Post-Masters Certificate in Counselling
Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the PMCC program, applicants must have:

• a completed master's degree in Counselling Psychology, Applied Psychology, Educational Psychology, or equivalent.
• a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 in that master's degree
• a graduate or undergraduate course in the following areas:
  • a course in developmental psychology (3 credits)
  • a course in learning psychology (3 credits)
• equivalent graduate courses to the following core courses from the Master of Counselling program:
  • GCAP 631: Models of Counselling and Client Change
  • GCAP 632: Professional Ethics
  • GCAP 633: Counselling Psychology: Sociocultural and Systemic Influences
  • GCAP 671: Responsive Counselling Relationships & Interpersonal Communication

    
    Note: Learners who are missing one of these graduate courses, may be permitted to complete it as part of the Post-Masters Certificate program. To take certain elective courses as part of the PMCC, learners may be required to have additional prerequisites before taking those courses. Please see the GCAP website for details.

To calculate your program admission GPA (the GPA AU will use for your entry into the program), please visit the Graduate Admission GPA page on the Faculty of Health Disciplines website.

Preference is given in the admissions process to applicants who have two years or more of full-time experience in counselling or a related field.

Advanced Standing

Some learners may have completed work at other post-secondary institutions that is applicable to the PMCC program. Only courses taken within the past six years from the date of application to the program will be considered for advance credit. Learners may apply for advance credit for up to three credits of graduate study from other universities into the PMCC program. Learners must demonstrate that previous course work is equivalent to courses normally included in the PMCC program.

Only graduate level courses that were successfully completed with a final grade of B- (70 per cent) or higher, will be considered for advanced credit.

Upon application to the program, learners must complete and submit an application for advance credit and supporting documentation. Only learners admitted to the program will have their advance credit request reviewed. Learners will not be awarded advanced standing for courses used previously towards the granting of another credential. 

Before a course taken at another institution can be reviewed, learners must pay the Transfer Credit Evaluation Fee for each request.

Transfer Credit

Learners may apply for transfer credit throughout the program for up to three (3) credits of graduate study from other universities into the PMCC program. Transfer credit maximums are inclusive of any advance credit awarded at the time of admission.

Learners must identify appropriate courses at other institutions, complete a Transfer Credit Assessment Form, and demonstrate that previous coursework is equivalent to core GCAP courses or appropriate for option or specialization course credit. The transfer credit assessment process may take up to one month to complete, so learners must allow sufficient time to process the request and arrange to register in the course. Learners must pay the Transfer Credit Evaluation Fee for each request to take a course at another institution. Learners are responsible for any additional costs incurred at the host institution.

Non-Program Students

Individuals who are not enrolled in the PMCC program may apply to register in PMCC courses on a first-come, first-served basis, space providing. Courses taken as a non-program learner may be directly applied towards the program in accordance with the degree requirements, if and when a learner becomes a program student. However, AU is under no obligation to admit non-program learner into the PMCC program. To apply to take a course as a non-program learner, please contact gcapadmin@athabascau.ca.

English Language Proficiency

There are minimum English Language Proficiency Requirements allowed for admission to a graduate program at Athabasca University. It is the learner's responsibility to ensure they meet the minimum requirements.