Counseling and Psychology Programs Available at Grand Canyon University
Angelo State University appears in our ranking of the Top 10 Best Online Masters in Psychology Degree Programs.
Grand Canyon University offers counseling and psychology programs at the bachelor’s level as well as programs for graduate and doctoral students. Freshmen and other undergrads can earn a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, which requires a capstone project. Not only will students need to do research on a subject, but they’ll also need to submit proposals and get approval for those topics. This online program includes classes such as Abnormal Psychology, Social Psychology and Cultural Applications, Adult Development and Aging and Child and Adolescent Psychology.
At the graduate level, the university offers a Master of Science in General Psychology. Students can take evening classes on a local campus or complete their degrees online. They’ll take 36 credits of courses, including Health Psychology, Research Methods, Social and Cultural Psychology and Contemporary and Ethical Issues in Psychology. This program is available with a concentration in health psychology and will include Community Health and the Future of Health Psychology. In the human factors concentration, students will take other courses such as Sensation and Perception and Foundations of Human Factors. There is also a forensic psychology concentration, which includes Theories of Criminal Behavior, Psychology and the Legal System and other courses.
Grand Canyon University also offers a graduate psychology program with an emphasis in life coaching and several doctoral programs. The doctoral program asks students to choose an emphasis in performance psychology or cognitive psychology. Cognitive Science and Theories of Inquiry are classes found in both programs. Each one also includes a dissertation that takes place over three semesters or more. Students will work with their advisors to come up with a dissertation topic and then get approval. They will also need to present and defend their dissertation work later.
Counseling majors can earn a Bachelor of Science in Counseling, which includes an emphasis in addiction, chemical dependency, and substance abuse. The university designed this program to help students become licensed addiction counselors and specialists. It features 18 required classes that are worth 72 credits, including Introduction to Counseling Theories, Case Management and Crisis Intervention Skills for Addiction and Substance Use Disorder and Trauma, Addiction and Substance Abuse Disorders.
The university’s mental health counseling graduate program includes concentrations and emphasis areas in Christian counseling, marriage and family therapy, trauma and childhood and adolescence disorders. Each program includes a course that prepares students for doing a practicum. Once they do the practicum, they will do three separate internships. Grand Canyon University allows students to work in the same centers through each internship or choose three different facilities. They will also take classes such as Counseling Skills, Group Counseling, Counseling the Diverse and Lifespan and Development.
About Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon University is a private university with an Evangelical Christian affiliation. Founded in Prescott, Arizona in 1949, it gained the support of the Arizona Southern Baptists who believed that Arizona needed a college that would follow baptist principles. It moved to Phoenix just two years later and quickly became the nation’s largest Christian university in terms of enrollment alone. More than 70,000 students now take online classes at the university, and more than 20,000 take classes in Phoenix and on its other campuses.
Also called GCU, it has a Phoenix campus that features residence halls, libraries, a large arena and a recreation complex that has bowling alleys and other resources for students. Town & County named the GCU campus one of the 10 most beautiful college campuses in the country. GCU accepts more than half of the students who apply every year.
Grand Canyon University Accreditation Details
Though GCU does not have program accreditation for its counseling and psychology programs, those tracks do have accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). This is the commission that awarded the university the regional accreditation needed for students seeking financial aid. Not only does HLC accreditation mean that students can use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), but it also allows the university to evaluate and grant credit to students transferring from another school.
Grand Canyon University Application Requirements
Any student who is at least 16 years of age can apply to an undergraduate program at GCU. The university has the same steps for all types of students that begin with the completion of an admissions form. This form asks students what type of level they are, what they want to study, where they will study and which program best meets their interests. This helps GCU admissions counselors gather information for those students and contact them to go over their options. Students can choose a program that meets at night or on the weekends on a GCU campus and an online program.
The counselors will help students obtain and submit their transcripts. Those applying to a bachelor’s program need their high school transcripts, while those applying to a graduate or doctoral program need their college/university transcripts. GCU counselors will also work with students to help them register for classes and get financial aid. Online students will need to complete the same forms and submit both the FAFSA and their academic transcripts. Their counselors will then help them finish the registration process and sign up for classes.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The cost of attendance for GCU students varies based on whether they enroll in traditional or nontraditional programs. All evening, weekend and online programs charge a rate of $470 per credit hour for undergrads and $530 per credit hour for graduate students. Doctoral students pay $670 per credit hour for all their classes, including the three courses they take as they do their dissertation research and work. The discount for active-duty military students drops their rates to $250 per credit hour in an undergraduate program and $400 per credit hour in a doctoral program.
Traditional undergrads pay $687.50 per credit hour in an undergraduate program. If they take between 12 and 18 credits, they’ll pay $8,250 per semester. Those who take more than this amount will pay the same rate plus the part-time rate of $687.50 for each additional credit taken. The cost for traditional graduate students will remain the same. Grand Canyon University includes future psychology and counseling majors to complete the FAFSA and get a financial aid package before they register for classes.
