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M
A S T E R O F
A
R T S I N
C
O U N S E L I N G
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 clinical mental health counselors. The
training model focuses on the heart (personal and spiritual development), the head (professional knowledge and
research), and the hands (effective interpersonal and clinical skills).
Admission Requirements
In addition to satisfying the general admissions requirements for Columbia International University graduate-level
programs, applicants must submit an additional essay and forms specific to the M.A. in Counseling program and
participate in a group interview. Applicants applying to the M.A. in Counseling program must satisfy the following:
1.
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 50
th
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 overall 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale and a minimum 2.7 (“B-
”)
grade in each
course.
*International applicants must have compl ted the equivale t of a U.S. bachelor’s level degree.
2.
Have a minimal understanding of the language and concepts of psychology to be successful in the program.
Therefore, the following undergraduate courses with a minimum 2.0 (C) 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, applicants are strongly encouraged to complete these courses as soon as possible, as
they will not be allowed to take counseling courses that have these undergraduate courses for
prerequisites.
3.
Submit scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test that includes all three sections
(verbal reasoning, quantitative reason, and analytic writing). The GRE is used as only one of the evaluative
tools and has no minimum score requirement.
4.
Show evidence of potential success in forming effective and culturally relevant interpersonal relationships
in individual and small-group contexts and relevant career goals to the program.
5.
Following the receipt of all application items, applicants meeting the initial requirements will be invited to
participate in a group interview. Admission will not be granted to those who do not participate in the group
interview. Special arrangements may be made for international applicants.
Transfer Policy
A maximum of 12 credits will be considered for transfer toward the counseling core from another accredited
school. No transfer of credit will be accepted for the following courses: CNS 5305 Applied Biblical Foundations of
Counseling, CNS 5306 Foundations of Clinical Mental Health Counseling, CNS 5313 Personal and Spiritual
Development, CNS 5342 Foundations of Marriage and Family Counseling, CNS 6912 Advanced Counseling
Techniques and Practicum, CNS 6937 Internship 1, CNS 6938 Internship 2.
Candidacy
Admission to candidacy in the Master of Arts in Counseling program is a checkpoint to ensure that students are
progressing appropriately in their professional skills, academic understanding, and personal and spiritual
development in order to continue toward internship and graduation. Details of the application process for
candidacy are found in the COC Student Handbook. All undergraduate psychology prerequisites need to be
successfully completed and credits transferred to CIU before candidacy can be granted. Students are responsible
for submitting their application to candidacy to the COC Director of Training and Internship.
OLUMBIA NTERNATIONAL NIVERSITY
OLLEGE OF OUNSELING