Master of Arts (Pastoral Counselling)

What is this course about?

CSU's Pastoral Counselling program is designed to extend the academic qualifications of people working in pastoral and clinical counselling or ministry settings, including clergy and laity.

Pastoral care and counselling skills are exercised in a variety of institutional settings within the overall framework of the churches in Australia at the corporate and congregational levels of denominations, universities, military, corrective services, police, ambulance, trade and industry, and like situations.

These courses are a response to community expectations for professionally trained pastoral counsellors in the church and community. They provide an opportunity for members of the clergy and laity to upgrade their counselling skills and qualifications.

Residential schools

In every session there will be a two- to four-day residential school for the subjects coded THL, with the exception of THL434 which has a five day residential school and THL435, which does not have a residential school. These are normally held in February, April/May, July or September.

Admission requirements

Graduate Diploma of Pastoral Counselling

Applicants should hold an undergraduate degree in theology, psychology or equivalent. Applicants with degrees in any other disciplines are encouraged to apply.

Applicants without an undergraduate degree will be considered, with evidence that they are able to undertake tertiary studies in this area (such as a letter of motivation and two professional or academic references), as assessed by the Course Coordinator.

Master of Arts (Pastoral Counselling)

Applicants should:

• hold an undergraduate degree in theology, psychology or equivalent - applicants with degrees in other disciplines are encouraged to apply; or
• have successfully completed the Graduate Diploma of Pastoral Counselling at CSU; or
• hold a Graduate Diploma of Counselling from another institution; if so they may be required to complete the core subject theological component of the CSU Graduate Diploma of Theology before being granted admission to the Master of Arts (Pastoral Counselling).

English language proficiency

Applicants will be deemed to have sufficient English proficiency if they:

• have completed all their formal studies in one or more of the following countries; or
• were born in one of the following countries and have completed at least one qualification in one of those countries; or
• have completed senior secondary study or at least one year of full-time University study in one of the following countries: American Samoa, Australia, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, United Kingdom, USA, Zambia
  or
• have successfully completed one year of full-time (or part-time equivalent) post-secondary study at an affiliate institution of the University, with English as the medium of instruction and assessment.

All other applicants must explicitly demonstrate proficiency.

Acceptable tests for English proficiency

Any of the following results, attained within the last two years, can be used to demonstrate English proficiency:

• an Academic IELTS (International English Language Testing System) overall score of at least 6.0, and with no score below 5.5;
• a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) paper-based score of 550 and TWE of 5.0;
• a TOEFL computer-based score of 213 and Essay Rating of 5;
• a TOEFL internet-based score of 80 for undergraduate and postgraduate coursework programs, and 90 for postgraduate research candidates with a minimum score of 25 in the writing section.
• a Combined Universities Admission Test (CULT) overall score of at least 65;
• a C pass in English at the GCE 'A' level examinations in either Singapore or the United Kingdom;
• completion of the International Baccalaureate diploma with English A2 at higher or sub. Level;
• a C pass in 'Use of English' in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE);
• completion of the UNSW Foundation Studies Certificate with a C pass in 'Use of English';
• completion of an AQF Certificate IV (including English for Academic Purposes);
• successful completion of at least one year of study in a course at Associate Diploma or Diploma level on the Register of Australian Tertiary Education;
• a score of 155 in the verbal component of the STAT test;
• a Pass grade in the Uniworld English College English for Tertiary Entrance course; or
• IRI Diploma of English.

An applicant who does not otherwise meet the University's requirements may be admitted on the recommendation of the Dean of the appropriate faculty.

Internet access

CSU places great emphasis on services to its students. It is a leader in the provision of online services and, in particular, the use of the internet in the support of teaching, administration and communications with students.

The online environment is so integrated into all aspects of student life and the learning experience at CSU that the University now assumes that all on campus and distance education students at CSU will have ongoing access to an internet connected computer capable of communicating with CSU online systems.

Students enrolled in Information Technology subjects (i.e. with an ITC subject code) may be required to have additional hardware and/or software that is deemed essential for the completion of the learning activities in that subject.

fee-paying
csp
international-distance

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This course is available to commence study in

Session 1; Session 2