Guaranteed First-Year Admission (3+2)

Earn two degrees in five years without having to apply for graduate school and get an early edge in the marketplace. High school students apply to Lebanon Valley College through the LVC Application and submit other required materials for admission to the College. On the application, students must indicate Psychology as their intended major. Successful majors will earn a bachelor’s of science midway through their fourth year and master’s of science after the fifth year, and be prepared to enter a job market with an expected 22% growth through 2028 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Already have a bachelor’s degree? You can apply to be admitted directly to the graduate level here.

About the Program

The Lebanon Valley College Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) Program is designed with primacy on the following characteristics: 

• Evidence-based curriculum
• Broad training to allow for an understanding of the complexities inherent to counseling
• Exposure to ethically-focused clinical skills
• Development of clinical experiences across broad domains to allow students to be prepared to treat culturally diverse individuals, families, and populations
• Training experiences to prepare students to work in a variety of settings including community agencies, private practice, integrative health care, organizations, and schools
• Development of interpersonal skills central to patient counseling, and professional collaboration, consultation, and supervision

Enrolling in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program

Students can enroll in one of two tracks.

The undergraduate 3+2 program that includes 3.5 years of undergraduate LVC psychology and Constellation LVC courses that lead to a B.S., followed by 1.5 years of graduate training that leads to an M.S. Current high school students seeking admission to this undergraduate program can see requirements and begin the application process here. 

Undergraduate applicants. LVC students who were not initially admitted to the College as part of the 3+2 program, but desire to matriculate into the program may do so prior to the Spring semester of sophomore year (when students begin to complete graduate-level PSY courses). Students must have attained a cumulative 3.0 GPA here at the College and will be considered for admission to the program pending review of the following requirements:

• 500 word (maximum) essay focused on the applicant’s long-term goals within the counseling profession and how Lebanon Valley College’s program will help them reach those aspirations.
• Current resumé
• Two Recommendation Forms 

Students should submit their essay and resumé to admission@lvc.edu. Applicants will then be contacted regarding the process for submitting recommendations. The most qualified applicants based on a review of the above admission standards will be invited for a personal interview; a final admission decision will be made upon completion of the interview. 

The graduate-only phase for individuals with an existing bachelor’s degree; at a minimum, this requires two years to attain the M.S. degree. Individuals seeking admission to this graduate program can see requirements and begin the application process here. 

At the completion of the program, all graduates will be eligible to take the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE) and for Licensure as a Professional Counselor (LPC) status. The College plans to apply for accreditation by the Council for Accreditation and Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) no later than 2023–24. All initial admissions decisions are made on a rolling basis.