12 / 126
College of Counseling
The College of Counseling (COC) has designed
the Master of Arts in Counseling program to facili-
tate the growth of Christian students into well-
qualified, healthy clinical mental health
counselors. The training model focuses on the
heart (personal and spiritual development), the
head (research and professional knowledge) and
the hands (effective interpersonal and clinical
skills).
Master of Arts in Counseling
Graduates of the COC are awarded the Master of
Arts degree in Counseling and are eligible to
apply for national certification through the
National Board for Certified Counselors as well as
South Carolina State Licensed Professional
Counselor Intern (LPC/I) certification. Within this
graduate degree program students can focus on
individual, group, marriage and family counseling.
Students are prepared to work with clients facing
a broad range of mental, emotional, relational and
spiritual challenges. As clinical mental health
counselors, graduates are biblically informed and
professionally knowledgeable in the conceptual-
ization and practice of diagnosis, treatment, refer-
ral and prevention. Graduates of this program
work in settings such as: private practice, com-
munity-based mental health centers, hospitals
and other treatment facilities, as well as in church
and missions-related ministries.
Postgraduate Certificate in
Marriage and Family Counseling
The COC also offers a Postgraduate Certificate in
Marriage and Family Counseling. A separate
application process is required to be accepted
into this program. This advanced training and
experience emphasizes a systems model.
Graduates of this certificate program are eligible
to apply for South Carolina State Licensed
Marriage and Family Therapist Intern (LMFT/I)
certification.
College of Education
The College of Education (COE) “equips Christian
educators to think, teach and lead biblically in
educational settings throughout the world.” This
mission encompasses the preparation of teachers
to enter both early childhood and elementary
classrooms with a five-year, two-degree program
including an undergraduate Bible major and grad-
uate master’s of teaching (B.A./B.S. and M.A.T.)
or a stand-alone M.A. in Teaching (M.A.T.) for
those already completing a bachelor’s degree.
Additionally at the master’s level, the COE pro-
vides training of K-12 Bible teachers (M.A. in
Bible Teaching), ESOL teachers (M.A. in Teaching
English to Speakers of Other Languages), and the
equipping of practicing teachers and administra-
tors for Christian school leadership positions
through advanced graduate studies (Master of
Education-M.Ed. [with tracks in Curriculum and
Instruction and Educational Administration] and
Education Specialist-Ed.S.). At the doctoral level
(Doctor of Education-Ed.D.) four concentrations
are available in Christian School Leadership,
Curricular and Instructional Leadership, Christian
Higher Education Leadership and Leadership in
International Theological Education. In order to
fulfill the mission of the College of Education, the
courses of study are based upon a philosophy of
education that approaches both the means and
the ends of education by thinking biblically about
the nature of students, instructional strategies
and curricular content (knowledge, skills and dis-
positions). Upon graduation, elementary and early
childhood teachers (M.A.T.) receive certification
through the Association of Christian Schools
International (ACSI) and South Carolina
Department of Education and are thus qualified
as classroom teachers within Christian and public
schools both in the United States and in interna-
tional schools around the world. Bible teachers
(M.A. in Bible Teaching) and ESOL teachers (M.A.
in TESOL) receive ACSI K-12 certification. Their
preparation includes training that equips them to
think in culturally responsive ways within class-
rooms that are increasingly diverse.
PROGRAMS OF STUDY
2012-2013 Graduate Programs Academic Catalog
12