2012-2013 Graduate Programs Academic Catalog
15
Overview
The College of Counseling (COC) has designed
the Master of Arts in Counseling (M.A. in
Counseling) program to facilitate the growth of
Christian students into well-qualified, healthy clin-
ical mental health counselors. The training model
focuses on the heart (personal and spiritual
development), the head (research and profession-
al knowledge) and the hands (effective interper-
sonal and clinical skills).
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 the certificate program are eligible
to apply for South Carolina State Licensed
Marriage and Family Therapist Intern (LMFT/I)
certification.
Admission Requirements
In addition to satisfying the general admissions
requirements for the CIU Graduate level pro-
grams, students applying to the Master of Arts in
Counseling program must satisfy the following:
1. Applicants must have completed a bachelor’s
degree from a regionally accredited college or
university with a minimum overall 3.0 GPA on a
4.0 scale, or 3.0 GPA in their major field of
study, or a minimum 3.0 GPA for the last 60
credits in their undergraduate degree.
Students with a lower GPA may document
their ability to succeed in a graduate program
by one of the following:
a. score above the 50th percentile on the GRE
(verbal reasoning, quantitative reason and
analytic writing), or
b. complete a minimum of nine graduate-level
credit hours from a regionally accredited
college or university with a minimum B-
grade in each course.
International applicants must have completed
the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s level
degree.
2. Applicants must have a minimal understanding
of the language and concepts of psychology to
be successful in the program. Therefore the
following undergraduate courses with a mini-
mum 2.7 (B-) grade (or a score of 50 on the
CLEP or 55 on the DANTES examinations) are
prerequisites for full admission:
a. Introduction to Psychology or General
Psychology
b. Developmental, Lifespan Developmental or
Human Growth and Developmental
Psychology within a social science or
educational program
Applicants without these courses can be
conditionally accepted pending successful
completion of the courses. However, appli-
cants are strongly encouraged to complete
COLLEGE OF COUNSELING
MASTER OF ARTS IN COUNSELING