This 15-hour certificate is designed to increase the range and depth of the services offered by clinical mental health counselors and school counselors. The certificate is open to current UAB counseling graduate students concentrating in clinical mental health or school counseling and to practitioners with an M.A. in clinical mental health or school counseling who wish to advance their careers.

Admissions Requirements

Current counseling students in clinical mental health and school counseling concentrations do not need to apply for the MCF Certificate program through the UAB Graduate School. Rather, they can simply notify their faculty advisor that they intend to pursue the certificate.

Candidates seeking admission to the Marriage, Couples, and Family counseling certificate who are graduates of a Master’s level counseling program must complete an application through the UAB Graduate School and submit a statement of purpose and their graduate-level transcript.

Admission is accepted for the summer term only. Applicants who have already taken ECG 691: Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy or an equivalent course may opt to take ECG 661: Play Therapy I during that summer term OR wait and begin classes in the subsequent fall term.

Summer Admission Application Deadline: April 1

Register for an information session

Coursework and Degree Requirements

Students take five 3-hour courses in family counseling, marriage and couples counseling, and the intersections of family and community systems, among other subjects.

Please note that all students enrolled in the MCF certificate program must apply to receive their certificates and must be registered for courses when they submit the completed UAB Application for Graduate Degree/Certificate Form to the Graduate School. The Graduate School does not award certificates or degrees retroactively.

• Download the proposed annual schedule
• Download student handbook