Program Overview

The M.S in Professional Counseling is a 60-semester-hour degree that will academically prepare students to become licensed mental health counselors in the state of Florida.  Students will learn how to sensitively address the emotional, mental, and spiritual needs of hurting people, while maintaining a commitment to professional practice and service.  In an educational environment that promotes active learning through the use of role-plays, case studies, demonstrations, and discussions students will:

• Integrate Christian belief and practice with the scholarship and professional standards of the mental health field.
• Develop the skills necessary to provide competent, balanced, and professional counseling services
• Develop critical thinking and analysis skills and the knowledge needed to make ethical decisions.

 Throughout this program students will:

• Integrate the principles of counseling with biblically informed values.
• Demonstrate collaborative and effective problem-solving skills using multiple theoretical approaches.
• Develop counseling skills that require the application of theory to a variety of counseling situations and settings.
• Apply acquired skills and techniques to actual counseling situations.
• Research contemporary issues in counseling to provide practical solutions, and communicate results through clear, concise and appropriate media.

Admission Requirements

• Written essay describing the current and future impact of your faith in your personal and professional life and the reason for your desire to pursue this degree.
  
• Proof of a minimum GPA of 3.0 earned from a regionally accredited institution
  
• Resume
  
• Official college transcripts
  
• Professional Reference
  
• Academic Reference
  
• Christian Character Reference
  
• A score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) of at least 151 on the Verbal section and a 4.0 or higher on the Analytical Writing section of the GRE or a Miller Analogies Test (MAT) score of 400 or more. (GRE scores must be recent enough to be considered valid by ETS. Results prior to August of 2011 must have a combined score of at least 1,000 on the Verbal and Quantitative sections.)
  
• An interview with the faculty of the graduate counseling programs typically in group format with other applicants. 
  

Prerequisite Courses

Four prerequiste undergraduate courses are required for the M.S. in Counseling degree programs. All prerequiste courses or content equivalent ones must be completed prior to enrollment.

• Introduction to (General) Psychology
  
• Theories of Personality
• Psychology of Human Development (Developmental Psychology)
  
• Abnormal Psychology

Two Year Plan

Professional Counseling, Master of Science Two Year Plan