Graduate Psychology Policies

Professional Obligations. Professional behavior is expected from MSMU students at all time. Students must abide by the ethical standards of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, all departmental and University policies, and the policies of any and all placement sites. If the expectations of the University or the placement site are not met, the student is subject to dismissal from the program.

All MFT students are required to join their state professional organization (CAMFT or AAMFT-CA) and obtain malpractice insurance during their fieldwork year.

Specializations. Students who wish to change specializations within the Counseling Psychology Master’s Degree Program may do so in consultation with their advisor and at the recommendation of the Director of the Graduate Psychology Program. Specific requirements to change specializations will be provided by the student’s academic advisor.

Grading Policies . Students enrolled in the master's programs at MSMU must maintain a 3.0 GPA. If they fall below this GPA, students are put on probation and given one semester to bring their grades up to a 3.0. If this is not achieved, they will be dismissed from the program.

Students must earn the grade of B- or better in each course applied toward degree requirements. Courses may only be repeated one time. The higher grade will be computed in the GPA. If a student does not earn a B- or better upon repetition of the course, the student will be dismissed from the program.

Cross-Listed Courses . Students who took Mount Saint Mary’s University graduate level psychology cross-listed courses for undergraduate credit and received a B- or better may petition to transfer such courses toward their psychology graduate degree program at the Mount. These courses are subject to the Graduate Division Transfer of Credit Policy (see Graduate section of this catalog).

Graduate Courses taken for Undergraduate Credit. Students admitted into the MS in Counseling Psychology program at MSMU who completed graduate psychology courses as undergraduate psychology students at MSMU, earning a “B-“ or better, are able to petition to use these specific courses to satisfy graduate degree requirements. Although the graduate degree requirements will be satisfied, course units will remain with the undergraduate degree; no additional units will be awarded. This policy applies to a maximum of 6 units.