MA Mental Health Counseling

The Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling degree is designed to provide students with the educational preparation to qualify as a licensed mental health counselor in the state of New York. The curriculum is designed to provide students with a critical knowledge base comprised of 11 content areas identified by the New York State Education Department in compliance with Article 163 of the Education Law, which established mental health counseling as a licensed profession in New York state in 2006. As part of this 60-semester-hour program of study, students will complete 48 credits of required coursework and, under advisement, 12 semester hours of elective coursework from an approved listing of courses, 6 credits of which are considered "preferred electives." Each student will complete 600 hours of supervised internship experience in one or more approved mental health settings. An additional internship of 300 hours can be taken as a preferred elective. Graduates of this program will stand academically prepared to take the qualifying examination for mental health counselor licensure utilized in the state for license application.