Care for people’s inner lives.

Graduate Counseling & Psychology Programs At-A-Glance

Master of Science in Professional Counseling
Master of Arts in Psychology
PsyD in Counseling Psychology

Inside each of us, there is a mental and emotional life that has a profound effect on how we face the outside world. Carlow University’s graduate psychology and professional counseling programs will give you a deeper understanding of human behavior and how to care for the psychological wellness of individuals and families. Our graduate psychology and professional counseling programs emphasize reflective practice, scholarship, teaching, activism and research. You’ll be prepared to work in a variety of community, clinical, school and government settings, or to further specialize within a PhD or PsyD program – and ultimately, to make a meaningful difference in many lives.

Carlow’s CACREP-accredited MS in Professional Counseling is designed to transition you into a career in professional counseling and prepare you for licensure in the state of Pennsylvania. It emphasizes a developmental focus across the lifespan and applies scholarship to clinical practice. The program cultivates respect for the uniqueness of individuals and is grounded in social justice and advocacy.
- Clinical Mental Health Counseling Track
  - Child & Adolescent Concentration
    For students who wish to work with children, adolescents and their families outside of a school environment. You’ll specialize in child-based interventions and get an advanced understanding of spectrum disorders, child abuse and the impact of families on their children’s ability to function.
  - Trauma-Informed Concentration
    For students who wish to work with adults and children who have suffered chronic and acute traumatic events over the course of their lives. You’ll get training in crisis management, trauma assessment and interventions to support your clients.
  - Forensic Counseling Concentration
    For students who wish to work in legal and correctional settings, this concentration enables you to understand the mental health issues relevant to this population. Coursework examines the interaction of mental health with the justice system, the roles of professional counselors in the legal profession and the unique presenting concerns of this population.
- Addictions Counseling Track
  For students who wish to work with adults and adolescents in both mental health and correctional settings. This concentration enables you to become a licensed professional counselor and earn 180 hours of required addiction coursework toward becoming a certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor.
Carlow’s MA in Psychology (MAP) is a 36-credit graduate program designed to deepen your professional interests in psychology. It focuses on helping you develop your clinical and research skills and permits a greater degree of flexibility for those students who want to work in divergent areas of the social sciences and human service fields. Additionally, MAP offers support to those students interested in future doctoral programs in psychology and/or criminology. The program offers four distinct coursework concentrations.
Concentrations:
- Forensic Psychology
  For students who wish to develop skills and knowledge in forensic assessment, criminal justice systems and the inherent problems of psychopathy.
- Educational Psychology
  For students who seek a deeper understanding of how people learn and the unique ways that motivation and creativity can enhance teaching across the lifespan.
- Assessment Psychology
  For students who wish to hone their skills in psychological assessment in subfields such as neuropsychology, trauma-informed care, and child and adolescent clinical diagnoses.
- Exploration Psychology
  For students who want a greater degree of freedom in their chosen elective to explore the field of psychology, counseling, social work and even education
Carlow University’s PsyD in Counseling Psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association – the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the U.S. While Carlow’s practitioner-scholar program fosters strong research skills, our focus is to train highly skilled clinicians who will become licensed, practicing psychologists. Here you will learn to evaluate treatments, make scientifically informed clinical decisions, and develop an intellectual curiosity that enriches your professional life.

Five Critical Outcomes

1. Deepen Your Psychology Knowledge Base

You’ll gain an understanding of biological, cognitive, cultural, developmental and social perspectives to disentangle complex human behaviors.

2. Become More Quantitative & Scientifically Minded

You’ll learn to connect existing research findings and data with emerging psychological questions and challenges.

3. Embrace a Values-Based Approach

You’ll take personal responsibility for managing complex ethical dilemmas. You’ll bring self-understanding, integrity and humility to the work of interacting across cultures.

4. Communicate Effectively

You’ll sharpen your core communications skills and the emotional intelligence required to work in teams and adapt situationally.

5. Integrate into the Profession

You’ll work hands-on outside of the classroom, develop your network and make the most of the experiences, professional feedback and mentoring you receive.

Carlow: In the Heart of Pittsburgh

As an urban institution with a hands-on and long-standing connection to culturally diverse communities, Carlow University encourages psychology students to develop a broad awareness of and empathy for cultural distinctions and to maintain an abiding sense of social justice across professional endeavors.

Pittsburgh: A Center for Behavioral Health

Pittsburgh offers world-class mental health research and clinical practice opportunities through the Allegheny Health Network, Mercy Behavioral Health, and the UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. The UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, one of the nation’s largest and most renowned university-affiliated psychiatric hospitals, helped pioneer the field of forensic psychiatry and psychology in 1974.

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The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs ( CACREP ), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), has granted accreditation to the following programs in the Department of Analytical, Physical and Social Sciences at Carlow University: Addictions Counseling and Clinical Mental Health Counseling through 2029.