This program is currently accepting applications and will launch in Fall 2025.

Students in the Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling (MACC) online program will identify the distinct professional identities of a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) or a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), while learning to view all clinical work through relational and systemic lenses. Students follow a course sequence intentionally designed to maximize their clinical skills as they approach their live practicum experience. In the final year of the program, students gain real-world experience by serving their communities during a supervised practicum as clinical counseling trainees.

The MACC online program is a structured program that allows for flexible pathways toward completion. The MACC online program can be completed in as little as two years and as many as four years of continuous enrollment. Classes are tailored with flexibility in mind and are provided in two formats; asynchronous and synchronous. Asynchronous classes are delivered as weekly modules, in which assignments and online interactions occur before a specific due date. However, students can access the material at their convenience anytime during the week that it is assigned. Synchronous classes meet at a specified time and day, utilizing real-time video platforms that encourage person-to-person interaction to foster collaborative and experiential learning. Although classes meet in the late afternoon and evenings, community practicums may require students to participate during the regular work week, evenings and/or on weekends. Upon graduation the student applies to the Board of Behavioral Sciences to become a registered associate and then continues to accrue the necessary hours of clinical experience in order to sit for the state licensing examination to become a LPCC and/or LMFT.

Program Learning Outcomes

The educational goals of Point Loma Nazarene University’s Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling (MACC) are to develop graduate students and clinicians who are:

• competent clinicians and professionals that practice from a wide-range of clinically valuable and research-based approaches;
• able to cultivate self-awareness and apply professional ethics to the practice of clinical counseling; and,
• providing services that are respectful of individuals and families as well as the cultural contexts that shape them, particularly focusing on those who are underserved.

1. Demonstrate competent application of theoretical models and research-based clinical interventions to therapeutic work with individuals, couples, groups and/or families.
2. Develop and apply self-awareness and professional ethics to the practice of clinical counseling.
3. Demonstrate competence in working with clients from diverse backgrounds, particularly in settings where sociocultural factors influence treatment and there is limited access to care.

Clinical Training

The MACC online program includes the application of theory in direct clinical experience. While enrolled in supervised practicum courses, students have the opportunity to provide direct clinical service to clients in community agencies approved by the school. Although particular site requirements vary, all students will complete 700 total hours of supervised training (300 of which is face-to-face, direct service). Practicum placements must align with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences mandates for practicum and the mandates for practicum in the state in which the site is located. We encourage students to collaborate with the Director of Clinical Training at PLNU and community sites to establish a supervised practicum partnership. Upon successful completion of required coursework, demonstration of clinical proficiency, and approval by the training staff, students will secure a practicum site in the community and complete a 10-12 month traineeship. Student suitability to provide mental health services will be evaluated by the training staff in an on-going manner, and any evidence of concerns (i.e. ethical violations, patterns of personal characteristics and/or behavior that poses risk to the welfare of the client) may lead to remediation or potential dismissal from the program.

Personal Therapy Requirement

Over the course of the program, MACC students are required to receive 20 hours of personal psychotherapy from a licensed clinician in the state in which they are located. Students may complete this requirement in an individual or group setting. Two hours of group therapy or one hour of individual therapy counts as one hour of credit toward the requirement. At least ten of the twenty hours must be individual or group therapy and up to ten hours can be marital or family therapy. This requirement must be completed prior to graduation.

Comprehensive Examination

As a final assessment of competency, each student must pass the Comprehensive Examination, a computerized mock license exam that reflects program coursework and clinical knowledge. This examination is administered during PSY 6197. Passing the Comprehensive Examination is required for graduation.

Program Prerequisites

Prior to beginning this program, the following course requirements must be completed:

•    General Psychology
•    Abnormal Psychology
•    Human Development

An official transcript from an accredited institution is the required documentation.

Transfer Options

Transfer credit is defined as graduate credit earned at another accredited institution. Students may request transfer courses to be considered for application to a degree program. Any transfer courses to be considered for application to a degree program must be recommended by the school dean/department chair with final approval residing with the Vice Provost for Academic Administration. Up to twelve semester units of the program units may be transferred to the degree, and all coursework must have been completed within the last seven years at an accredited institution and may not have been previously used for completion of a graduate degree program.

Although the MACC in-person and online modalities offer the same courses, they are structured differently (i.e., cohort model vs. sequenced courses with flexible completion pathways respectively.) Therefore, students may not take courses that are not in the program to which they have been accepted. For example, students from the PLNU MACC in-person program may not take classes in the MACC online program and MACC online students may not take classes in the in-person format. However, MACC in-person program students may transfer permanently to the MACC online program. MACC online program students may not transfer into the MACC in-person program.

Admission Requirements

Point Loma Nazarene University assesses the Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling (MACC) applicants on the basis of  evidence submitted via application documentation. Applications will be processed upon receipt of all required materials. To be admitted into the MACC online program, an applicant must meet these requirements:

1. Submit a completed Point Loma Nazarene University online application form.
2. Have earned a bachelor’s degree or graduate degree from an accredited institution, with a cumulative undergraduate or graduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.000 or higher on a 4.000 scale¹. All hours at the degree level from accredited institutions will be considered in calculating the cumulative GPA. Applicants must submit one official transcript from all colleges and universities attended for undergraduate and graduate work.

Official Transcript. A transcript with a registrar’s seal from the institution granting credit sent directly to:

Point Loma Nazarene University
3900 Lomaland Dr.
San Diego, CA 92106

If your University provides official electronic transcripts, please email to gradprocessing@pointloma.edu.

1. Submit a professional resume.
2. Submit a 500-600 word² Statement of Purpose addressing the following topics:

• What formative experiences have helped clarify your desire to go into clinical counseling?
• What qualities and characteristics do you possess that would make you an effective counselor?
• Why have you chosen to pursue a degree in clinical counseling at this time in your life?
• Why are you interested in PLNU?
• What are your career goals?

¹

Contact a graduate enrollment counselor regarding the exceptions process if you don't meet the minimum GPA requirement.

²

The five-paragraph essay is to be formatted in APA style and should reflect your best writing. For help in writing the essay, see statementofpurpose.com. Your paper will be graded on a 5-point scale, and you must receive a minimum 3.5 to meet the benchmark.

Program Eligibility

Point Loma Nazarene University assesses the Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling (MACC) applicants on the basis of evidence submitted via online application documentation. Applications will be processed upon receipt of all required materials. To be admitted into the Clinical Counseling program, an applicant must meet these requirements:

• Submit online application for admissions (includes $50 non-refundable application fee)
  • Fee waived if applicant is one of the following: PLNU alum, current or former military and their dependents, PLNU employee
• Submit official transcripts with proof of earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution.
  • Send official transcripts by mail to:
    Point Loma Nazarene University
    Office of Graduate Admissions
    3900 Lomaland Drive
    San Diego, CA 92106
  • Send official transcripts by email to: gradprocessing@pointloma.edu
• Submit a resume/vita
• Submit three professional references including name, title, phone, and email for each reference
• Background check through LiveScan
• Interview with the Department of Graduate Psychology
• Ensure undergraduate course prerequisites are met

Exceptions Policy: If you have below a 3.000 GPA in your baccalaureate degree you will need to speak with your enrollment counselor for more information on the exceptions materials needed for your particular program.

Course List

Code	Title	Units
Required Courses
PSY 6001	Issues in Psychotherapy-Theology Integration	3
PSY 6004	Professional Community Development	0
PSY 6008	Lifespan Development	3
PSY 6009	Multicultural Theories and Development	3
PSY 6011	Professional Ethics and Law	3
PSY 6021	Psychodiagnostics and Mental Disorder Treatment	3
PSY 6022	Clinical Skills	3
PSY 6025	Counseling Theories and Faith Integration I	3
PSY 6026	Counseling Theories and Faith Integration II	3
PSY 6027	Treatment of Children and Adolescents	3
PSY 6029	Marriage and Family Therapy	3
PSY 6031	Couples Therapy	3
PSY 6033	Career Development	3
PSY 6045	Group Counseling	3
PSY 6050	Psychological Testing and Assessment	3
PSY 6058	Crisis and Trauma Counseling	3
PSY 6060	Human Sexuality	3
PSY 6065	Psychopharmacology	3
PSY 6075	Treatment of Substance Use Disorders	3
PSY 6090	Research Methodology	3
Practicum Courses
PSY 6194	Pre-Practicum	0
PSY 6195	Supervised Practicum I	2
PSY 6196	Supervised Practicum II	2
PSY 6197	Supervised Practicum III	2
Total Units		63

In order to earn and receive a Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling degree, a student must satisfy all of the following:

1. Successful completion of all core requirements, including coursework and clinical practicum hours (700 total, 300 of which must be direct client contact),
2. A completed application for degree candidacy conveyed to the Office of Records,
3. Payment in full of all tuition, fees, and other financial obligations owed to the university, including a degree processing fee,
4. All requirements completed within eight (8) years from the time of initial enrollment,
5. All courses must be completed with a grade of B- or better. Grades of B- or lower may be repeated for grade improvement,
6. Completion of the Personal Therapy Requirement (20 hours)
7. Pass the Comprehensive Examination, and
8. Completion of an Exit Survey.