Curriculum and Program Requirements

To provide prospective applicants with an idea of what our program is like, we present the typical course sequence for students. While departmental and licensing requirements determine most of the requirements, each student's actual program will be negotiated with an advisor, taking into account prior preparation and professional objectives. Also, the semester when some courses are taken may change depending on scheduling constraints.

These required courses meet the Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor requirements in Illinois. To compare each LCPC requirement with each course, please see the comparison list of Clinical-Counseling courses and LCPC requirements.

FALL of Year 1
PSY 420, Theories of Personality
PSY 440, Statistics: Data Analysis and Methodology
PSY 468, Advanced Psychopathology and Mental Health Diagnosis
PSY 470, Legal, Ethical, and Practice Issues in Clinical-Counseling Psychology

SPRING of Year 1
PSY 438, Techniques of Objective Assessment
PSY 464, Theories & Techniques of Counseling: Adults
PSY 467, Family Therapy
PSY 499, Master's Thesis* or Elective (clinical competency project option)**

SUMMER of Year 1
PSY 421, Advanced Behavior Modification
PSY 436.02, Practicum in Clinical-Counseling Psychology (1 credit)***
PSY 466, Substance Abuse Counseling
PSY 499, Master's Thesis (1 credit)

FALL of Year 2
PSY 436.02, Practicum in Clinical-Counseling Psychology
PSY 437, Group Psychotherapy
PSY 499, Master's Thesis or PSY 490, Clinical Competency Project

SPRING of Year 2
PSY 436.02, Practicum in Clinical-Counseling Psychology
PSY 451, Psychology of Diversity
PSY 465, Vocational Counseling
PSY 499, Master's Thesis or Elective (if still needed for clinical competency project option)

*Experience shows that students who finish their thesis proposal by end of SPRING of Year 1 or SUMMER of Year 1 will have a very good chance to complete the thesis by the end of SPRING of Year 2. Students who finish thesis proposals later very likely will need continued work to finish the thesis at least through SUMMER of Year 2 and possibly longer.

**Students completing a thesis must register for PSY 499 for a cumulative total of 6 credits (spread over two or more semesters). Students completing a clinical competency project must register for PSY 490 (for a total of 3 credits, taken over one or more semesters) plus 3 credits of an approved elective.

***In order to register for the first semester of practicum, students must have earned a 3.0 cumulative GPA and grades of B or better in both PSY 464 and PSY 470. Furthermore, a grade of B or better in practicum is required in order to continue in subsequent semesters of practicum.