Mission Statement
Missouri Baptist University’s Graduate Program in Counselor Education exists to train graduate-level counselors through rigorous academic and hands-on clinical instruction. We seek to develop conscientious, professional, and highly skilled counselors who promote and facilitate the personal growth, development, and empowerment of those clients/students they serve. The Graduate School of Counseling is rooted in our Christian faith that calls us to love God and love one another.
Counselor Education Program Goals
The goals of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling (Traditional and Licensure Track) programs at Missouri Baptist University are to:
- Prepare passionate, effective counselors who are rooted in ethical standards of practice.
- Develop counselors with strong clinical and interpersonal skills who can meet the needs of a diverse client/student population by displaying an attitude of openness to those who are different from themselves.
- Produce counselors who strongly identify with the counseling profession.
- Prepare counselors to work in collaboration with other professionals within a comprehensive program addressing mental health issues.
Counselor Education Program Objectives
- Developing counseling professionals will learn and demonstrate the foundational knowledge necessary to be an effective counselor.
- Developing counseling professionals will learn and demonstrate effective counseling techniques through successful completion of counseling labs, practicum, and internships.
- Developing counseling professionals will demonstrate the ability to clinically conceptualize client/student problems and apply concepts from the eight common core areas of the curriculum.
- Developing counseling professionals will demonstrate the ability to implement effective, evidence-based theories and interventions for individuals, families, and groups.
- Developing counseling professionals will demonstrate professional dispositions of self-awareness, ethical awareness, respect for others, emotional congruence, valuing diversity, and openness.
Candidates who complete either Master of Arts degree will acquire the knowledge, skills, and personal attributes necessary to become clinical mental health or school counselors. In order to achieve this objective, the Counselor Education program is a CACREP accredited program and meets standards to address the following eight competency areas:
- Professional Orientation and Identity – Students will develop an understanding of the history and philosophy of counseling. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the counselor’s roles and responsibilities including the importance of advocating for clients and the profession. Students will demonstrate both knowledge and practice of ethical guidelines of the counseling profession.
- Social and Cultural Diversity – Students will develop an awareness of and appreciation for working with diverse clients. Identity development, social and cultural influences on behavior and the counselor’s role in eliminating barriers and prejudices will be demonstrated.
- Human Growth and Development – Students will develop an understanding of human developmental processes including physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development. Students will demonstrate the important role that theory plays in understanding human development and apply theory to contemporary issues such as addiction, crisis/ trauma, and promoting resiliency.
- Career Development – Students will develop an understanding of career development and its impact on mental health. Students will demonstrate an understanding of career development theories and assessing a client’s abilities, interest, values, and personality.
- Helping Relationships – Students will demonstrate an understanding of the theories and models of counseling, which includes the ability to conceptualize clients, use ethical and culturally relevant strategies for developing rapport, developing measurable outcomes for clients, and evaluate client progress.
- Group Work – Students will develop an understanding of group theory, group development, group dynamics, and group counseling models, interventions, and skills. Students will demonstrate group counseling skills and theory application in an experiential lab.
- Assessments – Students will develop knowledge and skills of assessments and assessment techniques. Students will demonstrate knowledge and skill of individual and group appraisal strategies and focus on the ethical and cultural considerations of selecting, evaluating and administering assessments as a counselor.
- Research and Program Evaluation – Students will develop an understanding of research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation. Students will demonstrate the ability to read, critique, and evaluate professional research. Students will complete a research project during their program of study.
Overview
The School Counseling (Traditional K-12 Certification and Licensure) tracks are designed to lead to certification as both an elementary school counselor (K-8) and a secondary school counselor (7-12) in the state of Missouri. (If the student is not already certified to teach in Missouri then an additional nine hours will be required to meet DESE requirements for certification.)
The Clinical Mental Health Counseling track is designed for those students who wish to pursue a career as a counselor in a clinical setting and not as a certified school counselor. This program meets the academic requirements for licensure as a mental health Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Missouri. Students in the School Counseling - Licensure Track are prepared for both certification and licensure. Candidates must also meet additional state requirements beyond the master’s degree for counselor licensure including: 1) weekly supervision of 3000 hours of counseling and 2) jurisprudence exam, and successful completion of the National Counselor Exam (NCE).
Students who major in School Counseling K-12 Certification must complete a Professional Counseling Portfolio, which meets the research and assessment requirements for the Master of Arts degree as an exit assessment. The portfolio must be completed and scored before the degree is conferred.
To be considered a program completer, students must demonstrate mastery on the MoCA #056 - School Counselor exam (see Exit Exam below).
The State of Missouri certification and licensure offices require that you have good moral character. A criminal record can be defined as, but not limited to: immoral sexual acts; sexual abuse; use, possession, or the sale of narcotics, etc. If you have a concern about your background experiences, please contact the Committee for Professional Counselors (for licensure) or the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (for certification).
Criteria for Full Admission to the Counselor Education Program
Applications for the Masters of Arts in counseling programs are accepted throughout the year. Students are admitted to the program for the fall and spring terms. Courses follow a semester format. Admission to the Counselor Education program is selective. The minimum admissions requirements include:
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
- An undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or higher, or 3.00 for the last 60-hours of their undergraduate or graduate program
- Application materials must include the following:
- Completed online application
- Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
- Submission of Essay/Personal Statement (See the Application Procedures – Master’s Degrees section of this Graduate Bulletin for detailed instructions)
- Submission of a current resume or CV
- Post-master’s Certification (PMC) considerations must have a master’s degree in counseling from a CACREP accredited institution and/or MBU. Based on transcript evaluation by the Counselor Education faculty, students will need to complete coursework and/or a minimum of six internship hours at MBU in order to fulfill the requirements of the add-on certification or licensure. PMC students must also meet GPA requirements and MBU admission requirements in order to be considered for enrollment in courses.
- Once all materials are received and reviewed, students who desire full acceptance into the Counselor Education program are required to attend an oral interview with Counselor Education faculty. This interview must take place either prior to OR during the student’s first full semester of classwork. Following each student interview, Core Counseling Faculty will determine whether an applicant is fully admitted into the program. If the Core Counseling Faculty determines that an applicant should not be fully admitted, they will remain on probationary status and the Remediation Policy will take effect. Students who do not complete their oral interview by the last day of their first full semester will not be able to enroll in classes for the next semester.
Transfer Students/Transfer Credit
Transfer credits must have been earned within seven (7) years prior to entry into the Graduate Studies Program. Students may not take courses from other graduate programs while enrolled at Missouri Baptist without written approval from the Vice President for Graduate Studies.
Courses to be transferred must have similar content to those offered at MBU and must have been earned at a nationally or regionally accredited institution.* Only graduate level courses in which a student earned a grade of “B” (3.0) or better will be considered for transfer. The Counselor Education program at MBU will only allow a maximum of nine (9) credit hours to be transferred. All transfer credits must be approved by the Core Counselor Education Faculty.
Candidates must submit a Course Transfer Request Form for consideration by the Core Counselor Education Faculty after official transcripts have been received by the Graduate Admissions Office. Notification will be made via email once a decision regarding the transfer request has been determined.
*The University only recognizes institutions accredited by the current edition of Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education published by the CHEA and the American Council on Education.
Directed Studies
The Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors will not accept directed studies as meeting the academic requirements for counselor licensure; therefore, no directed studies are permitted in the Master of Arts degree in either Clinical Mental Health Counseling or School Counseling - Licensure Track.
Online Program
Students pursuing a Master of Arts in School Counseling – Traditional Track may complete their coursework online (asynchronous) or face-to-face (synchronous). Students pursuing a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree or a Master of Arts in School Counseling – Licensure track cannot take courses required for licensure asynchronously. All students must take COUN 5253, 5383, and 5393 face-to-face.
Live Stream Courses
Students enrolled in the Master of Arts degree in School Counseling (Traditional or Licensure Track) and/or Clinical Mental Health Counseling at MBU may be enrolled in a course that requires participation in classes via interactive video conferencing. Live Stream courses are synchronous (real-time) classes that meet via an online meeting platform that enables students and the instructor to interact through webcam and audio. This format enables an instructor to conduct a course on MBU’s Main campus and stream a live feed of the course to individuals enrolled in a Live Stream course. In many cases, students can connect via Live Stream from home or another location. Students participate in class via webcam and audio, and are part of the interactive course discussion. Students at the Main campus will see a live video of all students who “stream” into the course, allowing for collaboration among all students, whether physically present in class or connecting to class via webcam.
Students who wish to participate in a Live Stream course must sign a form indicating that they have access to the required technologies, and that they understand Live Stream course requirements, conduct, and etiquette.
Live Stream Course Technology Requirements:
- A reliable high-speed internet connection is required for students to participate in this class.
- Students must have a working webcam AND audio. This equipment is built in to many computers/laptops. If a computer does not have a webcam, one may be purchased relatively inexpensively at a tech store or online.
- Students are required to have a headset with microphone. These may be purchased at tech stores or online. Wired or wireless technologies are acceptable.
- Students who do not have ready access to the required technologies and are unable to remedy the situation will be asked to drop the course.
Live Stream Course Conduct and Etiquette:
- Students are expected to be logged in to the class on time. This is the equivalent to being “in your seat” and ready to learn in a traditional course.
- Follow the instructions outlined on the course’s Canvas page to access the course audio/video feed.
- Once logged into the class, webcam and speakers must be turned on, but the microphone should be disabled.
- The microphone should be enabled only when it is your turn to speak. (If the microphone is “on” and picks up on the speaker sounds from your computer, it will create a reverberation loop that is very distracting to classmates.)
- The instructor will discuss specifics about how to participate in the course during the first night of class.
- Students must make sure that they are in a quiet area, with minimal audio and visual distractions (in other words, dress appropriately for class, maintain a professional disposition throughout the class time, keep family members/pets/friends/ etc. in another room, avoid making distracting movements on-camera or off-camera, and make sure that what’s viewable in your web-feed is appropriate for your instructors and classmates to see).
- Students are not allowed to Live Stream while driving.
- If students are disconnected from the course, follow the instructor’s protocol for reconnecting.
- Students should always have a phone available to text the instructor to let him or her know if they have been disconnected and are unable to reconnect.
- In the event students miss class and/or are unable to reestablish a connection, they may be required to view a recording of the class and submit work to compensate for missed participation points.
- Students need to familiarize themselves with their technology prior to the first day of class and are responsible for their own technical equipment. Missouri Baptist University is only responsible for equipment used by the Main campus instructor.
- If students experience difficulties participating in a course in accordance with the conduct and etiquette policies established by the University, they may be asked not to enroll in a Live Stream course in the future.
Additional Fees and Course Requirements
In order to apply for certain courses, students must complete and submit specific applications to the Counselor Education Clinical Director of Field Experience prior to enrollment. These applications are found in the Practicum-Internship Handbook, which is dispersed midway through the second year of the program. Courses that require applications include:
COUN 5253 Counseling Practicum
COUN 5343 CMHC Internship I
COUN 5353 CMHC Internship II
COUN 5383 School Counseling Internship I
COUN 5393 School Counseling Internship II
Applications for these courses must be submitted by the deadline prior to the semester in which the student plans to take each course. Students who do not submit their applications by the deadline cannot enroll and will have to wait until the following semester to complete the course. Application deadlines are as follows:
- Fall Semester: July 1
- Spring Semester: November 1
In addition to applications, students will be responsible for additional fees during the course of their degree program. These fees include the following:
| Professional Liability Insurance |
Varies |
| Practicum Fee |
$133.00 |
| Internship Fee, per course |
$400.00 |
| CPCE Exam (requiredfor CMHC students) |
$75.00-$100.00 |
| Missouri Content Assessment 056 - School Counselor (required for School Counseling - Traditional and Licensure students) |
$77.00 |
Exit Exam
Students pursuing a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree must successfully pass the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE). The CPCE has 160 questions with 20 questions in each of the eight content areas. Three of the 20 questions for each area are developmental/ experimental so the highest possible score on the exam is 136. In order to pass this exam, students must obtain a score of 1/4 standard deviation below the mean rounded to the next whole number or obtaining a raw score of 9/17 in each of the eight core competency areas. Students are encouraged to take the CPCE during the first month of their final semester. This will allow students multiple opportunities to take the exam. Once students have successfully completed the CPCE and obtained a passing score, it is their responsibility to submit their score to the Counselor Education Program Coordinator at gradcounseling@mobap.edu. Students will not be cleared for graduation until their CPCE score is received.
To be considered a program completer, students must demonstrate mastery on the MoCA #056 - School Counselor exam (see Exit Exam below). Students may demonstrate mastery in one of two ways:
- Pass the MoCA #056 exam with a score of at least 220. A score of 220 is the minimum passing score for certification.
- Pass each content area with a score of three or higher. Specifically, if the student has not passed the MoCA with a score of 220 or higher after three attempts, the department will examine the student’s scores on each content area. The student will be considered as passing the exit exam requirement if they score at least a three on each of the three content areas across multiple examinations. The student may take the exam as often as necessary to achieve the score of three or higher on each content area.
Students who do not achieve a score of 220 or higher are not eligible for certification as a School Counselor in the state of Missouri at the time of graduation. Students must pass the MoCA #056 with a score of 220 or higher post-graduation to be eligible for certification.
The MoCA replaced Praxis in Missouri as the content area exit exam in September 2014. For more information, or to register, visit the Missouri Educator Gateway Assessments (MEGA) website http://www.mo.nesinc.com/.
Candidates must also achieve a passing composite score on the Missouri Educator Evaluation System (MEES) summative evaluation in each internship to meet the performance assessment requirement for certification.
Summary of the Master’s Degree Process
To earn the M.A. degree, a student must complete each of the following steps:
- The student must develop a comprehensive plan of study with the Graduate Advisor.
- The student must complete all coursework included in the plan of study.
- The student must complete the required internships.
- The student must achieve a passing score on the CPCE.
- Candidates pursuing School Counseling K-12 Certification must pass their Professional Counseling Portfolio.
- An Application for Graduation, signed by the student, Graduate Advisor, and Vice President for Graduate Studies, must be filed with the Graduate Office and the Records Office. Students must pay the required graduation fee. Students are encouraged to participate in the graduation ceremony scheduled the first Tuesday evening after the last Saturday in April of each academic year. Students must notify the Vice President for Graduate Studies and the Director of Records if they choose not to participate. Students must pay the graduation fee whether they attend commencement or not.
- All graduate students must have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in order to graduate from the program.
Certification in a state other than Missouri:
The M.A. degree in School Counseling or School Counseling - Licensure Track leads to certification in the state of Missouri. If certification in another state is desired, candidates must check with that state to determine if additional certification requirements are mandated. Missouri certification may or may not be reciprocal with another state. It is the responsibility of candidates to determine if there will be additional requirements for their state. All students must be considered program completers in the state of Missouri, which means that all course requirements must be met and the professional counselor portfolio, Missouri Content Assessment (MoCA) 056 Counselor, and composite score on the Missouri Educator Evaluation System (MEES) summative evaluation must be passed, before recommendation paperwork for out-of-state certification will be processed.
Licensure
The Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors issues counseling licenses at two levels. Candidates can be licensed as a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC) as soon as they have completed their education, passed the National Counselor Exam, and submitted the appropriate paperwork to the board. In order to attain full licensure as an LPC, candidates will also need to meet experience requirements. For an overview of requirements see http://pr.mo.gov/boards/counselors/lpcslidesgeneralwebsite.pdf.
Education
In order to obtain a provisional license, candidates must have a master’s degree in counseling, counseling psychology, clinical psychology, school psychology, or counseling and guidance. The degree must include coursework in each of the following areas:
- Helping relationships
- Human growth and development
- Counseling theory
- Individual appraisal
- Career development
- Social and cultural foundations
- Research methods
- Group dynamics
- Professional orientation
- Diagnosis
- Licensing Exam
National Counselor Examination (NCE)
In order to apply for licensure in Missouri, candidates must take the National Counselor Examination (NCE) through the National Board for Certified Counselors. This exam is required to obtain a provisional license. Candidates can download a registration form from National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) website http://www.nbcc.org/. The form will need to be signed in ink. A $275 fee and an official sealed transcript that shows the date the master’s degree was conferred must accompany the registration form.
Jurisprudence Exam
Candidates will also need to take a jurisprudence exam (a test of Missouri laws and regulations). This is open book and administered via Internet at www.i-counseling.net. This is not a requirement for provisional status, but candidates will need to complete it before applying for LPC status. Candidates will pay the $45 fee electronically when they take the test. The exam is untimed, but it is advisable to spend some time reviewing the laws and regulations beforehand at http://pr.mo.gov/boards/ counselors/31461.pdf.
Supervised Practice (State of Missouri)
Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors (PLPC) are required to work under supervision for a minimum of 24 months. During this time, they must work at least 3,000 hours, spending at least 1,200 hours providing direct client care. (The remaining hours may be spent in other counseling-related activities like developing treatment plans, documenting cases, and attending seminars.)
All hours must be completed post-master’s degree. Candidates may work part-time, and take longer than two years to accrue their 3,000 hours, but they must be expected to meet the experience requirement within five years. Candidates must work at least 15 hours a week while accruing experience. While working as a PLPC, they will be supervised by a Licensed Professional Counselor or by a psychiatrist or psychologist. The clinical supervisor does not necessarily have to be an administrator at the candidate’s workplace. If it is someone from outside, though, there needs to a formal contract. Candidates can obtain a model contract from the state board. Before candidates can obtain their provisional license, they will need to register a supervision plan. If it is necessary to make changes to the supervisory plan, the candidate must file them with the committee. Candidates should have an hour of weekly of face-to-face supervision. No more than half of supervision hours may be group supervision (See: Post Degree Experience (PDF)). Candidates will be evaluated by their clinical supervisor(s), and the supervisor’s final evaluation will be sent to the committee. Candidates may begin counting their experience when their registration and fee are received by the committee, which will be the official start date.
The Licensure Application Process
Candidates do not have to submit an application for provisional status, but candidates need to provide supplemental materials. The committee needs to approve supervision. They also need to receive NCE results, documentation of education, and criminal background check results. Registration of supervision costs $75.
Candidates who are in-state applicants should have fingerprinting done by L-1 Enrollment Services Division. An appointment must be scheduled in advance. The board reports that the actual fingerprinting process takes approximately ten minutes. Send a copy of the receipt to the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors.
There is a $100 application fee for LPC status. Candidates can expect to pay other associated fees as they complete and document requirements.
The address to send the application for LPC status is:
Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors
3605 Missouri Boulevard, P.O. Box 1335
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Students pursuing a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling complete 48 counseling core credits plus an additional 12 credits for licensure (LPC) eligibility.
