ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• Applicants should hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited US institution or the equivalent from a recognized foreign (outside the US) institution, and provide official transcripts.
• Applicants whose native language is not English must meet the English Language Proficiency Admission Requirements.
• Certificate students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
• Read more about Admission Requirements to Certificate Programs

TOTAL UNITS — 15

REQUIRED COURSE — 3 UNITS

PSYCH 320

Therapeutic Communication and Counseling Skills

ELECTIVE COURSES — 12 UNITS

Select from the following:

PSYCH 302

Lifespan Development: Theories and Applications for Therapists

PSYCH 304

Cross-Cultural Aspects of Psychology

PSYCH 306

Group Models of Counseling

PSYCH 308

Applied Psychological Research

PSYCH 321

Psychopathology

PSYCH 322

Psychological Assessment

PSYCH 323

Psychodynamic Models of Counseling

PSYCH 324

Child/Adolescent Psychology, Assessment and Treatment

PSYCH 325

Principles of Couple and Family Counseling

PSYCH 326

Legal and Ethical Responsibility for Counselors

PSYCH 329

The Neuroscience of Counseling and Psychopharmacology

PSYCH 331

Human Sexuality (1 unit)

PSYCH 333

Substance Use, Co-Occurring Disorders and Addiction (1 unit)

PSYCH 334

Relational Abuse: Assessment, Treatment and Reporting (1 unit)

PSYCH 335

Special Issues in the Treatment of Families (2 units)

PSYCH 337

Community Mental Health

PSYCH 339

Cognitive-Behavioral and Short-Term Models of Counseling

PSYCH 351

Career Counseling and Development

Other courses, such as those in the MA in Industrial-Organizational Psychology program, may be selected instead of the elective courses listed above, in consultation with the program director.

Applicability of Undergraduate Psychology Courses (Pathway Programs)

As a pathway to the graduate-level counseling programs, students who complete certain undergraduate-level courses at Golden Gate University in pursuit of certain bachelor’s degrees may have the comparable graduate-level required courses waived from the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, the Graduate Certificate in Counseling Skills, or the Conflict Resolution and Coaching Graduate Certificate program requirements.

The following courses are eligible for this waiver option: PSYCH 102 Lifespan Development: Theories and Applications satisfies the PSYCH 302 Lifespan Development: Theories and Applications for Therapists requirement. PSYCH 120 Principles and Methods of Counseling satisfies the PSYCH 320 Therapeutic Communication and Counseling Skills requirement. As a consequence of having these courses waived, the total number of units required to complete the graduate program will be reduced accordingly.

Note: Students who have not completed bachelor’s degrees at GGU with majors or minors (formerly concentrations) in Psychology are not eligible for this waiver.

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