Loyola University Chicago

Pastoral Counseling students who expect to earn a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling must be admitted to Candidacy for the degree prior to their internship experience.  Typically, students would apply for Candidacy with the anticipation of the completion of 24 semester hours of coursework in the Pastoral Counseling program.

The Pastoral Counseling faculty is highly vested in preceptor/student relationships which facilitate the formation of the Pastoral Counselor.  This process assumes a mutual relationship in which the student and faculty have reciprocal responsibilities to graduate students who are prepared academically, spiritually, relationally, and personally to assume a calling and/or ministry in Pastoral Counseling.  The faculty also understands that the formation process is life-long, such that graduation is simply a launching place into the Pastoral Counseling career trajectory.  To this end, admission to candidacy rests upon the student's successful completion of academic work, an ability to articulate one's spiritual journey as it relates to transformative processes, a demonstration of sound interpersonal skills, and an exhibition of mature personal characteristics. 

Pastoral Counseling faculty will serve as ongoing gate keepers to determine a student's admission to Candidacy and readiness for internship.  The Pastoral Counseling faculty will recommend students for graduation, licensure, and employment for which they have received adequate preparation.  In addition and according to the ACA Code of Ethics, "Counselors do not endorse students nor supervisees for certification, licensure, employment, or completion of an academic or training program if they believe students or supervisees are not qualified for endorsement.  Counselors take reasonable steps to assist students or supervisees who are not qualified for endorsement to become qualified."   

While admission to Candidacy assumes a student is ready for the internship experience, if at any point problems in the student's academic performance or concerns about one's readiness to interact with clients arise, a readiness "red flag" may be raised and a student denied the support of the Pastoral Counseling faculty until the problem has been corrected.  It is the intention of the Pastoral Counseling faculty to "work with," not "against," a student in terms of internship and graduation readiness.  This assumes a collaborative relationship and a willingness on the part of both the faculty and student to facilitate the student's success. 

The criteria for admission to Candidacy and readiness for internship /graduation are as follows:

Academic:

1. Anticipated completion of 24 semester hours in the Pastoral Counseling program, with at least a B average.

2. The applicant must not be on probation nor have any incompletes.

3. Successful completion of 501 - Human Relations Skills and 503 - Fundamentals of Pastoral Counseling with no grade lower than a B. For graduation this also includes 511 - Supervision I and 513 – Supervision II.
   
   
             Spiritual Awareness, Interpersonal Skills, and Personal Maturity:

Pastoral Counseling students will receive a Student Performance Evaluation from each faculty member for each course they complete.  The Student Performance Evaluation embraces an evaluation of a student's grasp of the academic material, and an assessment of the student's openness to the integration of the academic material with one's spiritual, interpersonal, and personal maturity.  The Pastoral Counseling faculty will have access to these evaluations during the fall and spring Pastoral Counseling faculty meetings and will vote collectively as to the student's acceptance into Candidacy and readiness for internship/graduation.

At semester midpoint students will complete and submit to each of their faculty a Student Performance Evaluation. Students complete the first column of the form, sign it, and give it to each of their faculty. At semester end faculty complete the form, photocopy it, and give one copy to the student and the other to the MA Program Director. As noted above, during December and April the MAPC faculty meet to determine admission to Candidacy and readiness for the internship/graduation.  The Director of the Pastoral Counseling Program reviews and evaluates the faculty recommendations and informs the student of approval or denial of Candidacy and/or Graduation. 

Loyola University Chicago
Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS)
MA Pastoral Counseling Program
August 2008
Revised January 2009