Description

PIU's history of offering counseling courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, its commitment to providing students with constantly improving educational opportunities, and the overall job outlook in the United States for the profession of counseling, motivated the university to add an MA in Counseling program. A generous philanthropic donation helped to develop the program.

The MS program offers two tracks for students to choose from: Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and Marriage, Couple and Family Counseling. Sixty semester hours is the current standard among accredited counselor training programs. The predominant professional accrediting body for counselor training programs is the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). PIU’s program is built in line with CACREP’s standards to ensure graduates meet national standards and have greater chances of employment across States and across settings.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for “Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors” is 22% through 2028, as is the outlook for “Marriage and Family Therapists.” Second, while the University will be primarily focused on training counselors for practice in the United States, the National Board of Certified Counselors, a leading professional organization in the field of counseling, as well as other sources in the professional literature, indicate a shortage of professional counselors worldwide.

*Subject to TRACS approval.

Admissions Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a recognized college or university
• GPA of 2.7 or higher
• Official transcripts from all previously attended schools
• Completed application with Piedmont International University

Graduation Requirements

In order to become a candidate for graduation a student

1. Shall have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours at PIU;
2. Shall have maintained a minimum academic average of C (higher for some programs);
3. Shall have passed all courses in his/her curriculum and made a C or better in key courses designated as essential in each program;
4. Shall have completed at least 24 of the final 30 hours with Piedmont International University.