Professional Counseling, Master of Science Two Year Plan

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.  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.  

Prerequisite Courses

Four prerequisite courses (or those equivalent in content as determined by the faculty) are required for enrollment in the counseling degree programs. All prerequisite courses must be completed prior to entering the program or at latest before the beginning of the corresponding graduate courses.  

• PSYC 1133 Introduction to Psychology
• PSYC 2133 Theories of Personality
• PSYC 2343 Child and Adolescent Development or PSYC 2353 Adult Development and Aging.
• PSYC 3003 Abnormal Psychology

Degree Audit

Professional Counseling, Master of Science