Undergraduate Admissions

Gannon University’s master’s degree program in Community Counseling has been designated as a fully accredited graduate program. The Master of Science (M.S.) in Community Counseling is a 60-credit hour program accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). CACREP is the professional accrediting body in the field of counselor education. CACREP promotes the professional competence of counseling and related practitioners through preparation standards, excellence in program development, and accreditation of professional preparation programs.

The accreditation ensures that students graduating from Gannon’s community counseling program are eligible to be Nationally Certified Counselors throughout the United States once they have completed the degree requirements and have passed the National Counselor Examination (NCE). Accreditation also means that graduates of this program meet the degree requirements for licensure as a Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania and in other states. Gannon’s master’s-level program in community counseling is housed within the University’s Psychology Department and the College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences.

The two-year accreditation was awarded by the Board of Directors for CACREP. In a letter to the University from the board, the decision to accredit the program was based on several factors, including a review of Gannon’s self-study report on the program, a site-team report, and the University’s response to the site-team report.

The letter to Gannon noted, “the board believes the program substantially meets the requirements for accredited status… the (Gannon) faculty deserve to be congratulated for the time, energy, and commitment they have given throughout this accreditation process.”

CACREP’s standards for accreditation are among the most rigorous in higher education, with 200 criteria that programs must meet. “We are very excited about CACREP’s decision, and believe the accreditation is a strong affirmation of the quality of Gannon’s Community Counseling program,” said Timothy Downs, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences.

More about the University’s master’s-level Community Counseling program

Gannon’s master of science (M.S.) in Community Counseling degree is designed to prepare individuals for a variety of professional counseling settings, such as community mental health, human service agencies, college and university counseling, and residential treatment. The curriculum provides a blend of counselor training experiences designed to provide the skills and knowledge necessary to become a professional counselor. The program prepares graduates to pursue certification as a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

Since 2004, 93 percent of the program’s graduates have passed the certification examination on their first attempt. Students from Gannon’s program also score consistently high on the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE), a nationally normed test used by more than 200 counseling programs in the country.

The program also has several unique aspects:
• Most students are full-time working professionals and bring variety of experiences to the classroom.

• Students begin to develop additional specializations through the internship experience.

• Students develop skills particularly in the areas of assessment, counselor intervention, child and adolescent counseling, and family counseling.

For more information on Gannon’s master’s program in Community Counseling, call 814-871-7537, or log on to http://www.gannon.edu/departmental/cc/.