The MA in counseling program is a 60 semester hour CACREP accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. The curriculum meets educational requirements for professional licensure in accordance with the regulations of the Virginia Board of Behavioral Sciences.
Curriculum Focus
Our curriculum includes study in the areas of professional identity, counseling theories, group counseling, counseling techniques, abnormal behavior, appraisal, career development, human growth and development, social and cultural functions, research, social and multicultural issues, ethics, spirituality and religion, addictions, marriage and family counseling, and supervised clinical work.
To graduate, the student will have met all course requirements with a minimum GPA of 3.00, will have obtained satisfactory internship references, met program assessment criteria for competency, and obtained the formal approval of the faculty for graduation.
Curriculum Details
Full-time students should be able to complete the program in two years (the equivalent of five semesters of full time study)
COUN 507 Professional Identity, Function & Ethics (3 SH)
COUN 508 Counseling Techniques (3 SH)
COUN 517 Human Growth & Development (3 SH)
COUN 547 Counseling Theories (3 SH)
COUN 518 Integrated Counseling Process (3 SH)
COUN 527 Psychopathology (3 SH)
COUN 528 Practicum (3SH) – 100 hours field work
COUN 530 Advanced Psychopathology (2 SH)
COUN 567 Group Counseling (3SH)
COUN 617 Counseling Children & Adolescents (2 SH) 10 weeks
Elective Courses (1 SH) 5 weeks (choose one)
- COUN 698 Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
- COUN 699 Sec A Topics: Sexual Health
- COUN 687 Expressive Arts
- COUN 699 Sec B Topics: Psychoanalysis
COUN 557 Assessment & Evaluation Procedures (3 SH)
COUN 587 Crisis Counseling (2 SH)
COUN 536 Foundations in Research & Program Evaluation: Theory, Design, & Foundational Statistics (3 SH)
COUN 607 Multicultural Counseling (3 SH)
COUN 610 Advanced Multicultural Counseling (2 SH)
COUN 627 Marriage & Family Counseling (3 SH)
COUN 509 Supervision and Consultation (3 SH)
COUN 689 Internship I (3 SH) – 600 total hours (2 semesters) field work
COUN 637 Career Development (3 SH)
COUN 690 Internship II (3 SH)
COUN 697 Addictions Counseling (3 SH)
Co/prerequisites
Counseling Techniques, Theories, PIFE prerequisite for Practicum
Counseling Techniques prerequisite for Integrated Counseling Process
CRPE during last two semesters
Admission to Internship prerequisite for Internship Practicum and Integrated Counseling Process are co- requisites
*Students on a three year or longer plan are required to register for a 1 SH Skill Development course in the year that they are not in practicum or internship. This will increase the credits required for graduation to 61 SH.