Welcome to the Graduate Counseling Program

Dear Prospective Student,

The Department of Counselor Education and Family Studies (CEFS) is a department of the School of Behavioral Sciences. Our mission is to produce ethically and spiritually aware mental health counselors who possess the knowledge, values, skills, and personal disposition to promote the mental health and holistic wellness of clients across diverse populations.

The Graduate Counseling program, launched in 1981, is committed to providing quality professional training of clinical mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, addictions counselors, and counselor educators from a faith-based perspective. The M.A. programs provide foundational studies that equip students for licensure as professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and substance abuse treatment providers; careers in community mental health agencies, educational institutions, private practice, government, business and industrial settings; and doctoral studies. Doctoral studies will prepare students to seek leadership careers as counselor educators, administrators, supervisors, advanced clinical practitioners, and researchers.

Consistent with the university’s mission to develop “Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills essential to impact the world,” the Department of Counselor Education and Family Studies seeks to educate the whole person within a framework of grace and truth. These core values are exemplified in the life of Christ and necessary for professional service; developing the knowledge, values, skills, and personal disposition necessary for effective professional service. Our mission is achieved, in significant measure, through offering rigorous academic programs, dynamic interaction with mentors, faculty, and carefully structured practica and internships.
We look forward to serving you.

Dr. Ronald E. Hawkins

Founding Dean, School of Behavioral Sciences