholarly engagement, leadership development, and values-based reflection.

Course  ·  Purpose  ·  Self-Awareness

University of Michigan · Vic Strecher

Finding Purpose and Meaning in Life

In this course, you’ll learn how science, philosophy and practice all play a role in both finding your purpose and living a purposeful life. You will hear from historical figures and individuals about their journeys to finding and living a purposeful life, and will walk through different exercises to help you find out what matters most to you so you can live a purposeful life.

Course  ·  Purpose  ·  Meaning  ·  Science

University of Miami · Nona Kiknadze

The Art and Science of Flourishing

Students use their own personal experiences to develop a model of what it takes to create a fulfilling life, and read and evaluate science-based studies and frameworks that empirically examine flourishing, well-being, and health, comparing findings with philosophical and cultural perspectives. (Drawn from the University of Miami’s official reporting; a formal catalog description is not published.)

Course  ·  Happiness & Well-Being  ·  Science

University of Minnesota · Greg Sawyer & Aaron Asmundson

Living on Purpose (CSPH 3211)

What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning? Reflecting on questions like this allows you to explore your purpose in life. Living on Purpose is a course designed to help you get curious about the meaning of YOUR life and your purpose right now, today, as a college student, combining mindfulness practices, podcasts, readings, group discussions, individual work and many ways to express your self-reflections.

Course  ·  Purpose  ·  Self-Awareness

University of Pennsylvania · Angela Duckworth

Grit Lab: Fostering Passion and Perseverance

At the heart of this course are cutting-edge scientific discoveries about how to foster passion and perseverance for long-term goals. As in any undergraduate course, you will have an opportunity to learn from current research. But unlike most courses, Grit Lab encourages you to apply these ideas to your own life and reflect on your experience.

Course  ·  Science  ·  Self-Awareness

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania · G. Richard Shell

Success: Personal Values and the Pursuit of a Meaningful Life

This course was designed to help you define what success means to you, and to develop a plan for achieving it. Professor G. Richard Shell offers personalized assessments to help you probe your past, imagine your future, and measure your strengths. He then combines these with the latest scientific insights on everything from self-confidence and happiness to relationships and careers.

Course  ·  Career & Leadership  ·  Meaning

University of Wisconsin–Madison · Center for Healthy Minds

The Art & Science of Human Flourishing

This University of Wisconsin–Madison semester-long course encourages students to think critically about a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives on what it means to flourish. It is evidence-based and uses the Center for Healthy Minds wellbeing framework of Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose.

Course  ·  Happiness & Well-Being  ·  Science

Wake Forest University · Michael Lamb

The Program for Leadership and Character

The program is animated by Wake Forest’s motto, Pro Humanitate, for humanity, which calls us to develop the qualities of character that enable us to serve humanity. Its mission is to use innovative teaching, creative programming, and cutting-edge research to help transform the lives of students, foster an inclusive culture of leadership and character on college campuses, and catalyze a broader public conversation that places character at the center of leadership.

Course  ·  Character & Service  ·  Career & Leadership

Yale University · Matthew Croasmun, Drew Collins & Ryan McAnnally-Linz

Life Worth Living (HUMS 3411)

What does it mean for a life to go well? What would it look like for a life to be lived well? The course pursues these questions through seven modern thinkers and their foundational texts, from Heschel and the Tanakh to Gandhi and the Bhagavad Gita, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Bible, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Indigenous wisdom, and Oscar Wilde and expressive individualism, with visits from contemporary people shaped by these traditions.

Course  ·  Meaning  ·  Faith & Religion

Yale University · Laurie Santos

The Science of Well-Being

In this course you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life.

Course  ·  Happiness & Well-Being  ·  Science

Stanford University

Center on Adolescence

Directed by William Damon, the center aimed “to promote the well-being of young people growing up in today’s world,” with research concentrated on the development of purpose, defined as “a forward-looking intention to accomplish goals that are meaningful to the self and of consequence to the world beyond the self.” Its work documented how purpose relates to academic achievement, resilience, and psychological health across the lifespan.

Operated for roughly 27 years at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education; concluded active operations at the end of 2025, with its website and publications archive still available.

Research Center · Purpose · Youth Development · Meaning

Claremont Graduate University

Adolescent Moral Development Lab

The Adolescent Moral Development Lab’s stated goal is to “help youth thrive.” Led by Kendall Cotton Bronk, “a developmental scientist interested in studying and supporting positive youth development and the moral growth of young people,” the lab studies young people’s life purposes and character strengths such as humility, gratitude, hope, and patience, and how adults can foster purposeful living.

Supported by the John Templeton Foundation, Spencer Foundation, Templeton Religion Trust, and Walton Family Foundation.

Research Center · Purpose · Youth Development · Character & Virtue

Yale University

Life Worth Living

Life Worth Living “equips students, educators, and the public for the lifelong process of discerning, articulating, and pursuing the good life by engaging the world’s philosophical and religious traditions.” It works to make “deep reflection on the good life central to pluralistic undergraduate education and public discourse.”

Part of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture; supported by the John Templeton Foundation and charitable gifts.

Research Center · Meaning · Purpose · Faith & Spirituality

Harvard University

Human Flourishing Program

The Human Flourishing Program “studies and promotes human flourishing, and develops systematic approaches to the synthesis of knowledge across disciplines.” Founded in 2016 by epidemiologist Tyler J. VanderWeele, it draws on public health, psychology, sociology, philosophy, theology, and education to understand what enables individuals and communities to thrive, and to turn that knowledge into practice.

Over 1,000 research publications; co-directs the Global Flourishing Study of more than 200,000 participants across 22 countries.

Research Center · Flourishing · Well-Being · Meaning · Science & Measurement

Baylor University

Institute for Global Human Flourishing

“The world needs Baylor to advance a vision of Human Flourishing that is evidence-based, practical, faith-animated, and inspirational.” The Institute is home to the Global Flourishing Study, uniting scholars worldwide to understand what flourishing means across cultures by investigating health, relationships, purpose, spirituality, and resilience.

Launched in 2025; leads the Global Flourishing Study, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, Templeton Religion Trust, Templeton World Charity Foundation, Fetzer Institute, and others.

Research Center · Flourishing · Purpose · Well-Being · Faith & Spirituality

University of Pennsylvania

Positive Psychology Center

“The mission of the Positive Psychology Center is to promote research, education, and the dissemination of Positive Psychology,” which it defines as “the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive.” Founded by Martin Seligman, the Center studies what “makes life most worth living” and helps people lead “meaningful and fulfilling lives” across schools, workplaces, and communities.

Funders have included the National Institute of Mental Health, the John Templeton Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Gates Foundation.

Research Center · Science & Measurement · Well-Being · Character & Virtue · Meaning

University of California, Berkeley

Greater Good Science Center

“The Greater Good Science Center studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society.” Since 2001 it has pioneered research on happiness, compassion, social connection, and altruism, and translates that science into practice through its magazine, online courses, and events.

Founded in 2001; donor- and member-supported.

Research Center · Well-Being

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Center for Healthy Minds

Founded by neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson, the center’s mission is “to cultivate wellbeing and relieve suffering through a scientific understanding of the mind.” It investigates how to strengthen human flourishing across individuals, communities, and the planet through interdisciplinary research spanning psychology, neuroscience, psychiatry, education, and molecular biology.

Its Healthy Minds Program app reaches over one million users globally.

Research Center · Well-Being · Science & Measurement · Flourishing

University of Oxford

Wellbeing Research Centre

The Wellbeing Research Centre describes itself as “an interdisciplinary research group focused on the empirical study of wellbeing.” Led by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, it studies how people feel about their lives and what causes wellbeing to differ between individuals and over time, across measurement, cause and effect, policy and interventions, and the future of wellbeing.

Publishing hub of the World Happiness Report and academic partner to the World Wellbeing Movement.

Research Center · Well-Being · Science & Measurement

Wake Forest University

Program for Leadership and Character

“The Program for Leadership and Character inspires, educates, and empowers leaders of character to serve humanity.” Guided by Wake Forest’s motto Pro Humanitate, it develops “everyday leaders” whose values orient them toward the common good, grounding its work in rigorous research through projects such as The Character Project and The Honesty Project.

Has attracted tens of millions in gifts and grants; its Educating Character Initiative regrants funds to support character education nationally.

Research Center · Character & Virtue

University of Chicago

Center for Practical Wisdom

The Center for Practical Wisdom works to “deepen our scientific understanding of wisdom and its role in the decisions and choices that affect everyday life.” It connects researchers, scholars, educators, and students to conduct wisdom research and to share findings broadly with the public.

Research Center · Wisdom · Character & Virtue

Independent foundation

John Templeton Foundation

“The mission of the John Templeton Foundation is to support interdisciplinary research and catalyze conversations that inspire awe and wonder.” The Foundation envisions “a world where people are curious about the wonders of the universe, free to pursue lives of meaning and purpose, and motivated by great and selfless love,” funding research across science, philosophy, and human flourishing.

One of the largest funders of purpose and flourishing research worldwide, with an endowment of roughly $4 billion and about $150M granted in 2025 across dozens of countries.

Funder · Purpose · Flourishing · Faith & Spirituality

Independent foundation

Fetzer Institute

The Fetzer Institute’s mission is “helping build the spiritual foundation for a loving world.” It holds that “centering the Sacred is the path to shared flourishing,” integrating spiritual understanding with scientific knowledge to support personal and societal transformation.

A private operating foundation and a co-funder of the Global Flourishing Study.

Funder · Faith & Spirituality · Flourishing