Description of Program
The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy is designed for students who have completed at least their bachelor’s degree and are seeking academic expertise or to meet state-level requirements for licensure through a graduate level certificate program. In order to earn a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, students must complete four courses (a total of 12 credit hours*) within the chosen Post-Baccalaureate Certificate program. Students can customize this certificate program as described below. Students must complete all four NCU courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in order to receive the certificate.
In order to be eligible for clinical work (if needed), students in this certificate need to demonstrate passing grades in all pre-requisite (or equivalent) courses from an accredited university. The six content areas for pre-requisite coursework include: one course in theoretical foundations, one course in professional ethics, one course in clinical assessment, one course in diagnosis/psychopathology, and two courses in treatment methods/models of therapy/counseling. Certificate students will need to provide a copy of their transcripts to confirm successful completion (passing grades) of these pre-requisite courses.
Note: Students who have made application for licensure are encouraged to verify with state licensure divisions or boards that the courses they select will meet the specific state requirements before enrolling in this certificate program.
*Note: The Marriage and Family Sciences Trauma Studies Post-Baccalaureate certificate requires completion of 18 credit hours.
Click here for potential career opportunities using the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate.
Basis for Admissions
Admission to the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate program requires a conferred bachelor’s level or higher degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution. An interview with an administrative faculty member is available for any applicant to the certificate program but is required for those using the certificate to be qualified for licensure (for those who will be doing clinical courses as a part of the certificate, a background check is also required).
Certificate Requirements
The University may accept a maximum of 3 semester credit hours from a graduate-level program to NCU’s Post-Baccalaureate certificate program. Coursework must have been completed at an accredited college or university within the last five years with a grade of “B” or better. See the
for additional information.
The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate has the following graduation requirements:
- Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.0 (letter grade of “B”) or higher
- Official documents on file for basis of admission: a conferred bachelor’s degree from an accredited academic institution
- Official transcripts on file for all transfer credit hours accepted by the University
- All financial obligations must be met before the student will be issued their complimentary diploma and/or degree posted transcript
Time to Completion
NCU allows 2 years to complete all certificate programs.
The median time to completion for this program is 12 months.
Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most NCU students are working adults, balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic and finance advisors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.
Students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 10 months.
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Transfer into a Master’s Degree Sequence
- Coursework completed within a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate program may be applied towards the master’s program.
- Applying Post-Baccalaureate coursework towards a master’s degree is contingent upon coursework and degree relevance under the most current version of the master’s degree.
Specialization coursework completed as part of a master’s degree, where a degree was conferred, cannot be applied towards a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate program. However, a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate can be completed as part of master’s coursework, assuming the student officially applies for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate prior to completing the fourth course in the Post Baccalaureate Certificate series.