BA/BS in Psychology/MA in Professional Counseling

The accelerated degree BA/BS in Psychology and MA in Professional Counseling connects a DBU undergraduate program with a related DBU graduate program in Professional Counseling, allowing the student to attain both a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Professional Counseling. This program is designed to prepare counselors to go into the community as servant leaders through various counseling opportunities such as community counseling centers, drug and alcohol treatment facilities, college and university counseling centers, Christian counseling centers, private psychiatric hospitals, abuse shelters, churches, rehabilitation centers, and private practice.

UNDERGRADUATE REQUIREMENTS

courses	credit hours (ba)	credit hours (bS)
Developing A Christian Mind DCM 2301 - Developing a Christian Mind	3	3
English	12	9
(BA) ENGL 1301 - Composition and Rhetoric I ENGL 1302 - Composition and Rhetoric II ENGL 2301 - World Literature I ENGL 2302 - World Literature II (BS) ENGL 1301 - Composition and Rhetoric I ENGL 1302 - Composition and Rhetoric II ENGL 2301 - World Literature I or ENGL 2302 - World Literature II
Fine Arts FINE 1306 - Introduction to Fine Arts	3	3
Foreign Language *Six hours at the 2000 level if adequate prerequisites are met.	14*	0
Foundations for Excellence	1	1
FOUN 1101 - Foundations for Excellence is required of all first-year and transfer students with fewer than 15 credit hours. (AP, CLEP, IB, or dual/concurrent credit earned while in high school does not count toward these 15 credit hours.)
History	6	6
*Choose two:* HIST 1301 - U.S. History to 1865 HIST 1302 - U.S. History Since 1865 HIST 2301 - World Civilization I HIST 2302 - World Civilization II
Kinesiology	2	2
KNES 1101 - Fitness for Living and one additional activity course (KNES 1102-1122); for veterans or those 25 years of age or older prior to enrollment at DBU, KNES courses are waived.
Mathematics	3	3
*Choose one:* (BA) MATH 1301 - Math for Liberal Arts MATH 1303 - College Algebra MATH 1307 - Finite Math for Business Analysis MATH 1405 - Calculus and Analytic Geometry (BS) MATH 1303 - College Algebra MATH 1307 - Finite Math for Business Analysis MATH 1405 - Calculus and Analytic Geometry [Math Advising Tool (eMAT) required prior to registering for any Math class or any class for which the eMAT is a prerequisite.]
Natural Science (1000 or 2000 level courses only)	4	15
One laboratory science (BA) or 15 credit hours of laboratory science (BS) selected from two or more areas of Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geology, Physical Science, or Physics.
Religion	9	9
RELI 1301 - Old Testament Survey RELI 1302 - New Testament Survey and three additional credit hours depending on credit hours transferred at time of initial enrollment
Social Science (1000 or 2000 level courses only) POLS 2301 - American National Government and an additional three credit hours may be selected from Economics, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology.	3	3
TOTAL GENERAL STUDIES HOURS	60	57
BA/BS in Psychology
Required courses	21	21
PSYC 1301 - General Psychology PSYC 2301 - Statistics for the Social Sciences PSYC 3303 - Psychology Internship I (S-L) PSYC 3311 - Marriage and Family Systems PSYC 4305 - Psychology of Abnormal Behavior PSYC 4311 - Integration of Psychology and Christianity PSYC 4317 - Research Methods
Shared Undergraduate/Graduate Courses	12	12
COUN 5310 - Introduction to Professional Counseling COUN 5311 - Ethics in Professional Counseling COUN 5312 - Counseling Theories and Techniques COUN 5318 - Basic Counseling Skills
Additional Upper-Level Electives Required* Additional Lower or Upper-Level Electives Required*	15 12	15 15
TOTAL UNDERGRADUATE WITH SHARED HOURS	120	120

A 120-credit-hour minimum for a bachelor's degree is required. Students must complete all Undergraduate hours and shared undergraduate/graduate hours prior to enrolling for remaining Graduate hours.

*Elective Requirements

In order to satisfy the “Undergraduate only” portion of an accelerated degree plan, sufficient lower-level and upper-level elective hours must be taken to complete the minimum number of Undergraduate credit hours required for each specific accelerated degree.
As part of this accelerated degree plan, 12 shared Graduate hours will be counted toward a minimum of 42 upper-level Undergraduate credit hours required for all bachelor’s degrees.

REMAINING GRADUATE REQUIREMENTS

courses	credit hours (Ma)
Content Courses	48
COUN 5313 - Group Counseling Methods COUN 5314 - Lifespan Human Development COUN 5315 - Psychological Testing COUN 5316 - Research Methods COUN 5317 - Counseling Culturally Diverse Clients COUN 6000 - Comprehensive Counseling Review COUN 6310 - Career Counseling and Lifestyle Development COUN 6311 - Addictive and Compulsive Disorders COUN 6312 - Psychopathology I COUN 6313 - Psychopathology II COUN 6314 - Marriage and Family Counseling COUN 6315 - Theological Perspectives in Christian Counseling COUN 6316 - Advanced Counseling Methods and Crisis Intervention COUN 6324 - A Christian Approach to Human Sexuality Practicum/Internship Courses COUN 5318 - Basic Counseling Skills *(taken as a shared course)* COUN 6317 - Counseling Practicum (S-L) COUN 6318 - Counseling Internship I (S-L) COUN 6319 - Counseling Internship II (S-L) COUN 6101 - Counseling Internship Continuation* *This course is designed for students who do not finish the 600 hours required for Internship at the end of COUN 6319 Internship II. Students may enroll in COUN 6101 continuously until the 600 hours are completed. A grade for COUN 6319 Internship II will be issued upon completion of the 600 hours.
TOTAL ADDITIONAL GRADUATE HOURS REQUIRED	48
TOTAL CREDIT HOURS REQUIRED FOR ACCELERATED DEGREE	168

MA IN PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING ADMISSION

Admission Process

Applicants to the Master of Professional Counseling program will submit all required application forms to the graduate office. Application files will be forwarded to the MAPC Admissions committee for review. The MAPC committee will schedule personal interviews with applicants. The committee will consider each applicant’s (1) relevance of career goals, (2) aptitude for graduate-level study, (3) potential success in forming effective counseling relationships, and (4) respect for cultural differences. Committee recommendations will be sent to the university’s graduate admissions committee for final admission decisions.

Orientation of New Students

At the beginning of each semester (fall, spring), new students will attend a student orientation scheduled by the MAPC director. At the orientation, the program director will (1) distribute and review the MAPC Student Handbook, (2) discuss students’ ethical and professional obligations and personal growth expectations as counselors-in-training, and (3) review eligibility requirements for LPC licensure in the state of Texas.

The orientation will also include a review of the MAPC Counseling Agreement Contract. By signing this agreement, new students are stating their willingness to be evaluated on nine characteristics deemed necessary for the development of an ethical and competent counselor. These characteristics are implied from the expectations of professional and personal competence and responsibility and are as follows: openness, flexibility, positiveness, cooperativeness, willingness to use and accept feedback, awareness of the impact on others, ability to deal with conflict, ability to accept personal responsibility, and ability to express feelings effectively and appropriately. In addition, the student's signature on the contract expresses agreement to attend eight counseling sessions during the first two semesters in the MA in Professional Counseling Program. No student will be allowed to register for practicum until all sessions are complete.

MASTER OF ARTS IN PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING PRACTICUM/INTERNSHIP

The Practicum/Internship experience consists of three courses, COUN 6317 Practicum, COUN 6318 Internship I (S-L), and COUN 6319 Internship II (S-L), completed sequentially. The Practicum/Internship is the culmination of the MA in Professional Counseling degree program and is intended to provide practical experience for students as they make plans to enter the counseling profession. The 3 (three) courses include supervised delivery of direct counseling services in an approved agency or institution. Students are evaluated on a wide range of personal and professional criteria which includes analysis of video-recorded counseling sessions and seminar discussions of counseling theories, methods, and techniques. (S-L) = Course(s) with field-based service-learning component.

Students should attempt to enroll in the 3 (three) Practicum/Internship courses sequentially. In order to progress through the 4 (four) courses, a grade of “B” or higher must be earned. In the event of any grade below at “B,” the course will have to be repeated until at least a “B” is earned. The student is responsible for any remedial work that may be suggested by the faculty in order to successfully complete the Practicum/Internship course.

In order to proceed to Practicum/Internship, students must meet the following criteria:

Student must have completed the 8 required personal counseling sessions.
Student must have completed the 12 hours of undergraduate prerequisite courses.
Student must have a current GPA of 3.0 or above.
Student must secure an internship site before enrolling in Internship I.
Student must successfully pass the Comprehensive Counseling Assessment (CCA).

(S-L) = Course(s) with field-based service-learning component.

Refer to course descriptions for course prerequisites.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Find course descriptions by category under the Undergraduate Course Descriptions OR Graduate Course Descriptions section in the navigation panel.