Community Counseling Track

The Master of Arts in Counseling, Community Counseling track, is a 60 semester hour program. The curriculum meets educational requirements for professional licensure in accordance with the regulations of the Virginia Board of Behavioral Sciences. The curriculum includes study in the areas of professional identity, counseling theories, group counseling, counseling techniques, abnormal behavior, appraisal, career development, human growth and development, social and cultural functions, research, social and multicultural issues, ethics, spirituality and religion, addictions, marriage and family counseling, and supervised clinical work.

To graduate, the student will have met all course requirements with a minimum GPA of 2.75, will have obtained satisfactory internship references, met program assessment criteria for competency, and obtained the formal approval of the faculty for graduation.

Full-time students should be able to complete the program in two years (the equivalent of 5 semesters of full-time study). However, many find a three year plan of study helpful to integrative learning.

Pastoral Counseling Focus

The Master of Arts in Counseling, Community/Pastoral Counseling track, is a 60 semester hour program with course work in the Community Counseling track. The focus is on development of a pastoral counseling identity through membership in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, participation in program sponsored seminars and faculty mentorship and supervision.

Dual Degree: M.Div. and M.A. in Counseling

Dr. David Glanzer, professor of counseling, has been working with EMU students for more than 30 years.

A Dual Degree enables a student to earn both an M.Div. and a Master of Arts in Counseling in approximately one year less and at less cost than if the degrees were pursued separately.

Purpose/Rationale

The Dual Degree program enables a student to earn both an M.Div. through Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) and a Master of Arts in Counseling. Graduates are enriched by the interdisciplinary character of theological/pastoral preparation in conversation with counseling disciplines; are prepared to work part-time as pastor and within another professional field in ways that enhance their economic stability and potential service to the church; are more thoroughly prepared for leadership in Christian institutions and organizations with expanded management skills and professional breadth; and are well prepared to bring a deeper spiritual and religious perspective to their work within community counseling agencies.

Academic and Administrative Matters

1. To participate in the Dual Degree Program, a student is admitted to both the Seminary’s M.Div. program and to the Master of Arts in Counseling program. Admission to one program does not in any way assure admission to the other program.
2. Students deal with the two programs separately for purposes of admission, tuition payment, financial aid, etc.
3. Academic standing in the respective programs is determined solely on the basis of work done in each program.
4. Each program is responsible for the integrity of its degree in terms of course requirements.
5. Students complete the requirements for both degrees, as specified below, in order to receive either degree in the program. If the requirements for the dual degree are not met, the requirements of each program taken separately apply.

The Seminary Associate Dean and the Master of Arts in Counseling director serve as contact persons and as advisors for students pursuing a dual degree. Eastern Mennonite Seminary would recommend that a year of seminary study come first in the sequence. The recommended design would be to take the first and final years at the Seminary.

Academic Requirements For a Dual Degree M.Div./Master of Arts in Counseling (total of 123 SH):

• Seminary M.Div. degree requires 93 SH, 75 SH core requirements and 18 SH electives.
• The Master of Arts in Counseling degree requires 57 SH which are non-negotiable and one approved 3 SH elective for a total of 60 SH.

In light of the Association of Theological Studies policy on “shared credit in degree programs,” the Seminary allows up to 30 hours to be reduced from the current M.Div. requirements for a dual M.Div./Master of Arts in Counseling degree. A student is free to take additional electives in either program. Each program currently specifies the core required courses for their respective degree programs.

M.Div: a total of 63 hours required (93 SH minus the 18 open electives and up to 12 SH from the M.Div. core). This should be doable in 2 years, including May and summers. Master of Arts in Counseling: a total of 60 SH required.

The Master of Arts in Counseling courses listed below are available for substitution for the seminary core courses (in italics) but some flexibility is allowed for negotiating substitution of another comparable course or two instead of those mentioned below in light of schedule constraints and/or individual needs.

• Professional Function, Identity and Ethics and Counseling Techniques (6 SH) can replace Formation in Personhood I & II (2 SH) and Pastoral Care (3 SH)
• Ethics in multiple classes can replace Christian Ethics (3 SH)
• Multicultural Counseling (3 SH) can replace Cross-Cultural Experience (3 SH)