The Department of Counseling offers advanced courses leading to the Master of Science degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Upon completion of the program, graduates will meet the course and education requirements to pursue their license as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Louisiana.
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Loyola University New Orleans is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The accreditation cycle runs through July 2015 at which time the accreditation board will vote on the renewal application submitted by the program in 2012. Updates in accreditation status will be posted to the Counseling Department main page at http://css.loyno.edu/counseling, and the CACREP website.
Note: The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program is currently accredited under the 2001 Standards for Community Counseling Programs as a Community Counseling program. The 2009 Standards combine the Standards for Community Counseling Programs and Standards for Mental Health Counseling Progams into Standards for Clinical Mental Health Counseling Programs. The counseling program intends to seek accreditation for this program when it comes up for reaccreditation, per CACREP guidelines.)
Admission to the Graduate Program
Admission to the degree program requires a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Acceptance is based on a combination of criteria: 1) GPA (during the last 60 hours of undergraduate work); 2) standardized test results (Graduate Record Examination); 3) written recommendations; 4) written objective statement; 5) admission interview; and 6) writing sample.
Details about the admission process can be found on the Counseling Program's website.
Conditional Acceptance
Students who are accepted on a conditional basis are required to receive a grade no lower than a “B” (this includes a B-) in the first 18 hours of their counseling department required coursework. Students accepted conditionally who receive a grade lower than a “B” in any of the first 18 hours of coursework will be dismissed from the program. In order to facilitate conditionally admitted students’ success, the Counseling Department recommends that students conditionally admitted enroll in a maximum of 6 credit hours each semester for their first 18 hours of course work.
All candidates are required to complete at least 60 credit hours of graduate work to receive the degree. A course in which the student has earned a grade of D or F cannot be counted toward the completion of graduation requirements, but is used in determining the grade point average.
It is important to note here, however, that there are several courses for which students are not allowed to receive less than a “B”, even if they are able to maintain the 3.0 GPA. The courses listed as a “Core Requirement” are considered by the counseling faculty to be so important that if a student receives lower than a “B” (including B-), the student will be required to retake the course. The student will not be allowed to take further courses which require the core requirement class as a prerequisite, until they have received a “B” or higher in the core requirement course. If the student who retakes a core requirement course is still unable to receive a “B” or higher, he or she will be dismissed from the program. There is a worksheet outlining all of the courses, including prerequisites, primary, and required in the Student Handbook.
A degree candidate whose cumulative grade point average falls below 3.0 will automatically be placed on probation, and his or her status will be reviewed by the Graduate Counseling Committee of the Department of Counseling.
Grade Point Average Requirements
All students in the counseling program must maintain a 3.0 GPA in their counseling coursework throughout their tenure in the counseling program as outlined in the Student Handbook. Students who are in a dual degree program may not count the courses from the other degree towards their Counseling GPA. Students who fall under the 3.0 GPA requirement (who are not under the conditional requirements outlined in the previous section), will be notified in writing that they are on Academic Probation. The Graduate Counseling Committee of the Department of Counseling will meet to review the student's status and make recommendations (including possible dismissal from the program).
All counseling students are required to pass a Comprehensive Examination before they are permitted to graduate. The Comprehensive Examination is a 2-part, essay and oral assessment covering all course work completed in the counseling program. Questions will pertain to information offered in the Primary Courses, and Required Courses. Students who fail to achieve a satisfactory level of performance on the written and oral examination components will not be permitted to graduate. Students must apply for Comprehensive Examinations by the deadline outlined in the Student Handbook.
Students who have taken graduate courses prior to entering the program may request transfer credit. Students may obtain no more than six credit hours of transfer credit. Students may not obtain transfer credit for CNSL 830 Counseling Theories, CNSL 835 Into to Clinical Mental Health Counseling, CNSL 840 Group Counseling, CNSL 864 Ethics in Individual, Marriage, and Family Counseling, CNSL 854 Child Diagnosis and Treatment, CNSL 855 Adult Diagnosis and Treatment, CNSL 863 Fundamentals of Practicum and Internship, as well as Practicum, or Internship. Students wishing to obtain graduate transfer credit for any other classes taken at another university must petition the Graduate Counseling Committee of the Counseling Department.
Complete Transfer of Academic Credit policy.
Courses, including those taken in the Department of Counseling of Loyola University, must be completed within seven years. Students wanting to take independent study courses must petition the department faculty at least one month before registration. Please consult with your program advisor for details.
*In addition to all information provided in the bulletin, there is a more detailed description of the program’s policies in the Student Handbook. A hard copy can be requested through the Counseling Department (504) 864-7840 or through the departmental website:
http://css.loyno.edu/sites/css.loyno.edu/files/student-handbook-60hrs-revised-jan-2013-final.pdf