Academic Catalog 2024-2025 
    
    Nov 12, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2024-2025

Accel B.A. Psychology + M.A. Clin Counseling degre

Accelerated B.A. Psychology + M.A. Clinical Counseling



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Wayland Baptist University’s accelerated programs allow high-achieving, motivated students the opportunity to combine undergraduate and graduate  coursework in an academically rigorous yet efficient, cost-effective program of study. Accelerated  programs reduce time in school through an integrated  curriculum that avoids duplicated courses, maximizing academic coursework and experiential learning opportunities. Each program, undergraduate and graduate, maintains distinctive requirements students must meet to participate in the accelerated program. Undergraduate students must apply and be admitted to an accelerated program.

The B.A./B.S. Psychology + M.A. Clinical Counseling is an accelerated 172-hour program.

  • Full-time students transition from bachelor-level coursework to master-level coursework in their senior year and complete both degrees simultaneously in five to six years. Time to completion is based on a student beginning with no transfer hours and completing 30 - 32 credit hours per year.
  • Graduate coursework taken as a student of advanced standing cross-lists on the baccalaureate degree plan. 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.A. in Psychology for financial aid.
  • In their fifth year 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 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.A. degree
  • Student must maintain a 2.5 overall GPA in first sixty hours of B.A. degree
  • Student must maintain a 3.0 GPA in last sixty hours of B.A. degree
  • Student must earn “B” or better in cross-listed graduate courses

B.A. Psychology


Psychology - 35 hrs


The major with a B.A./B.S. degree requires a minimum of 35 credit hours, of which at least 27 must be upper-level. *Three hours may be included in the general education core curriculum in the B.A. degree. # Up to seven hours may be in the general education core for the B.S. degree.

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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