The Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is a 60-credit degree program offered online. This degree program is designed to align with the Clinical Mental Health Counseling specialty area standards delineated by state licensing requirements. Students will develop competency in foundational counseling theories and skills, present professional dispositions essential to the practice of counseling, and provide the academic base for professional licensure in the State of Michigan. All counseling students are required to attend two separate professional development orientation/training over three days in-person on the Cornerstone University campus. Optional concentration areas beyond licensure requirements are offered in marriage and family therapy, addictions counseling, and trauma counseling.   Students pursuing the Marriage and Family concentration must declare the concentration before starting practicum to avoid extending beyond the suggested program timeline.

Change of Degree Program

If a student wishes to change his or her program, he/she may do so by completing an Application for Program Change. Students are required to complete all courses for the degree, which are not duplicated from the previous program. Students pursuing the Marriage and Family Therapy concentration must declare the concentration before starting practicum to avoid extending beyond the suggested program timeline.

Student Learning Outcomes

The Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling curriculum is designed to equip students in these areas:

1. Specialized Knowledge – Students will demonstrate specialized knowledge of and proficiency in the terminology, concepts, practices, and skills specific to clinical mental health counseling. In accomplishing this objective, students will be able to:
   • State a personal philosophy of counseling that reflects awareness of personal beliefs, foundational theories, and worldview integration.
   • Exhibit understanding and compliance with the legal requirements and ethical codes of the counseling profession.
2. Applied Knowledge and Collaborative Learning – Students will exhibit competency in applying their knowledge to address real-life clinical mental health counseling problems through both individual and group effort. At the end of this program, students will be able to:
   • Facilitate the counseling process for individuals, groups and/or families by providing consultations that foster awareness, growth and restoration that is based on established client centered goals and a sound systemic framework.
   • Articulate and apply effective counseling strategies reflecting practical techniques and multicultural applications.
   • Demonstrate understanding and competency in the use of testing instruments and research interpretation in appraisal and diagnosis, and the basic competency in career development counseling.
3. Intellectual Skills – Students will demonstrate their ability to integrate traditional and normative skills expected of students in the liberal arts tradition, including analytical skills, information literacy, quantitative competency, and communication fluency.
4. Civic & Global Engagement – Students will demonstrate intercultural competence in addressing civic, social, environmental, and economic issues within clinical mental health counseling.
5. Biblical Worldview Integration and Action – Students will articulate a Christ-centered worldview to include its personal, professional, and communal embodiment through Christian virtues.

Professional Development Gates

The Department of Graduate Counseling performs comprehensive evaluations of student development, learning, and application across four Professional Development Gates. Each Professional Development Gate is structured throughout a student’s degree timeline, where key areas of student development are evaluated by the Department of Graduate Counseling faculty.

Gate 1 – Admissions Process

Applicants’ readiness for graduate work and entrance into the Clinical Mental Health Counseling field of study. Assessment of candidate’s knowledge and disposition as follows:

• Knowledge - Undergraduate GPA of 2.7 or higher.
• Disposition - Disposition average of 2 or higher on the PDCA-RA with no areas of concern noted as rated by the Department of Graduate Counseling faculty based on admissions interview. All other required admission application completed.

Gate 2 – Professional Development & Pre-Practicum:

Students are evaluated based on “readiness” (knowledge, skill, and disposition) for Practicum placement by the Department of Graduate Counseling faculty to begin entry-level clinical work as follows:

• Knowledge – Cumulative GPA 3.0 across Practicum pre-requisite courses with no areas of academic concern (e.g., extensions, remediation, etc.) as noted by the Department of Graduate Counseling Faculty. Student has met key performance indicators (KPI) across completed coursework.
• Skill – Students successfully completes the following courses with no skill-based student remediation referrals as noted by the Department of Graduate Counseling Faculty: Residency #1 + COU-503, Residency #2 + COU-610, and COU-612.
• Disposition – Disposition quotient of 2 or higher on the PDCA-RA across Pre-practicum coursework with no areas of concern as noted by the Department of Graduate Counseling faculty. Students maintain a willingness to learn, receive feedback, and develop professionally.

Gate 3 –Pre-Graduation

Students must meet academic requirements as mentioned in the Student Handbook for each course with no areas of concern.  Students in their last semester of the counseling program are evaluated for their “readiness” (knowledge, skills, and disposition) to graduate and begin the licensing process as a post-graduate for clinical work as follows:

• Knowledge – Students must meet academic requirements as mentioned in the Student Handbook for each course with no areas of concern noted by Department of Graduate Counseling faculty. In Internship 2, students must pass the CPCE exam*.
• Skills – Students must successfully complete all required clinical hours, assignments, and have no skill-based remediation referrals as noted by the Department of Graduate Counseling faculty (Practicum and Internship)
• Disposition – Disposition quotient of 2 or higher on the PDCA-RA across Pre-practicum coursework with no areas of concern as noted by the Department of Graduate Counseling faculty.

*CPCE: A passing score changes each month as the CPCE will issue different questions per version. A passing score is determined by taking the national average and standard deviation. For example, if the national average was 100 with a standard deviation of 10, then the cutoff score would be 100 – (10 / 2) = 95. If a student is unsuccessful in passing the CPCE after two attempts, a growth plan will be established for the period of one semester before a third and final attempt. If unsuccessful, the student will be removed from the program.

Practicum and Internships

For comprehensive information regarding Practicum and Internships, please refer to the MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling Practicum/Internship Manual on MyCU.

Admission Requirements

• A completed application and non-refundable $50 tuition deposit
• An official transcript verifying a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. regionally accredited college/university or equivalent. Cornerstone University graduates need not request a Cornerstone University transcript. Official graduate transcripts from other schools are required only if course work will be transferred to meet program or course requirements.
• A minimum grade-point average of 2.7 in undergraduate course work at the institution from which the baccalaureate degree was received. Students not meeting this requirement may submit a written request to the admissions committee for acceptance to the graduate program explaining why they believe they can succeed in a master’s program and submit a written essay per instructions provided by the enrollment counselor.
• Interview with Counseling Faculty.

In addition:

• Students whose primary language is not English must achieve a minimum TOEFL score of 577 (paper-based test), 233 (computer-based test), 90-91 (internet-based test) or a minimum IELTS score of 7.0 and have the results submitted to Cornerstone University.

Required Courses

Concentrations (Optional)

Marriage and Family Therapy

(allows for Dual Licensure in Michigan)

Addictions Counseling

Trauma Counseling

Christian Counseling 

• Completion of the master’s program curriculum with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. Any course with a grade of less than a B will not count toward graduation and must be repeated.
• Successful completion of the COU Practicum and Internship clinical hour requirements.
• Completion of all degree requirements within five years of beginning the program.

Disclosure Statement

·      The MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree program requirements are intended to provide students with the educational basis to pursue clinical mental health counseling and/or marriage and family therapy.  Course content and coursework completed at CU does not override the legal authority of the state in which the student/counselor is operating.  Clarification regarding legal matters should be addressed with the appropriate legal counsel. CU does not guarantee that all students who enroll in the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree will graduate or obtain state licensure.  It is the sole responsibility of the student to complete all requirements for graduation and state licensure.  It is also the sole responsibility of the student to be conversant with the requirements of the state in which they desire to be licensed.  CU does not take responsibility for curricular requirements aligning with state requirements.  More information regarding state licensure is available at https://www.cornerstone.edu/programs/ma-clinical-mental-health-counseling/.