Curriculum & Licensure

Required Courses

The courses required for the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology Degree are distributed across three major foci or content areas: 1) Theoretical Foundations/Individual & Social Bases of Behavior (8 courses), 2) Research (1 course) and 3) Clinical Assessment and Intervention (14 courses in Standard Curriculum, 17 courses in Two-Plus Curriculum). In the beginning of the program, students are exposed to general basic and introductory theoretical concepts and clinical experiences progressing to more advanced and specialized knowledge and clinical training. Students enroll in one of two separate Curricula, each requiring a different number of courses for the degree. The Standard Curriculum requires 24 courses while the Two-Plus Curriculum requires 27 courses, 24 of which are the same as in the Standard Curriculum, plus three additional Clinical Assessment and Intervention courses. The required courses/subject areas are as follows:

* COUN PSY 479-1, 2, 3 Introduction to Clinical Practice for Two-Plus students only

Specialization Courses

Required Specialization Courses

Program Curricula

Standard Curriculum

The Standard Curriculum is an intensive program for students entering the Counseling Psychology field with academic and experiential background in psychology or human services and prior clinical experiences. Standard students navigate a competitive fieldwork interview process and secure a practicum placement prior to entering the Counseling Psychology program. Immediately upon starting the program, fieldwork begins and the coursework, taken in conjunction with closely supervised fieldwork, equips the student practitioner with the tools needed as the therapeutic process unfolds.

Students in the Standard Curriculum attend the program full-time and complete 24 courses over two years. In the first year or practicum year of the Standard Curriculum, students enroll in the three-quarter Counseling Methods course along with two additional courses, meet weekly with a Backhome Preceptor and spend 16-20 hours per week at a clinical field site. By Winter Quarter, with the approval of the academic advisor, students declare a specialization and take the requisite development course in Spring Quarter. In the second year or externship year of the Standard Curriculum, students enroll in a three-quarter course in Ethics, Cultural Diversity and Professional Issues and spend 20-24 hours per week at a clinical field site corresponding to the student's choice of specialization. Students take two additional courses per quarter, including the assessment, therapy and elective courses offered in the area of specialization. Students are encouraged to attend a weekly Case Conference in the externship year.

Two-Plus Curriculum

Two-Plus is a special curriculum designed for qualified students entering the Counseling Psychology field for the first time following a career in another discipline and/or with minimal academic and experiential background in psychology or human services. It is unique to the Northwestern Counseling Psychology program and reflects the program's appreciation of the value of a "second career" to those desiring it while recognizing the importance of adequate preparation for practice in this highly complex and challenging field.

Students in the Two-Plus Curriculum attend the program full-time and complete 27 courses over three years. The 27 course Two-Plus Curriculum consists of the same 24 courses as the Standard Curriculum, "plus" an additional three-quarter course, "Introduction to Clinical Practice," which serves to introduce and orient "career-changers" to the key theories, concepts and applied aspects of the counseling field. In conjunction with this introductory course, students in the first year or pre-practicum year of the Two-Plus Curriculum spend 12-16 hours per week at a clinical field site and enroll in two additional courses per quarter. By Winter Quarter, with the approval of the academic advisor, students declare a specialization and take the requisite development course in Spring Quarter. In the second year or practicum year of the Two-Plus Curriculum, students enroll in the three-quarter Counseling Methods course and spend 16-20 hours per week at a clinical field site corresponding to the student's choice of specialization. Students take two additional courses per quarter as determined in conjunction with the academic advisor, including the assessment, therapy and elective courses offered in the area of specialization. In the third year or externship year of the Two-Plus Curriculum, students enroll in a three-quarter course in Ethics, Cultural Diversity and Professional Issues and spend 20-24 hours per week at a specialized clinical field site. Students are encouraged to attend a weekly Case Conference in the externship year.

Course Schedules

For each curriculum and area of specialization, there is a corresponding "course schedule" that the student follows. Each course is offered once a year during the same quarter each year and students are expected to take these courses in the recommended sequence. In some cases, the academic advisor may design a course schedule more suitable to the student's academic and clinical training needs or approve additional courses to enrich the student's educational experience. The course schedules are as follows:

Curriculum Charts

Standard Two-Year Curriculum Course Schedule

Psychological Counseling Track

Two-Plus Curriculum Course Schedule

Psychological Counseling Track

Full-Time Student Status in the Third Year of the Two-Plus Curriculum

In order to maintain their status as full-time students, Two-Plus students will be enrolled in 499: Independent Study during their third year. This will happen automatically and will not result in any tuition cost to the student. The course will not be counted as part of the student's program. Each student will receive a "pass" for the course that will not count toward their GPA. As a full-time student, those in the Two-Plus Curriculum are entitled to receive the U-PASS, the health insurance subsidy and a basic membership to SPAC. Full-time students are able to take out loans and defer prior loans.

The automatic enrollment in this course will allow Two-Plus students to maintain their full-time status in the third year without incurring any additional tuition expense.

Students applying for licensure outside of Illinois are encouraged to gather information about the licensure requirements for the respective state. This information can be located by contacting the mental health division of the state's counseling association and/or the state's division of financial regulation. The program director is able to assist students with documenting the Counseling Psychology Program in order to meet state licensure requirements. Students/applicants should contact the program director for additional information.