Towson offers a graduate-level counseling psychology program with the flexibility to achieve diverse educational and career goals. The counseling psychology concentration provides the necessary training to become a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) or to pursue advanced training at the doctoral level.
Students learn to facilitate personal, educational, vocational and group adjustment
across the lifespan. They are prepared to work in a in a variety of settings such
as community mental health agencies, group homes, university career and counseling
centers, rehabilitation programs, substance abuse treatment centers and psychiatric
hospitals.
In this concentration you can pursue either the practitioner track or the research track.
The practitioner track prepares you to work as a counselor or therapist at the master's level. The curriculum of the program maps directly onto the requirements for licensure in Maryland, and can be applied in other states. Graduates of the practitioner track may also choose to continue their education in a doctoral program.
The research track provides you with the experience, knowledge and skills required for successful PhD program admission. Students on the research track gain intensive training and mentorship in research methodology, statistics, and design by completing a master’s thesis under the supervision of a faculty member in your area of interest. Following graduation, you may apply to doctoral program in counseling psychology or a related field, or pursue licensure at the master’s level.
Accredited by the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC) for the period of February, 2016 though February, 2026.
In compliance with our program’s MPCAC accreditation, the following information represents a snapshot of our program’s statistics:
Applicant and Student Information:
Number of Applications received to matriculate in academic year 2019-2020: 63
Of those applications, number of students admitted: 21
Of those admitted, number of students newly enrolled in academic year 2019-2020: 12
Of those who were newly enrolled in AY 2019-2020, number who continued this fall (fall 2020) into year two (first year retention rate) 11
Total number of students enrolled in the program during the academic year 2019-2020:
37
Number of students who graduated in the academic year 2019-2020: 17
Number of full-time students who started the program and graduated within the expected time frame (two or three years, depending on your program length). This would NOT include part-time students who graduated in the AY 2019-2020: 14
Percent of students who enrolled in the program in fall 2015 (AY 2015-2016) who graduated from the program (5-year graduation rate): (17/17) 100%
Percent of those who graduated in the years 2016 to 2018 who became fully licensed and/or credentialed (as mental health counselors, professional counselors, BCBA, substance abuse counselors or other similar titles): 85.7%
Percent of those who graduated in 2019-2020 who became certified or licensed (depending on your state's regulations) as school counselors: 0%
Please enter the percentage of courses taught by adjunct or part-time faculty over the 2019-2020 AY: 18.7%
the 2019-2020 AY
Faculty Information:
Full time faculty: 4 Full-Time Faculty (2 African American, 1 Asian American, 1 Caucasian)
Part time faculty: 4 (3 female, 1 male; 3 Caucasian, 1 Latinx)
Adjunct faculty: 6 (3 female, 3 male; 3 Caucasian, 1 Latinx, 1 African-American)
The program allows you to accumulate as many as 1,000 of the 3,000 supervised hours required for licensure while in the master's program. Faculty members work closely with students to ensure clinical requirements are met.
View degree requirements and course descriptions in the Graduate Catalog.
Towson’s counseling psychology program is unique in the area as it operates from a small cohort-based model. This model allows students to receive excellent advising and mentoring from faculty to best meet their individual career goals. Students and faculty get to know each other well and faculty are committed to fostering strong mentoring relationships with all students.
The counseling concentration at Towson University is strongly committed to providing excellent training in multicultural competence and social justice work. As we prepare students to work in a diverse world, there is a strong emphasis on developing cultural competence throughout the curriculum, including in courses, practicum and internship experiences and extra-curricular activities.
Students can complete their degree requirements in two calendar years with full-time attendance. However, some students opt to attend part-time. Courses meet once a week for 2.5 hours and every attempt is made to schedule them together to minimize the number of days students need to come to campus. Our program works to accommodate students who work full- or part-time while attending graduate school.
The curriculum of the counseling concentration at Towson University aligns directly with the requirements for licensure in Maryland as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC). Students interested in pursuing the LCPC will have completed the majority of the state’s requirements for licensure, as well as up to 1000 of the 3000 supervised clinical hours required. Faculty members work closely with students to ensure placement at a practicum agency and to ensure that clinical requirements are met. Additionally, students are well-prepared for the National Counselor Examination (NCE) that is required in most states for licensure as a professional counselor. Among alumni who have graduated within the last three years (2013-2015) and have taken the NCE, 100% have passed the exam.
