Are you driven to support and inspire others? Do you want to help them overcome challenges and become stronger individuals? When you enroll in the online Master’s in Counseling program from PennWest, you’ll be ready for a lifetime of service to others.
This program not only prepares you to make a difference, but to build a career doing it.
The mission of the Counseling Department at PennWest University is to prepare professional counselors who embody ethical and culturally responsive behavior, advocacy and social justice, and a professional identity as a counselor. Students will use these attributes to enhance the well-being of families, groups, couples, and individuals and advocate on behalf of both the counseling profession and those who are served. The faculty at PennWest are a diverse community of counselor educators and art therapists who facilitate students’ development, model appropriate professional behavior, and engage in dynamic teaching, service, leadership, and scholarship. Our students are expected to develop self-awareness, a strong knowledge base, effective counseling skills, and cultural humility to practice ethically and professionally within a diverse society. Consistent with these expectations is the emphasis placed upon graduate student interpersonal effectiveness. This effectiveness includes growth in the dimensions of warmth, empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness with others.
Rated a Top Program in the Northeast by Best Counseling Degrees and ranked #4 among the 10 Best Deals in Online Master’s in School Counseling.
Rigorous hands-on training includes both practicum and internship experience.
Although California University and Edinboro University were CACREP accredited before the integration on July 1, 2022, we must apply for CACREP accreditation as a new university. We plan to apply to CACREP in January 2023 and hope to have a site visit during the spring semester of 2024.
Number of concentrations in PennWest’s M.S. in Counseling program. Choose the one that suits your interests.
Varies by concentration
Face-to-face
Location:
California
Graduate Admissions
gradadmissions@pennwest.edu
724-938-4187
The students and faculty of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at PennWest University are a diverse community of learners collaboratively engaged in scholarship, leadership, and service. Faculty are committed to providing didactic and experiential learning opportunities to educate counselors to be effective clinical practitioners in a pluralistic community. Collectively, our mission is to prepare professional counselors who embody ethical behavior, provide services to enhance the mental health and well-being of families, groups, couples, and individuals, and advocate on behalf of both the counseling profession and those we serve.
Program Goals
Program Objectives
Credits: 60
Start Terms: Fall, Spring, Summer
Admission Requirements: 3.0/2LOR/Essay/Resume/Interview/GRE-MAT if GPA is under 3.0
PennWest University’s master’s degree in Counseling (School Counseling Concentration) trains students to be prepared to function as dynamic and highly effective school counselors on the elementary and secondary levels in Pennsylvania public schools. This program satisfies all requirements for PK-12 school counseling certification eligibility. The requirements include a 60-credit master’s degree and 720 hours of supervised field experience. In addition, students graduating with the school counseling concentration will also be eligible to become licensed as a Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania (LPC) and other states. They will be able to serve in that capacity in a variety of settings including mental health, human services, working with adults and children, and many others including private practice. Students will need two or more additional years of supervised work experience after graduation to complete the requirements for LPC in Pennsylvania. This program is taught by highly experienced professionals who have experience working in public schools and in community mental health.
Program Goals
It is expected that graduates of the PennWest University school counseling concentration will:
Program Objectives
Credits: 60
Start Terms: Fall, Spring, Summer
Admission Requirements: 3.0/2LOR/Essay/Resume/Interview/GRE-MAT if GPA is under 3.0
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
Dr. Kevon Bruce
Assistant Professor
204D Butterfield @ Edinboro
kbruce@pennwest.edu
814-732-1640
Dr. Adrienne Dixon-McCullum
Assistant Professor
127 Butterfield @ Edinboro
amdixon@pennwest.edu
814-732-1932
Dr. Grafton Eliason
Professor
312 Building B @ California
eliason@pennwest.edu
724-938-4464
Dr. Julaine E. Field
Department Chair, CACREP Liaison, and Associate Professor
204A Butterfield Hall @ Edinboro
jfield@pennwest.edu
814-732-2794
Dr. Elizabeth Gruber
Campus Lead, Program Coordinator for College Counseling and Student Services and Professor
313 Building B @ California
gruber@pennwest.edu
724-938-1567
Dr. Sheila Lorenzo de la Peña
Undergraduate Coordinator for Art Therapy and Assistant Professor
204B Butterfield Hall @ Edinboro
slorenzo@pennwest.edu
814-732-1237
Dr. Mark Lepore
Program Coordinator for School
Counseling and Professor 128 Harvey @ Clarion
mlepore@pennwest.edu
814-393-2474
Dr. Gabriella Locke
Program Coordinator for Clinical
Rehabilitation and Assistant Professor
Butterfield Hall @ Edinboro
glocke@pennwest.edu
814-732-2421
Dr. Penelope P. Orr
Professor
125 Butterfield Hall @ Edinboro
porr@pennwest.edu
814-732-1684
Dr. Everett Painter
Fieldwork Coordinator and Assistant Professor
126 Butterfield Hall @ Edinboro
epainter@pennwest.edu
814-732-1567
Dr. Carolyn Brown Treadon
Program Coordinator for Art Therapy and Assistant Professor Butterfield Hall @ Edinboro
ctreadon@pennwest.edu
814-732-1104
Dr. Jacqueline A. Walsh
Professor
311 Building B @ California
walsh@pennwest.edu
724-938-4123
Dr. Katherine Wardi-Zonna
Graduate Certificate Coordinator and Associate Professor
120 Butterfield Hall @ Edinboro
kwardizonna@pennwest.edu
814-732-1256
Dr. Jake Wheatley
Program Coordinator for Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Assessment Coordinator, and Assistant Professor
311 Building B @ California
wheatley@pennwest.edu
724-938-4874
PennWest’s three campuses, California, Clarion and Edinboro universities, have been delivering award-winning online programs for more than 20 years. You’ll graduate with a degree from Pennsylvania Western University, completely supported by the expertise and community of learners on our brick-and-mortar campuses.