Academic Catalog 2024-2025
Accelerated B.C.M. Christian Ministry + M.A. Clinical Counseling
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To help students to be good stewards of their financial resources, the School of Christian Studies and School of Behavioral and Social Sciences are proud to offer an accelerated B.C.M. Christian ministry to M.A. Clinical Counseling program for Christian ministry majors who apply as undergraduates. The program is designed for students who feel a calling to counseling within a church or ministry-based setting. The accelerated program can reduce the financial cost for the student by reducing the time required to complete a master’s degree.
The accelerated bachelor’s to master’s degree program reduces the total hours for the two degrees from 184 hours to 172 hours. Undergraduate students must apply and be admitted to this program.
- Full-time students transition from bachelor-level coursework to master-level coursework in years three to four and complete both degrees simultaneously in years five to six (depending on hours taken)
- A minor is not required in the professional development block for the thesis track. The professional development block consists of the following:
- No more than 12 hours can be cross-listed, though graduate courses can be taken concurrently if needed in the last term of the B.C.M. for financial aid.
- In their fifth and sixth years, students will complete their graduate counseling curriculum, including the comprehensive exam.
- Some courses in the counseling program require face-to-face attendance in weekend courses. Students must be able to travel to one of our campuses that offers these courses. These courses typically meet on Friday night and Saturday for three weekends during the 8 week sessions. The following classes require face-to-face attendance: CNSL 5304 , CNSL 5305 , CNSL 5313 , CNSL 5314 , CNSL 5360 , CNSL 5361 , and CNSL 5362 . These courses focus on the practice of counseling and the face-to-face courses offer opportunities to practice skills and receive feedback, improving the counseling abilities of our students.
To remain in good standing for accelerated program:
- Student must make C or better in all major coursework in the B.C.M. degree
- Student must maintain a 2.5 overall GPA in first sixty hours of B.C.M. degree
- Student must maintain a 3.0 GPA in last sixty hours of B.C.M. degree
- Student must earn B or better in the cross-listed graduate courses
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B.C.M. Christian Ministry
The Christian ministry major focuses the student’s ministerial training on cultivation of leadership skills, understanding of the various ministries of the church, acquisition of basic skills in conflict resolution and pastoral counseling, and effective teaching of biblical and discipleship concepts. To complement the major, the student will complete a minor as a portion of the professional development hours in the degree unless the student enters the university with substantial ministry-related transfer credit, as determined by the dean of the school.
Bachelor of Christian Ministry Degree Requirements
The Bachelor of Christian Ministry Degree (B.C.M.) is a minimum 124-credit hour degree designed to afford both academic and professional depth for individuals who express a call to ministry. The degree integrates university degree requirements with appropriate experience. A minimum of 36 credit hours must be upper-level credit (courses numbered 3000 and above).
No additional degree specific general education courses are required for this degree. Students pursuing the B.C.M. degree will complete the Unified General Education Core requirements.
Academic Major
Students seeking the B.C.M. degree will complete the appropriate major requirements as outlined in the School of Christian Studies section.
Professional Development
The Professional Development component of the B.C.M. consists of 36 credit hours selected to provide depth or breadth to the major and to provide substantive developmental knowledge for the student’s career or personal goals. Depth and breadth can be met through a major, a specialization, a minor, or ministry-related courses. Student completing Christian ministry or theological studies majors will complete a minor or second major as a portion of the professional development hours unless the student enters the university with substantial ministry-related transfer credit, as determined by the dean of the School of Christian Studies, or they are accepted into an accelerated program that does not require a minor. Students in the co-vocational ministry or recreation ministry majors will complete a second major or a specialization as part of a composite major in lieu of a separate professional development component. Co-vocational ministry and recreation ministry specializations may require additional hours beyond the 36 credit hours, in which case hours will be reduced from the electives block or added to the degree. Students not pursuing a minor or second major must ensure all upper-level academic and cumulative hours are met for the degree.
Up to 12 credit hours of experiential professional development may satisfy this requirement. Experiential learning must be evaluated and approved by the university. Students who have work experience in full-time, part-time or co-vocational ministry positions may have the work experience evaluated if the ministry position is a paid staff position with formal job requirements. Practicums and internships may be placed in this area if they do not relate to the major.
Electives
Students may complete the minimum of 124 credit hours required for the degree with courses which complement or extend career preparation or pursue subject fields which hold special appeal. However, before using elective credit hours, students should check with their advisor to ensure that the hours are indeed elective and that upper-level credit hour requirements for graduation are being met.
Christian Ministry - 36 hrs
The Christian ministry major requires a minimum of 36 semester hours from the following courses:
Christian Studies Common Core - 18 hrs
The School of Christian Studies seeks a holistic approach to ministerial training, preparing the head (knowledge), the heart (devotion), and the hands (service). This holistic approach begins with a common core for all Christian Studies majors.
Christian Ministry - 18 hrs
M.A. Clinical Counseling
The Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling is designed to equip a student to sit for the state board exams as licensed professional counselor or licensed mental health counselor in Alaska, Arizona, Oklahoma, or Texas. Students in other states where Wayland has a counseling program may also pursue the M.A. in Clinical Counseling if it better fits their career needs. In TEXAS ONLY, a student may elect to qualify for the exams for both the LPC and school counseling.
Advisories
Evaluations of students: Successful completion of the Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling program is based on the demonstration of effectiveness in academic, professional, and personal areas as they relate to the counseling profession. The faculty has both a professional responsibility and a moral obligation to evaluate all students throughout the training program for professional competence in academic course work; for weaknesses in required practical skills; for behaviors which are unethical, illegal, or unprofessional; and/or for dispositions deemed inappropriate for a professional counselor. The evaluative process provides students with information related to their progress to enable them to take advantage of strengths and to remediate weaknesses in their academic, professional, and personal development. The evaluative process provides faculty with information about student progress and suitability or unsuitability as counselors which will facilitate decisions in the best interests of students and the profession they are preparing to enter.
School counseling: Wayland is authorized to certify school counselors ONLY in Texas. Students must hold a valid classroom teaching certification before applying to Wayland’s school counselor education program. Once admitted to Wayland’s school counselor education program, students must enroll in CNSL 5110 during their first session of enrollment in order to apply and be admitted to Wayland’s Education Preparation Program (EPP) for School Counselor Certification. The Application for Admission to the EPP, and all supporting documentation, should be filed with the education coordinator at the student’s respective campus prior to the second session of enrollment. A fee of $55 will be charged to all students admitted to the education program to cover fees charged by the Texas Education Agency. Students in the school counseling program must: be certified to teach in the State of Texas; have taught full-time for a minimum of two years; complete CNSL 5110 and all subsequent trainings and requirements during their first session of enrollment; and, pass the school counseling practice exam before they will be eligible to take CNSL 5363 - Practicum in School Counseling. Once students have completed all of their degree requirements, and the requirements outlined by Wayland’s Don A. Williams School of Education, they will be recommended to the state for certification.
Practicum requirements for school counseling students (TX only): The Texas State Board for Educator Certification requires a practicum (CNSL 5363) in a school setting with mandatory evaluation visits by the university’s school counselor supervisor. Students seeking school counseling certification will take CNSL 5363 - Practicum in School Counseling in order to fulfill the requisite practicum hours and should also take CNSL 5321 - Introduction to School Counseling as part of their degree. Texas students seeking LPC licensure and School Counseling Certification simultaneously will replace CNSL 5361 - Internship in Counseling with one CNSL 5363 - Practicum in School Counseling course and should refer to the TX-LPC/SC degree plan for a complete list of required coursework. Site supervisors for practicums in school counseling must be certified school counselors.
Practicum/internship requirements in all states for all counseling students: Prior to registering for a practicum, students MUST have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours in the counseling program, have credit for ethics (CNSL 5307), have purchased their malpractice insurance, and have a signed site agreement with the agency in which they will undertake the practicum. Successful completion of CNSL 5360 - Practicum in Counseling is required before a student may register for the internship (CNSL 5361), and successful completion of the internship is required before a student can register for the advanced internship (CNSL 5362). All site supervisors for the practicum and internships for community counseling should be one or more of the following: licensed professional counselors, Masters level clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, rehabilitation counselors, or psychologists with several years of clinical and counseling experience. Wayland’s counseling degree requires a minimum of 300 clock hours of supervised practice distributed over the practicum and internship courses. Arizona students will need a minimum of 700 clock hours of supervised field experience, with a minimum of 320 direct hours. Arizona students should complete 100 hours (40 direct) in CNSL 5360, 135 hours (60 direct) in CNSL 5361, and 165 hours (80 direct) in CNSL 5362 and then repeat CNSL 5361 and CNSL 5362 to acquire the hours required for their state license. Hawaii students will need a minimum of 300 direct hours within the supervised field experience.
Licensure or certification by the state: Upon completion of the M.A. in Clinical Counseling, ALL students seeking a license or school counselor certification must pass the state-required test. No university can license or certify a counselor. That is in all cases a prerogative of the individual state, which might or might not have a reciprocal agreement with any other state. Every state requires additional hours of supervised counseling in addition to an ethics test and whatever exam the state uses as its licensing tool.
All questions concerning licensure and certification requirements should be addressed to the counseling program coordinator on each campus that offers this degree and/or the official “State by State Counselor Guide” at http://www.counselor-license.com/.
Course Requirements - 60 hrs
The Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling requires a minimum of 60 hours. A comprehensive examination is required before completion of the degree and prior to the student’s sitting for the LPC test.
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