william-james-collegeCounseling and Psychology Degrees Offered at William James College

William James College appears in our ranking of the Top 5 Psy.D. Online Degree Programs.

William James College (WJC) specializes in the areas of psychology and counseling and offers a range of degree programs from the undergraduate to doctoral level. The bachelor of science in psychology and human services is a degree completion program and provides the final 60 hours of the degree. Students must transfer 60 hours including general education requirements from another school. Most students complete the program in three years with the third year dedicated to an internship. During the first two years, courses are offered primarily online with campus attendance required one or two Saturdays each month. There are 20 core classes covering a variety of topics including Ethics in Human Services, Fundamentals of Social Action, Child and Adolescent Development, and Behavioral Neuroscience. In addition, students can opt to complete the Applied Behavioral Analysis or Substance Use and Addictions concentrations.

At the graduate level, there are four available master’s degree programs. The M.A. in Organizational Psychology with an optional concentration in talent management is offered entirely online. The required 30 hours can be completed in less than a year of full-time study covering behavioral psychology, business development, sociology, education, and motivation. The program concludes with a 6-credit-hour internship, project, and comprehensive examination. The M.A. in Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health consists of 36 credit hours and is offered only online. Students typically take 2 years to complete coursework including Criminology and Mental Health, Data Analysis in Criminal Justice, and Research Methods and Program Evaluation.

The other William James College master’s programs are focused on clinical practice. Graduates with the M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling are eligible for state licensure. The entire curriculum includes 60 credit hours over 2 years of full-time study with an internship and practicum totaling 960 clock-hours. The course format is a mix of online and on-campus methods. The available concentration areas are Couples and Family Therapy, Forensic and Correctional Counseling, Health and Behavior Medicine, and Substance Use and Addictions. The Applied Behavior Analysis M.A. degree program also focuses on clinical techniques. Full-time students can finish the required 32 credit hours in one year with at least 17 hours of experiential learning each week in the form of practicums and internships. Graduates are eligible to sit for the Board Certified Behavioral Analyst.

The final category of degrees include three professional degrees in psychology (PsyD), clinical psychology, leadership psychology, and school psychology. These programs take four to six years to complete and consist of 98 to 134 credit hours with extensive hands-on practice and a dissertation prior to graduation. The available concentrations in the clinical psychology program include Children/Families of Adversity and Resilience, Forensics, Geropsychology, Global Mental Health, Health Psychology, and Neuropsychology. In the leadership track, students can add an area of emphasis in Educational Leadership, Leading Non-Profits and NGOs, and Neuroscience of Leadership Psychology. There are also concentrations that graduate students can add onto any degree which consist of African and Caribbean Mental Health, Global Mental Health, Latino Mental Health, and Military and Veterans Psychology.

About William James College

William James College opened its doors in 1974 as the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and primarily focuses on providing a graduate psychology education. Today, the school enrolls about 750 students, both through the online platform and the campus in Newton, Massachusetts. In all programs, faculty utilize the experiential education model introducing students to fieldwork through practicums and internships starting in the first year. The school is also known for its concentrations and tracks that provide an in-depth look at a certain population. For instance, the Dr. Cynthia Lucero Center offers training in Latino mental health, and the Center for Multicultural and Global Mental Health focuses on research and education addressing policy and social justice issues as well as the challenges inherent in working with disenfranchised groups. In addition, the school consistently adds new training modalities and continuing education programs for professionals in all fields. The program at William James College is included on the U.S. News and World Report list of the best clinical psychology doctorate programs.

William James College Accreditation Details

The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is responsible for reviewing colleges and universities in the six northeastern states in the U.S. A variety of factors are included in these evaluations including The Academic Program, Organization and Governance, Planning and Evaluation, Institutional Resources, and Integrity, Transparency, and Public Disclosure. William James College first passed these evaluations and received accreditation in 1984 and was last recertified in 2012. Many of the individual programs at William James College are also accredited by specific organizations that represent different factions of the psychology field. These include the following.

  • International Coach Federation
  • New England Association of Schools and Colleges
  • Behavior Analyst Certification Board
  • National Association of School Psychologists
  • American Psychological Association

William James College Application Requirements

For the undergraduate psychology program at William James College, students must submit the application along with a 500-word personal statement and all undergraduate transcripts. To be eligible for admission, completion of an associate’s degree or 60 credit hours of general education college courses is required. Graduate students interested in one of the master’s programs need to provide transcripts documenting completion of a bachelor’s degree along with the completed application and essay. Competitive candidates have GPAs above 3.0, undergraduate psychology coursework, and some professional experience in the field. Some programs also require a phone or online video interview, letters of recommendation, professional resume, volunteer experiences.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Tuition for the B.S. degree is $500 per credit hour with an additional $500 fee each year. Master’s degrees in clinical mental health and school psychology is $1100 per credit hour with the ABA program costing $880 and the criminal justice and behavioral health track at $660. The online and blended formats of the organizational psychology courses cost $1033 and $1233 per hour respectively. Finally, all Psy.D. students are charged at a credit-hour rate of $1475. All students are eligible for William James College scholarships at the time of application, and the school offers need-based awards to undergraduate students and merit-based scholarships to graduate students in all of their programs.