The Counseling program is designed to develop professional counselors who are caring, competent and committed to helping others. The Counseling program has two specialized tracks – Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Addictions Counseling – designed to meet the diverse needs and interests of students. The Clinical Mental Health Counseling option is for individuals who are primarily interested in helping others in community human service agencies or private practice counseling. The Addictions Counseling option is for individuals who want to serve people who have identified substance use disorders or process addictions such as gambling or internet addiction. Each track provides an ideal blend of theory and clinical practice that will enable graduates to begin their counseling careers with the confidence and skills needed to work as licensed professional counselors.
The Master of Arts in Counseling requires 60 credit hours of instruction. The program is designed to be completed in 20 months of intensive, full-time study.
Admission to the program is offered to all graduates with a four-year degree from accredited colleges and universities. The graduate Counseling faculty will evaluate academic achievement at the undergraduate level, special skills, life experience, and other factors relevant to the prospective candidate before recommending admission to the program.
The program is designed in accordance with the standards set forth by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Other Related Education Programs (CACREP) and meets all academic requirements necessary for licensure as a professional counselor (LPC) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Students can become nationally certified by passing the National Counselor Exam (NCE). The clinical mental health and addictions counseling specializations are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The Addictions Counseling Specialization is approved by the Pennsylvania Certification Board. The Counseling Program is an approved continuing education provider by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC).
Students may choose to enroll in a classroom-based program or 100% online program. The classroom-based program is offered at our Waynesburg campus or Southpointe learning center. In this program half of the classes are offered in traditional classroom format and half are offered through a blended format of online instruction and classroom meetings. Students who choose to enroll in the 100% online program complete all of their academic instruction online. Students must select which program they want to enroll in at the time of matriculation.
The classroom based clinical mental health and addictions counseling specializations are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). As with all new programs, CACREP policy requires that we seek accreditation for the 100% online delivery of the Master of Arts in Counseling program as a separate program in the second year of the program’s first enrollment period. We will apply for accreditation for the 100% online counseling program at that time (fall 2021) with the expectation that students enrolled in this program will graduate from a CACREP accredited program.
Director of Graduate Programs in Counseling
Devon D. Bowser, Ph.D.