Center for Counseling and Family Studies
Overview
The Graduate Counseling program, launched in 1981, is committed to providing quality professional training for healing human hurts from a perspective permeated by Christian faith. Our training in theory and practice of counseling is designed for those seeking career opportunities in mental health agencies, hospital programs, private practices, church-related counseling centers, and other public facilities.
Purpose
Consistent with the mission of the institution, the Department of Counseling seeks:
- to educate the whole person within a framework of a reasoned Christian worldview.
- develop knowledge, values, and skills necessary for effective professional service.
The department's mission and purpose is extended to students who are not able to attend a more traditional residential program through technologies appropriate to distance learning.
For more detailed information please click here to access the Master of Arts Professional Counseling marriage and Family Therapy Handbook.
| Disclosure Statement |
| Enrollment in one of the MA licensure programs does not guarantee a degree from Liberty or qualification for professional licensure. Students are responsible for meeting all academic and professional requirements for graduation. Further information regarding these academic and professional requirements is outlined in this handbook. Students enrolled in a MA counseling licensure program are responsible for knowing the material outlined in this handbook. Further, it is the sole responsibility of the student, not the program, to obtain information regarding prerequisites for licensure as outlined by their particular state board of counseling or marriage and family therapy. |
Admission Policies
Admission and Licensure
The 48 and 60 hour Professional Counseling and Marriage and Family Counseling degrees are designed to lead to professional licensure as outlined by individual state boards of counseling. Before enrolling in a licensure program at Liberty University, students should consult the rules and regulations regarding Professional Counseling and/or Marriage and Family Therapy for their particular state. More specifically, students should be aware of the following before enrolling in one of Liberty University’s counseling programs:
- State regulations regarding licensure opportunities if an applicant has a previous felony conviction.
- State regulations regarding the type and number of academic courses and practicum/internship hours.
- The state accreditation requirements for educational institutions.
- The state regulations and requirements for online graduate education programs.
*To obtain your state’s web address, go to: http://www.nbcc.org/directory
Admission Requirements
To be admitted to one of the counseling degree programs at Liberty, applicants to the program must have:
- An earned baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
- An undergraduate cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Applicants who do not meet the minimum GPA requirement may be admitted on Academic Probation status but must enroll and successfully pass the graduate writing course (GRST 500) and maintain a GPA of 3.0 within the first semester of admission.
- Successfully completed a minimum of 6 semester hours of undergraduate coursework in psychology or a closely related field of study (e.g., sociology, human services, social work) and 3 hours of statistics. Applicants who have not successfully completed those undergraduate courses could be admitted with the provision that they must complete the undergraduate coursework within the first two semesters of study. Students will not be permitted to progress in the program if they have not met the undergraduate prerequisites within the first two semesters of enrollment.
