Counseling Concentration (Accelerated Pathway)

The Counseling Accelerated Pathway functions as a structured accelerated pathway between the Undergraduate College and the Master of Science in Counseling program. The pathway is intentionally designed to support early professional identity development, academic readiness, and curricular alignment with graduate-level counselor professional standards.

Through this on-campus pathway, qualified undergraduate students may enroll in designated graduate-level counseling courses that align with Counseling common core content areas. These courses are delivered by counseling faculty and assessed using graduate-level expectations, ensuring academic rigor and consistency with Counseling professional standards while students complete their undergraduate degree.

The Counseling Accelerated Pathway facilitates a coherent transition from undergraduate study into the Master of Science in Counseling programs, supporting timely degree progression without reducing program requirements or learning outcomes. Students who successfully complete the pathway may submit an application to enter the graduate program, with successfully completed coursework applied directly to requirements. The pathway allow accelerated degree attainment in accordance with Counseling professional standards.

Delivery Modality: On-Campus – Courses meet face-to-face at a physical location on specified days and times as published in the schedule.

Program Details

Counseling Accelerated Pathway Details:

• Requires 12 SH of graduate-level and 3 QH of undergraduate-level coursework for completion
• Requires completion of all courses at NLU
• Counseling Accelerated Pathway graduate-level coursework can be applied directly to degree requirements in the Master of Science Counseling program upon successful admission and matriculation, consistent with institutional policy and counseling professional standards. This coursework will apply as follows:
  
  • HSC 510GA to HSC 510 (IL) or HSCF 510 (FL)
  • HSC 511GA to HSC 511 (IL) or HSCF 511 (FL)
  • HSC 514GA to HSC 514 (IL) or HSCF 514 (FL)
  • HSC 541GA to HSC 541 (IL) or HSCF 541 (FL)
• Required HSC 510GA, HSC 511GA, HSC 514GA, and HSC 541GA courses in the accelerated pathway will be awarded in semester hours (3 SH/course) and will not be included in undergraduate GPA calculations. Students must maintain a minimum GPA required for their Undergraduate Program for bachelor's degree conferral.
• Requires corequisite seminar courses in the Counseling Accelerated Pathway - RES 420 and RES 430 - will be awarded in quarter hours (2 QH and 1 QH respectively) and will be Pass/Fail
  • Seminar courses are offered at no cost to students and support students in the rigor of graduate-level coursework
• Students completing this accelerated pathway will be eligible for degree conferral at 160 QH and 12 SH as long as all other degree requirements are met.
  • Students who start the Counseling Accelerated Pathway but do not complete it (either due to dismissal or student decision) are required to have 180 UG credits and a minimum GPA required for their Undergraduate Program for bachelor's degree conferral. Students in this position are eligible to apply to 5 QH's of CPL credit for each HSC 5XXGA course completed with a C or better to reconcile the graduate to undergraduate credit disparity.
  • To earn this credit, students must complete and submit the CPL Credit Reconciliation form found on the NLU website for each course successfully completed in the concentration (C or better) no later than the degree application deadline for their final term of study. No additional documentation or signatures are required.

Academic Expectation (monitored and enforced by the program faculty)

• Failure to earn at least a "B" in any of the Counseling Accelerated Pathway graduate-level courses will result in immediate dismissal from the pathway. This includes course withdrawals.
• Students dismissed from the pathway can still use credits earned toward an undergraduate degree through the process described above for students who did not complete the pathway
• Students are not permitted to retake any courses in the Counseling Accelerated Pathway; should they subsequently be admitted to the M.S. Counseling program after completion of an undergraduate degree, students will then be required to take all unmet program requirements.

 

Program Learning Outcomes

PLO-1 Demonstrate the ability to apply ethical codes and legal standards in the profession. [2024 CACREP Standards Core Content Area: 3.A]

PLO -2 Demonstrate awareness of personal characteristics and behaviors that influence the counseling process and engage in ongoing personal and professional self-evaluation and implications for practice. [2024 CACREP Standards Core Content Area: 3.A]

PLO- 3 Students will analyze and articulate their own identity development and examine how personal, cultural, and systemic factors influence their counseling practice.

Admission Requirements

Acceptance to the Counseling Accelerated Pathway is selective and designed to ensure that participating undergraduate students demonstrate academic readiness, professional disposition, and alignment with the counseling profession.

Applicants must meet the following minimum criteria:

• Enrollment in approved undergraduate program: B.A. Psychology, B.A. Human Services, BSW Social Work, B.A. Applied Education Studies (all majors: Applied Educational Studies, Applied Early Childhood Education, Applied Early Childhood and Elementary Education, and Applied Secondary Education majors.), B.A. Applied Behavioral Sciences, and B.A. Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Junior standing (90 QH or more of earned credit)     
• 3.0 or higher cumulative undergraduate GPA at the time of application
• Statement of Purpose Essay: A written essay articulating the applicant’s rationale for seeking admission to Accelerated Pathway Program. The essay must specifically address the applicant’s interest in pursuing the Master of Science in Counseling, demonstrate an understanding of the role and responsibilities of counselors, and reflect emerging professional identity, ethical awareness, and a commitment to working with diverse student populations.

Note: Admission to the Counseling Accelerated Pathways does not guarantee admission to the graduate M.S. Counseling program; students must formally apply and meet all graduate admission requirements for the program.

Required Courses

Counseling Accelerated Pathway Concentration

RES 420	Graduate Development Seminar I	2
RES 430	Graduate Development Seminar II	1
HSC 510GA	Theories of Counseling	3
HSC 511GA	Professional Practice and Ethics in Counseling	3
HSC 514GA	Counseling for Career Development	3
HSC 541GA	Trauma and Crisis Intervention Theory, Response Models and Techniques	3