Program: Master of Arts in Counseling - Harding University

Program: 66 hours

I. CORE: (57 hours)

MFT 5731 - Counseling Skills Practicum Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5732 - Foundations of Counseling Credit Hours: 3 ¹
MFT 5735 - Addiction and Violence in Families Credit Hours: 1
MFT 5736 - Grief, Crisis, and Trauma Counseling Credit Hours: 1
MFT 5737 - Child and Adolescent Therapy Credit Hours: 1
MFT 5740 - Theories of Personality and Counseling Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5741 - Psychopathology Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5742 - Treatment Planning and Clinical Intervention Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5750 - Systems and Communication Theory Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5751 - Theories of Marital and Family Therapy Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5752 - Marital Therapy Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5753 - Family Therapy Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5754 - Human Sexuality and Sex Therapy Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5760 - Family Development and Parenting Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5770 - Research in Counseling Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5771 - Counseling Ethics and Professional Issues Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5772 - Testing and Assessment in Counseling Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5773 - Career Counseling Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5774 - Multicultural Counseling Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5780 - Group Counseling Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5785 - Advanced Seminar in Counselor Development Credit Hours: 3

Note(s):

¹ Foundations of Counseling (MFT 5732 ) must be taken within the first 9 hours and passed with a grade of C or better. If a lower grade is earned, the course must retaken the next available semester until an acceptable grade is received.

II. Elective: (3 hours)

Choose ONE of the following courses:

BDOC 5550 - Ethics and Character Formation Credit Hours: 3
BDOC 5470 - Providence and Suffering Credit Hours: 3
BMIN 5883 - Managing Conflict in Ministry Credit Hours: 3
BMIS 5901 - Spiritual Leadership Credit Hours: 3
BOLD 5060 - Wisdom Literature Credit Hours: 3

III. Internship/Practicum: (6 hours)

MFT 5790 - Internship in Counseling Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5791 - Internship in Counseling Credit Hours: 3
MFT 5793 - Internship in Counseling Credit Hours: 3
(Additional requirement for some states)

Additional Requirements

Level of Scholarship: A grade point average of 3.00 is required for the M.A. in Counseling. Only nine hours of C are permitted for the M.A. in Counseling degree, and these must be balanced by an equal number of hours of A credit.

Personal Development: All students are expected to pursue their own personal development and self-awareness by obtaining counseling as they academically prepare themselves in this degree program; therefore, students are required to pursue personal counseling in order to remain in the program. Students are expected to have started their personal counseling by their second year in the program.

Academic Advising: Every student is expected to meet with his or her academic advisor prior to registering for classes each term.

Assessment: Each spring, students enrolled in the M.A. in Counseling program will receive a written annual evaluation of his or her progress through the program. A summary of the evaluation will be provided for each student. Counseling faculty will work with students not currently meeting program expectations, or who are experiencing special challenges in order to create a remediation plan to help them succeed. Such a plan may include referral for personal therapy, deferral of course work, or withdrawal from the program.

Degree Candidacy: The student should apply for candidacy to the degree during the first week of November of the academic year in which he/she hopes to graduate by filling out a Request for Degree form and returning it to the dean’s office. The student is responsible for notifying the registrar if, after applying, he or she is unable to complete graduation requirements.

Statute of Limitation: All degree requirements must be completed within a 10-year period from time of entry into the program. Students who have the M.Div. may transfer up to 30 hours of equivalent course work to the M.A. in counseling degree; students with our M.A. or M.A.C.M. may transfer up to 27 hours into this program. Such transfer students have 10 years to complete the degree from the point they enter the M.A. in Counseling program. If one goes beyond the time limit, one may obtain a time extension of one year for each additional three-hour course successfully completed in one’s area of area of study with the approval of his/her adviser.

Probation: After the completion of 12 semester hours and thereafter, students with grades below a 3.00 average will be placed on academic probation. To remove probation, a student must achieve a 3.00 overall average during the next 18 hours of study.

Counseling Department Handbook: Students are expected to know and follow the information and policies contained in the HST Counseling Department Student Handbook. The Handbook is available online at www.hst.edu.

Locations