Mental Health
Counseling MA

It is a two year, full-time, 60-credit Master of Arts program approved by the State of New York as a licensure qualifying program pursuant to becoming a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). The program is offered by the Department of Psychology at The City College of New York of the City University of New York.

Yes. The CCNY MA in Mental Health Counseling program meets all education requirements for licensure as a Mental Health Counselor in the state of New York. Graduates are eligible to take the licensing exam and fulfill the supervised work requirement for licensure in NY State. For information regarding licensure requirements, see the website for the NYS Mental Health Counseling: License Requirements (nysed.gov).

The CCNY MA in Mental Health Counseling program is not currently accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) but is actively pursuing accreditation from MPCAC. While accreditation enhances program and student value, our curriculum aligns with CACREP/MPCAC standards. Graduates seeking licensure outside New York State should find their academic credentials widely accepted, but it’s advised to research specific state licensure requirements. Learn more about MPCAC accreditation at mpcacaccreditation.org

February 1st is the annual application deadline. Applicants whose applications are completed by January 1st will receive an early decision by no later than March 15th.

To apply, visit the Graduate Studies Admissions page on the College website:

https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/admissions/graduate-studies

The Mental Health Counseling program faculty meticulously review all applications. Promising candidates are then selected for a one-on-one interview with up to two faculty members. Interview invitations typically commence in mid-February, regardless of application submission date, and may extend until early April, depending on application volume. Final decisions are typically made by April 15th, with accepted applicants usually notified within two weeks of their interview. Applicants can monitor their application status through ApplyYourself, the application submission system.

We accept 40-50 applicants per year.  We divide these into two cohorts to keep class size small.

 No. We only accept students for the fall semester of each year.

No. We are a full-time program that requires students to be able to take five classes for four consecutive semesters, in addition to completing a 100-hour practicum (approximately 7 hour per week) in Semester 2 and a  600-hours internship (approximately 20 hours per week) across Semesters 3 and 4.

Most applicants have completed a bachelor’s degree majoring in psychology, but this is not required.  For those who  have not completed a psychology bachelor’s degree, the minimum requirements are completion of the following five prerequisite courses: introductory psychology, child development, abnormal psychology, theories of personality/personality psychology and experimental psychology/research methods, or their graduate-level equivalents. They must complete five prerequisite courses listed in the Admissions Requirements section before starting the program, but not all courses need to be finished before submitting the application. Applicants should have at least three prerequisite courses completed at the time of application, with grades on transcripts. Any outstanding courses should be in progress or planned for the spring semester before the fall semester they plan to attend.

In general, we expect applicants to have an overall GPA of at least 3.2 and a GPA in psychology of at least 3.5. Moreover, we expect students to earn at least a B in all of the prerequisite courses. Applicants with GPAs lower than the preferred minimums may still apply but note that it would generally mean that the application is not as competitive as one might desire.

We try to be flexible in our evaluations and examine each transcript in detail, taking into account the nature of the courses completed and whether the student shows improvement towards the end of their undergraduate training.

We have no set policy regarding the number of years since completed coursework, but we do expect at least some required classes to have been taken within the last five years.

Applicants are expected to have supervised work or volunteer experience helping others and to be able to substantiate that experience by providing a letter from their supervisor. Applicants who advance to stage two of the admissions process are also required to participate in an interview with faculty as part of their evaluation for admission.

 Yes, at least two letters of recommendation are required, three are preferred. We request that at least one be from a supervisor for any relevant applied experience (e.g., work or volunteer experience that demonstrates generalized counseling skills) and one from an academic instructor.

No. The GRE is not required for admission; however, if an applicant has taken the GRE then it is requested that they submit their scores with their online application.

Classes are scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am – 12:30 pm, 2 pm to 4:30 pm, and 5 pm to 7:30 pm. One day will have all three times filled and the other only two, with the specific days (T/Th) and times varying by semester.

We do not recommend outside work while completing the program.  It is very difficult to work more than 20 hours per week during the first year in the program. Students must be full-time and carry five classes per semester. During the second year (semesters 3 and 4 in the program) it is difficult to work even part-time: Students work at their internship for roughly 20 hours per week in addition to the full-time required coursework.  However, the Department of Psychology offers students in the Mental Health Counseling Program paid teaching and stress coaching assistantships, which can be used to offset the cost of tuition.

The program provides students with a list of pre-approved internships to which they can apply; however, the list is not exhaustive, and students are encouraged to look for and recommend additional options that suit their professional interests. New practicum and internship sites must be approved by the program before a student is allowed to officially select it as a placement. Placements are competitive, so students are encouraged to begin applying as soon as September for practicum placements (which begin in January/February) and as soon as January for internship placements (which begin in August/September). All of our students have found placements.

Students may defer beginning the program for one year, after which they must file a new application.

Please check the City College Bursar‘s Website for the list of current tuition and other fees

There are a limited number of scholarships available for students in the Mental Health Counseling program. Once accepted into the program, applicants are encouraged to apply for one of ten available Rosner Fellowships, which award recipients $5,000 towards tuition and fees for their first year in the program. Second-year students may apply for the NYS Office of Mental Health Scholarship (until Spring 2025) and the Pauline Mei Memorial Scholarship, which award $5,000 and $1,000 to recipients, respectively. All scholarships are awarded based in part on students’ financial need, as determined by the required submission of a FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Applicants can also consult with the CCNY financial aid office to see if there are any loans or programs for which one is eligible. Finally, there are also opportunities to work as a Teaching Assistant or Stress Coach, which is a salaried position within the department.

Yes!  All accepted MHC students are guaranteed a job as a Teaching Assistant within the Department of Psychology. For more information about TA opportunities, please contact the Psychology Department Chair (Robert Melara, rmelara@ccny.cuny.edu, NAC 7/201) or the Director of Academic Programs (Hawai Kwok, kwok@ccny.cuny.edu, NAC 8/133).

Non-psychology majors are welcome to apply. They must complete five prerequisite courses listed in the Admissions Requirements section before starting the program, but not all courses need to be finished before submitting the application. Applicants should have at least three prerequisite courses completed at the time of application, with grades on transcripts. Any outstanding courses should be in progress or planned for the spring semester before the fall semester they plan to attend. For example, if applying for fall 2026, outstanding courses should be enrolled in by spring 2026 and noted in the application.

Research is not compulsory or formally incorporated into the MHC program. The MHC program prioritizes training students for professional counseling roles, leaving limited time for other pursuits.

Yes, however no more than 9 credits may be transferred from other accredited graduate programs. In all cases, the classes must be approved by the director of the program. First semester classes must be approved before the first day of classes. Students must provide an official unopened transcript from the institution at which the classes were taken and syllabi for any courses meant to replace required courses in the MHC curriculum. In some instances, a catalogue course description may be acceptable if a syllabus is not available. The classes should have been completed within the last 5 years.

International applicants may be required to take a test of English language proficiency.  Citizens from certain countries are exempt from this requirement (see below for a list of exempt countries).  If you are not a citizen of an exempt country, then a language test is required with the following minimum scores:

Minimum TOEFL/IELTS scores: 550 (PBT), 79-80 (IBT) or 6.5. See below for the list of countries exempt from the TOEFL/other English proficiency exams.

TOEFL EXEMPT COUNTRIES: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Canada (except Quebec), Cayman Islands, Dominica, England, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland (Northern), Ireland (Republic of), Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Montserrat, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Scotland, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

(List current as of Spring 2021)

The MHC program does not offer any online options. All courses are offered in-person and students are expected to be on campus and in class for all required classes.