This accelerated 5-year program will enable students to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Bible and a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling. This is accomplished by introducing graduate level courses in the junior and senior years of the undergraduate program. The fifth year will consist of all graduate-level courses. Within this program, student can choose a concentration in Marriage & Family Counseling or Mental Health Counseling. Regardless of concentration choice, students will become profoundly aware of mental health treatment and marriage and family dynamics, starting with an examination of their own personal experiences and expectations. All instruction will follow an Integrative Psychotherapy framework (e.g. McMinn and Campbell) as students learn about both Mental Health treatment and marriage and family issues, all through the lens of Scripture. Students will build their knowledge and skill for premier professional counseling work, use of assessment protocols, and theory and classification of psychopathology. Please contact the LBC Undergraduate Admissions Office for more details at 717-569-7071.
Application and Admission
Practicum and Internship
The Practicum and Internship courses are a critical and integral component in the training of a well-equipped counselor. These two courses provide students with the opportunity to utilize their classroom learning in counseling situations under the supervision of professional school counselors.
The Practicum course may be taken after completing a minimum of 18 credits with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and completion of the candidacy process. A minimum of 100 hours of field experience is required. In addition, students are required to participate in a blended classroom component.
The Internship course may be taken after completing a minimum of 30 credits, GPA 3.0, including successfully completing the Practicum course. A minimum of 600 hours of field experience is required. Students will complete 100 hours in an elementary school, 100 hours in a middle / jr. high and 100 hours in a secondary school with the remaining 300 hours at their level of choice.
Student group meetings, either face-to-face or online, will be held with a Capital faculty member for both courses. These meetings will review the student's counseling activity and issues, and provide for student presentations along with peer and faculty feedback.
Admission Criteria and Application Process
The application process for the MAPC program has four phases: Initial application phase (IAP), interview phase (IP; parts 1-3), preliminary acceptance phase (PAP), and candidacy phase (CP).
INITIAL APPLICATION PHASE (IAP) requires submission of the following items:
- Online application form with $40 application fee.
- Personal statement of spiritual journey and statement of faith
- Two professional references completed online by their supervisor(s) and/or their pastor
- Transcript of an accredited Bachelor's degree (and grad. transcripts if seeking transfer credit approval).
Individuals seeking admission to the MA or MEd program must submit a complete application by:
August 1 for Fall Semester start
December 1 for Spring Semester start
April 1 for Summer Semester start
Current LBC undergrad: Counseling Majors who wish to apply will go through a similar process the semester immediately following their completion of 45 credits. Applications for these students must be completed and submitted by April 19 and November 11 of each year.
Upon review of application materials, prospective students will be contacted by the Counseling Department within one week.
IAP Grading Rubric:
20 possible points
- Professional Reference 1 completed online (max 5 points)
- Professional Reference 2 completed online (max 5 points)
- Undergraduate GPA - (max 5 points) - (4.0-3.75 = 5, 3.5-3.74 = 4, 3.25-3.49 = 3, 3.0-3.24 = 2, 2.75-2.99 = 1).
- Autobiographical Statement of Faith (max 5 points)
Those accepted at this phase will be welcomed to the campus for the interview phase.
INTERVIEW PHASE PART 1 (IP1)
The prospective student will be invited for an on-campus interview with several faculty members from the Professional Counseling and/or School Counseling programs and given opportunity to demonstrate interpersonal skills in a brief mock counseling encounter (max 10 points).
INTERVIEW PHASE PART 2 (IP2)
Occurring on-campus, the applicant will be asked to type a 2-3 page scholarly paper in Microsoft Word reviewing articles given to them that day. This will help us assess for graduate level skills related to: comprehension, adaptability, critical thinking, and scholarly writing (max 5 points).
IP Grading Rubric:
20 possible points
- Part 1 (max 10 points)
- Part 2 (max 10 points)
Those who have met the interview criteria will be welcomed to the preliminary acceptance phase.
PRELIMINARY ACCEPTANCE PHASE (PAP) enables provisional acceptance to the graduate program.
During this phase, the new MA in Professional Counseling student will need to take the following four courses:
| CPS 501 | Orientation to Counseling and Psychology | 3 |
| CPS 508 | Counseling Skills in Helping Relationships | 3 |
| CPS 530 | Professional Ethics in Counseling & Psychology Casework | 3 |
| CPS 541 | Group Counseling Leadership Skills | 3 |
In addition to the requirement of a grade of B or higher, each student will be rated by their professors on various interpersonal and academic performance standards. The student will then meet with their academic advisor pursuant to being deemed academically and interpersonally fit to continue to the candidacy phase. Should the student not meet the above expectations, an individual remediation plan tailored to the student's growth needs will be developed. If the student does not satisfy requirements of the remediation plan, they will be dismissed from the program.
CANDIDACY PHASE (CP)
In order to ensure the student is at a socio-emotional and behavioral level fit for the profession, they will be required to take the following tests: MMPI 2 and 16PF during the semester that immediately follows approval of academic fitness as noted above. The cost of each test is $20. Once a student is preliminarily accepted into the program they will be required to submit a candidacy application the specifics of which can be gleaned from our department secretary (skirby@lbc.edu). The student will also be interviewed by a full-time faculty member and test results will be interpreted collaboratively by full-time faculty. Recommendations germane to findings will be generated and the advisor will meet with the student to communicate this information. Examples of recommendations include but are not limited to:
- Formal approval as socio-emotionally and behaviorally fit for advancement to candidacy;
- Provisionally fit for candidacy IF various recommendations are followed;
- Unfit for candidacy and dismissal from the program.
Rubric Grading Details
Phase 1
Point System:
16-20 points - accepted for Phase 2 Assessment
<16 - non-acceptance
Phase 2
Point System:
16-20 points - accepted for Phase 3 Assessment
<15 points - non-acceptance
Phase 3
Decision on acceptance for 4 core courses:
| CPS 501 | Orientation to Counseling and Psychology | 3 |
| CPS 508 | Counseling Skills in Helping Relationships | 3 |
| CPS 530 | Professional Ethics in Counseling & Psychology Casework | 3 |
| CPS 541 | Group Counseling Leadership Skills | 3 |
Grade of B or higher in all 4 courses; Satisfactory interpersonal and academic rating (via standardized form) by all 4 professors. If not met, remediation plan put in place. If remediation plan requirements are not met, the student will be dismissed from the program.
Phase 4: Candidacy Assessment
Completion of:
- Candidacy Application
- MMPI 2 and 16PF
- Faculty Interview
- Faculty test result review and recommendations issued
- Advisor meeting with student