Psychology + MSCP

Accelerated Bachelor’s + Master’s

Get ready to become a licensed professional counselor, faster. Our unique accelerated program allows students to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in community psychology in less than six years. You’ll benefit from Alverno’s distinctive, hands-on curriculum while saving time and money.

How the program works

Get a head start on your master’s degree while earning your bachelor’s degree. Students who choose Alverno’s undergraduate psychology pre-counseling major will be able to start their graduate credits during their senior year. Once you earn your bachelor’s degree after four years of study, you will spend another 18 months to complete your graduate degree and then become eligible to sit for the professional counselor licensing exam.

The Alverno difference

At Alverno, you’ll be in a small group environment from day one, which lets you have learning experiences that aren’t possible in most places. You’ll join a welcoming and inclusive community where classmates and professors know you as a name, not a number, and will cheer you on every step of the way.

You’ll build both knowledge and skills while applying what you’re learning to real life. Our undergraduate students complete two internships, allowing you to explore your interests, gain professional experience, and network.

At the graduate level, our unique focus on community psychology means that you will engage with issues of healing and justice. The courses you take will prepare you to be a skilled counselor, and you will learn how to address the important social issues that affect our communities daily.

Alverno graduate students receive intensive counseling training via a 700-hour supervised practicum experience. Our program is approved by the State of Wisconsin, so once you finish, you are eligible for the Licensed Professional Counselor-in Training (LPC-IT) credential. You would then engage in 3,000 hours of post-master’s supervised practice and take the National Counseling Exam to be eligible for the LPC license.

“ My Alverno professors were always willing to answer questions and bring in real-world examples. I’m excited to return to earn my master’s degree from Alverno!”

— Niki, psychology major, class of 2018, and current psychology graduate student

As an Alverno undergraduate psychology student, you will:

• Construct plausible psychological explanations for complex human behavior, relying on reasoning and evidence
• Solve problems of human experience, using and evaluating a variety of methods
• Interact and communicate with people in a variety of professional contexts, including collaborating on research teams, assisting others in resolving life challenges, and presenting research conclusions
• Engage in self reflection to accurately discern the quality of your performance in academic, professional, personal and civic settings
• Act with integrity and initiative while responding to others’ needs with sensitivity to various perspectives, including cultural, national, economic, and spiritual differences

As an Alverno graduate community psychology student, you will:

• Engage in theory related to the individual and to the systems that mutually affect individuals and communities, encompassing an understanding of prevention strategies, counseling and research
• Apply theory and methods of prevention, counseling, research and evaluation within a variety of social and cultural contexts
• Communicate effectively across a variety of professional contexts, including interactions with clients and service providers, inter-organizational collaborations, community research, interdisciplinary management, program evaluation and consultation
• Discern the quality of self-performance and self-awareness related to ethical professional practice, including multicultural competence
• Make ethical and moral decisions to resolve complex, real-world dilemmas