You’re the one people turn to for advice. You hear what the heart speaks. It’s time to develop that gift.

Train now to become mental health clinician and psychotherapist – a licensed marriage and family therapist or licensed professional clinical counselor — to help others, and yourself, experience lasting transformation.

PLNU’s Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling (MACC) program applies faith-based principles to 21st century cultures and needs. We integrate rigorous courses, personal mentoring, onsite supervised clinical training, and a culturally aware approach to today’s best practices and theories to equip you to serve diverse populations through a flexible career path. Most importantly, our program prepares you for licensure as an LMFT or LPCC in California.

Practice

You will gain on-campus clinical experience from year one. Our state-of-the-art trainee practicum clinic offers students a unique opportunity to practice, review, and hone their counseling skills as they see real clients in a supervised recorded environment.

Guided, accessible internship placements are readily available through our established practicum sites at all the major mental health service providers throughout San Diego, including such settings as community mental health, non-profit agencies, youth and family services, and couples counseling clinics. We provide a high level of support in helping you match to the practicum site that fits you best.

Preparation

At PLNU, you are mentored for success. We are a relational, high-touch program that cares just as deeply for your personal growth as we do about your professional development. Seasoned professors who are active in their own clinical practice use experiential learning, hands-on training, and real-world experiences to bring learning to life in the classroom. All coursework is designed to be applied to your development of therapy skills in clinical practice. Small classes in a cohort model mean that you build meaningful relationships, community, and professional networks. Faculty members, as part of PLNU’s broader commitment to spiritual development, integrate Christian faith, ethics, skills, and science into your learning.

Most importantly, intentional-expert licensure exam preparation is an integral part of the coursework, where every course prepares you to take the licensure exam.

PLNU’s experienced, working faculty-professionals integrate biblical principles, ethics, skills, and science, considering moral questions while linking hands-on training to cutting-edge research in holistic mind-body approaches.

LMFT or LPCC?

Should you study to become an LMFT or LPCC therapist? Although many course requirements overlap for both degrees, the LPCC emphasizes the individual in therapeutic practices rather than relational or systems-oriented practices. With the MFT license, you can help families, marriages, and couples, while the PCC license broadens your practice to counsel individuals with issues involving relationships; personal growth, mental, and emotional issues; adjustment to disability; crisis intervention; and problems with stress.

When you graduate from our program, you will have met the requirements for either the LPCC or LMFT. You choose which license you would like to gain hours to complete.

State Authorization

State authorization is a formal determination by a state or U.S. Territory that PLNU is approved to conduct activities regulated by that state or U.S. Territory. PLNU is not required to obtain state authorization in every state or U.S. Territory, and the university has opted at this time not to seek authorization in some states. Additionally, PLNU meets the criteria for exemption from authorization in certain states.

Visit our disclosures page to view our color-coded state authorized map to view your state’s authorization status. If you have questions, please contact your enrollment counselor. 

Authorizations in specific states and U.S. Territories may change periodically.

Professional Licensure or Certification

This program complies with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences and meets the requirements for LMFT and LPCC Licensure in the state of California, where Point Loma Nazarene University is physically located. PLNU cannot confirm whether or not specific programs meet out-of-state requirements for Professional Licensure or Certification. Information about out-of-state requirements in Clinical Counseling is available on this website counseling.org.  

For more information on State Authorization and Program Licensure, please refer to our disclosures page.

Program Start Date(s):

• Fall 2025 — September 2, 2025

Application Deadline(s):

• Fall 2025 Priority Deadline — February 28, 2025
• Fall 2025 —  August 15, 2025

All applications submitted after this date will be reviewed based on the availability of space.

Start Application

The Selection Process

The educational context at PLNU will challenge you to live a full life that integrates the pursuit of knowledge with beliefs, values, and actions. While honoring diverse perspectives and beliefs, Christian values and principles are woven into the educational experience. We understand your application is not only a reflection of you as a student; it reflects you as a person. At PLNU, we holistically evaluate your academic history, work and life experience, background, and circumstances to determine admission into a graduate program. Your undergraduate GPA is an important piece of your application, but if you do not meet the minimum GPA requirement of a 3.0, you may still be eligible for admission based on your application package as well as the exceptions policy for your particular program.* Therefore, we strongly encourage you to contact your enrollment counselor, who will advise you regarding your qualifications and provide specific information about the admission-under-exceptions process.

To be admitted into PLNU's MACC program, you must have a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution, as evidenced by an official transcript from an institution indicating the completion of an undergraduate degree.

If you have any questions about your qualifications or the program in general, we encourage you to contact your enrollment counselor.

*Exceptions Policy: Your undergraduate GPA is an essential piece of your application. If you do not meet the minimum GPA requirement of 3.0,  you may still be eligible for admission based on your application package and the exceptions policy for your particular program. We encourage you to contact your enrollment counselor, who will inform you about your qualifications and provide specific information about the admission-under-exceptions process since you may not be eligible for an admissions interview. 

Program Prerequisites:

• General Psychology
• Abnormal Psychology
• Human Development

Application Checklist

Note: The application is completed entirely online with the exception of transcripts, which can be submitted electronically or directly to PLNU, and test scores, which should be submitted electronically.

1. Submit an online application for admissions (including $50 non-refundable application fee, which is waived for PLNU alums, current or former military and their dependents, and PLNU employees).
2. Submit official transcripts with proof of earned baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution.* (If you are a PLNU alumnus, please notify your counselor to have your transcripts retrieved. You do not need to request transcripts from the PLNU Office of Records.)
   
   Official transcripts must be sent to:
   Point Loma Nazarene University
   Office of Graduate Admissions
   3900 Lomaland Dr.
   San Diego, CA 92106
   
   Official electronic transcripts must be emailed to:
   gradprocessing@pointloma.edu
   
   *Please note, official transcripts must be sent directly from the regionally accredited institution.
3. Submit a 500-600 word Statement of Purpose addressing the following topics:
   1. What formative experiences have helped clarify your desire to go into clinical counseling?
   2. What qualities and characteristics do you possess that would make you an effective counselor?
   3. Why have you chosen to pursue a degree in clinical counseling at this time in your life?
   4. Why are you interested in PLNU?
   5. What are your career goals?
4. Submit a resume/vita.
5. Once you have submitted your admissions application, your three selected professional recommenders will automatically be sent the auto-generated document to complete on your behalf. If you'd like to include a written letter in addition to this required document, you may do so, but it's unnecessary. 

6. Completion of the MMPI-2 or MMPI-3 personality assessment.

7. Interview with the Department of Graduate Psychology.

8. Ensure undergraduate course prerequisites are met.

Applicants accepted into PLNU's MACC program will be subjected to a background check.

Start Application

Because a license in California is earned by more than meeting the educational requirements, successful completion of this program by itself does not fulfill all of the requirements to become a licensed LMFT or LPCC therapist. Additional hours of supervised clinical experience must be gained upon graduation from PLNU in order to qualify to take the licensing exam in California.

MACC will notify students when changes in requirements occur in the state of California, but it is also each student's responsibility to keep apprised of the licensing requirements. Upon completion of the program, and should you earn a license, Point Loma Nazarene University does not guarantee that the program requirements for licensure in the state of California will transfer to another state where you may want to be employed.

Additionally, if you currently reside or plan to reside outside California, PLNU cannot confirm whether its program meets licensure requirements in your  current or intended state of residence.

We believe the best way to equip you for long-term success is through an experiential, clinically-focused format that gives you all of the counseling skills you’ll need to become an independent practitioner. Students who graduate from the PLNU MACC program will leave having met the requirements for both LMFT and LPCC licensure. 

With your licensure, you'll be equipped to step into a variety of growing career fields and settings, such as:

• Private Practice Therapy
• Couples Counseling

• Child and Adolescent Services

• Spiritual Life and Ministry
• Church Counseling
• Community Mental Health
• Addiction Recovery
• Hospitals
• School-Based Mental Health
• And many more

For information about the courses required for the Clinical Counseling, M.A. program, view the PLNU Catalog. 

Course Information